Antifouling

FlyingDutchman

FlyingDutchman

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This subject will have been discussed at length on this forum, but I would like to ask a specific question:
We bought our boat (10 years old) last year.
The self polishing antifouling is red, which SWMBO doesn't like, she would prefer blue.
Under the antifouling is a black layer, I don't know what it is, it looks like tar.
On some places, the antifouling is off.
What to do?
I don't like to scrape it off, since this would be a nasty job and I don't want to damage the black layer.
The alternative to paint the blue over the red doesn't seem a solution either.
My idea is to touch up with self polishing anti fouling and see what is left ove at the end of the season.

Any ideas?
 
As an aside red antifouling is the natural colour & the most effective,so my friend at P&O tells me.Look at the colour used by commercial ships & liners.To get other colours involves adding pigment colour which decreases the effectiveness,but by how much I do not know.Red is also cheaper for that reason when bought commercially( in large quantities I presume).For us leisure sailors colours are the same price generally.You might want to stick with red,after all who is going to see it.
 
Thanks for your input!
Didn't know about the natural colour either!
Do you think, that by leaving the old anti fouling on another season it will have disappeared / dissolved so that the remainings can be scraped off easily?
 
I'm pretty sure that the red colour is simply a traditional hangover from when the main constituant was Red Lead. I rather doubt if modern A/F is red when it comes out of the toxic/poison blender machine!

I would tend to just give the boat the recommended 2 coats of eroding a/f of the colour your wife desires,, after priming the bare patches..in my experience the a/f never erodes away entirely, and if you were to try to leave it until it did wear away you would end up with a huge amount of growth as it would have long since lost its a/f prperties.

I wonder if your black layer is possibly epoxy, as it is often applied in different coloured layers, or possibly VC tar which I have never used but is also used as an anti osmosis measure.

All best nick

www.yachtsite.co.uk/fairweather
 
Just a thought.

I expect you know, but copper in antifoul is banned in Holland. As mentioned, this is why antifoul only used to be available in red (copper content).How effective it is without copper would be very interesting to know.

I believe it is not an uncomon site on the East Coast of England, to see Dutchman having an extended weekend antifouling their bottoms. Apparently, once it is on the bottom you can get away with it.

Regards,
 
I have a black layer under the antifoul too.
Turns out it was VC-Tar
http://www.yachtpaint.com/uk/
look under products-osmosis treatment and protection.
Then I have VC-17 antifouling in 'Graphite' colour (i.e. dark grey), but it's available in Red and Blue too.

I stuck to the same antifouling as the previous owner had since then it only needs minimal preparation (a wash with fresh water) each year so I am told. Although expensive, since my boat is only 22ft I don't need much.
 
SWMBO doesn't like going aboard whilst the boat is layed up - something to do with it being 8' in the air and wobbles in the wind .... ah well - plenty of jobs to do down below!!

She has antifouled for the last few seasons - I guess I might need to step in and do the waterline this year - hard to reach without steps /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Agree with the other postings it is likely to be VC Tar. I have not used it myself, but I understand this stuff is primarily used as a DIY osmosis protection given it is very easy to apply, espcially when comparing it to the Blakes SFE range.

I also really can't believe that for example a blue antifoul has any disadavantages to red. I thought red orignated from red oxide which tended to be applied to ships as a first coat.

Cheers

Andrew
 
Thanks for all your comments!
I think I will leave the red antifouling on another season as it only needs a partial touch up. Thanks also for the information on the VC Tar.
The tar is intact, apart from a few tiny spots.
Maybe at the end of the season I will spend some time getting the red stuff off so that I can apply blue anti fouling.

Best regards,
Jan
 
International sell a stripper - don't know any more about it, though. If antifoul gets too thick and old it can start to come away like large scabs. I made an offer on a Bowman 40 last year and the owner make a whole fuss about being able to match the antifoul when touching up he survey patches. Anyway, when she was lifted out the antifoul could be peeled off with your fingernails, in great clods.

As a digression, the surveyor, who charged me nearly £1000, wasn't very critical and said that it would be an "easy job to scrape it back over the winter". Easy? For a liveaboard, which he knew? I'd love to publish that surveyor's name but I dare not. However, if anyone posts a question asking for references I shall send them a PM, as the evidence was that he was working in close liasion with the selling broker and tried to gloss over other significant defects.
 
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