Antifouling!

[petem]

Drives now re-painted....

So here's a funny thing. After 12 months, 600 miles at planning speed, warm med seas and gaps in between use my rather dubious and patchy looking a/f is still delivering a zero loss of performance! Partner was out last week and the boat is running at exactly the same speed as it was a year ago.

 

[John100156]

I will be trying Micron 350 in Sant Carles this year with Trilux as usual on the metalwork. The new boat, to me, was a tad fouled when lifted a few weeks ago, yes it does have a stern thruster.....

 

[petem]

John, the problem with Micron 350 for you is that it's a soft / self eroding A/F. It's also not that strong. Therefore I'd be concerned that it may not prevent fouling in SCM and if you need to get the yard to pressure wash the hull then the power wash will literally remove it all.

Hempel Racing (a hard A/F) seemed to work well for me in SCM and didn't need a pressure wash. If it had needed a wash then there's a fighting chance that the power wash wouldn't strip it off.

What does Robert Asnau recommend?

 

[John100156]

Micron 350, Robert is doing it, I have used him for 10 years now out there on three boats.

I was going to go with M99 which I will easily get two seasons out of, but he recommended 350 this year, probably vested interest if it only lasts one season and cheaper.

Only doing a couple of short runs (Alcanar and Las Fuentes) before the winter then over to the islands hopefully in June - will just do a free light pressure wash around the waterline before the trip, you are right, otherwise you do loose a lot - will post up some images again before the run in June. Next time I will be trying M99 for sure, its more expensive but I reckon it will stand up much better. I believe that's what Mike last used on JW.

 

[MapisM]

I believe that's what Mike last used on JW.

Do you mean before going for Coppercoat, or did he recently strip CC and go back to traditional a/f?
If the latter, I'd be curious to hear why: IIRC, he was happy with CC...

 

[petem]

Mike has Coppercoat on JW.

JFM recommended M99 but you need to put three coats on to get it to last three years (same goes for 350 in theory).

Robert was uncooperative / unresponsive when I suggested M99 and kept insisting on 350. Good luck with that!

 

[Hurricane]

John
Over the last couple of seasons, we have been using WHITE Trilux (note WHITE) on the thruster props and tunnels.
And it seems to work better than other colours.
Of course there still isn't a treatment for the props if you want to use your boat.
Polishing and regular acid washing seems to be the only answer in SC

 

[John100156]

Mike has Coppercoat on JW.

JFM recommended M99 but you need to put three coats on to get it to last three years (same goes for 350 in theory).

Robert was uncooperative / unresponsive when I suggested M99 and kept insisting on 350. Good luck with that!

Pete
Yes, he doesn't make as much mark-up if we all use M99..! I nearly had my F43 CC'd at the same time as Mike - I believe he has now covered it with M99, I may be wrong. I know JFM used M99 I would like to try it next time.

Mike
Yes, I used White Trilux this time, as you can see from the above images.

I met Robert and was impressed when the boat was lifted and pressure washed, Trilux was still well adhered to the metalwork. Albeit there were also traces of Velox too when pressure washed, I tried Velox way back and I was not impressed when it first came out. The last owner did not take the boat out on any long runs.

We go over again on 14th, can't wait to take her out for a run...!

 

[vas]

John
Over the last couple of seasons, we have been using WHITE Trilux (note WHITE) on the thruster props and tunnels.
And it seems to work better than other colours.

is Trilux much different to Velox? been using white Velox sprayed on with good results for the last 2 yrs (even stays on props!)

V.

 

[John100156]

is Trilux much different to Velox? been using white Velox sprayed on with good results for the last 2 yrs (even stays on props!)

V.

I was given a free sample of white Velox to try in 2008 on my Targa 34, looks similar but as I recall it had to be properly applied and despite following instructions it did not last long, that was on SS Duo-Props on a 2 year old T34 which did 38 and on one occasion a remarkable 43k. I ended up just beaching legs and scraping props regularly which I must say worked just great...! Should have bagged them but sold her and bought the F43.

I reckon like fuel bug treatments, they all seem to work reasonably well, with AF it can even be down to the area where the boat lies but good to share opinions IMHO.

 

[petem]

Robert Asnau uses Velox John.

 

[John100156]

Robert Asnau uses Velox John.

I have not been out since it was lifted and only thought he was going to AF the hull, but noticed he had allowed to AF'd props and shafts too, when the images were taken; on the last three occaions with the F43 I had him use Trilux, I assumed he had done so this time, I'll let you know what he has used, you could very well be right so I can trial it again!

When lifted he and I agreed both Velox and Trilux had been previously used.

 

[Hurricane]

I'm not sure if people have been referring to me but just to confirm.
We still have Coppercoat.
In fact earlier this year, we "topped up" with some more coats.
In SC, CC isn't quite as good as normal antifoul but being an epoxy, it does allow us to use a heavy pressure washer each time we lift.
Normal antifoul tends to get washed off with the SCM pressure washer - CC can take a heavy pressure wash.
A couple of weeks ago, I helped a new Princess S65 when they lifted.
The yard manager suggested that he shouldn't pressure wash the hull as it would wash off all the antifoul. So all they did was pressure wash the riders, props, trim tabs etc. and then just scraped the wrist off the hull using a scraper.

 

[petem]

When we were in SCM they only ever washed the legs. Hull never needed doing (Hempel Racing).

 

[MapisM]

We still have Coppercoat.
In fact earlier this year, we "topped up" with some more coats.

After how many years? And did you possibly take some pics of how the "worn out" surfaces looked like, before the top up?
I for one would also be curious to hear how the top up has to be tackled - must be somewhat different vs. a fresh start from bare gelcoat, I suppose.

Not that I'm expecting to need a top up very soon: this is just my second season with CC, and it's still in pretty good shape, but it's always good to know what to expect in a few years... :encouragement:

 

[John100156]

I'm not sure if people have been referring to me,,,,

Yep, that would be me Mike - for some very odd reason, probably confusing threads, I thought you topped your CC with M99, must be an age thing...!

I had a lot of success with M77/Trilux, so it will be good to compare with 350/Velox, if the latter is indeed what Robert has used on the metalwork on this occasion. We shall see!

 

[Hurricane]

Yep, that would be me Mike - for some very odd reason, probably confusing threads, I thought you topped your CC with M99, must be an age thing...!

I had a lot of success with M77/Trilux, so it will be good to compare with 350/Velox, if the latter is indeed what Robert has used on the metalwork on this occasion. We shall see!

Regarding the metalwork, I think that the consensus now is the same as before.
If you use your boat, don't paint the metalwork.
Most of the paint won't stick and that paint that does stick is a PIA to remove at the beginning of the next season.
For me, the best solution is to polish the metalwork and acid wash during a pressure washing session.

 

[Hurricane]

After how many years? And did you possibly take some pics of how the "worn out" surfaces looked like, before the top up?
I for one would also be curious to hear how the top up has to be tackled - must be somewhat different vs. a fresh start from bare gelcoat, I suppose.

Not that I'm expecting to need a top up very soon: this is just my second season with CC, and it's still in pretty good shape, but it's always good to know what to expect in a few years... :encouragement:

We applied our CC in 2012.
I reckoned that it would last until 2021 but we had the boat out of the water earlier this year for a month for some engineering so I decided to "top up" the CC.
It was very hard work.
We sanded back the old CC to get a smooth finish and the applied new CC in the same way as originally. Leaving it about a week before relaunching.

Here are a couple of pics of the finished result.

The great thing with CC that you don't realise until you do the hard work yourself is that you are working with a layer of metal on the bottom of the boat thus making the hull incredibly strong and water tight.
I'm sure it is good for the hull.

 

[John100156]

CC performs well from what I have observed and additional benefits as suggested seem useful. I recall we looked at several boats in SCM before Mike had JW CC'd.

M77 and its predecessor worked well for me on my T34 and F43; I had intended to leave props and shafts un-treated this time and just try the 350, but I saw on a photo a friend in the marina sent that they had treated them, using either White Trilux or Velox as Pete suggested, I'm not too bothered, so will find our when I get out there on 14th.

The only concern I had with CC was not with its performance, I observed some good results on several boats in SC, it was what work might be involved with re-application after 10 years, some boats seem to have lasted less and some much longer.

I also wonder how well it might work/apply to a hull that's over 15 years old and what additional hull prep might be required.

I would like to go for CC but if not, will try M99 next year, or the year after if 350 works well, unlikely!

 

[MapisM]

We sanded back the old CC to get a smooth finish and the applied new CC in the same way as originally.

Thanks M, good to know.
So, am I right in understanding that you don't need to go back to bare gelcoat, as long as the existing CC is made smooth?
What did you use for the job, an orbital sander I suppose? And which grit size?
Also, after sanding, can the fresh CC be applied directly, with no primer?
Last but not least, how many hands did you re-apply?
Great final result anyhow, very well done! :encouragement: