Best antifoul for the River Dart

[blush2]

From experience, what is the best antifoul to use on a boat kept on the Dart?

Last lift out we used up what we had left, the one that worked best was discontinued several years ago. After a couple of months there was heavy slime and the beginning of barnacles on the bottom.

The boat is kept on a fore and aft mooring. I think one of the problems is lack of use and no long trips.

Thanks

 

[andsarkit]

I have found Hempel Tiger or International Micron work quite well at Dittisham. Just some slime and a few small white barnacles after a season. I'm going to try Jotun Seaforce this year as I got some cheaply just to see if it can be any better.
I assume you are near to Dartmouth as the boats up river at Totnes hardly need any antifoul as the alternating fresh and salt water prevents any growth.
As always, lack of use is the real problem.

 

[Fimacca]

I found it also depends on the weather within the season she is in the water. One year in the dart i was covered in green slime, another year it was long weed. Boat was used well both years.
I have tried cheap stuff from eBay, it worked just as well as fancy international !

 

[blush2]

I have found Hempel Tiger or International Micron work quite well at Dittisham. Just some slime and a few small white barnacles after a season. I'm going to try Jotun Seaforce this year as I got some cheaply just to see if it can be any better.
I assume you are near to Dartmouth as the boats up river at Totnes hardly need any antifoul as the alternating fresh and salt water prevents any growth.
As always, lack of use is the real problem.

We're off Noss, so not far from you. The boat was out of the water for the whole of 2020, the lockdown started two days before we were due to launch, so some antifoul had been on the hull for a while before it got wet. 2021 was our first full season on the river, before that we were on the Hamble.

We will probably try Seaforce this time.

 

[Fimacca]

PBO did an extensive test of what to use, where, a few yeras ago - even better ask the local boat owners around you........

 

[John w]

Hi
I am in Plymouth @ Yacht Haven Marina & use EU45 which has had a 45% copper content. Used it for the last 4 years always surprised how good it is when she comes out.
Booked to come out the end of March this year to renew & will use EU45 again although the boat has had very little use with Covid for the last 2 years as with everyone else.
Hope that helps John

http://www.eu45antifoul.com

 

[Neeves]

I cannot be specific - as I'm in Sydney

But the active ingredient is, or are, copper or compounds of copper. The manufacture defines how much copper is in his mix. Check the specification on the tin.

The chemistry of the resins is also critical, cheaper coatings tend to have less sophisticated resins systems. Expensive paints thus tend to be better, I've tested Hempel, International and Jotun and their top of the range products have been outstanding compared to their cheaper brands. Note that the top of the range from some suppliers, Hempel's Globic and Jotun's Sea Quantum might be difficult source, but not impossible, for a 'leisure' owner and only available to a professional applicator.

Don't eke out the paint - if the instructions say 3 coatings then apply 3 generous coatings (and then you apply more copper). The better AFs should offer a 2 year life, applied properly and with the vessel being used regularly (or wipe down with a sponge). If you achieve a 2 year life the savings you make in the cost of slipping ;pays for the better quality of AF. But consider - if your anodes only last 12 months - then schedule to apply AF every year - as you need to slip to replace the anodes.

If the vessel stays idle it will collect slime and barnacles will grown on the slime and not even notice the AF underneath.

The advice already given is sound - check with local boat yards, what do they use. What do other owners use.

I'd use International (whatever their top of the range is in the UK, sometimes different names in different countries) or Hempel's Globic or Jotuns Sea Quantum Ultra and I would be generous with application and expect 2 years (we don't slip for the winter but sail 2 x 365. Any paint left in the tin - apply to leading edges, bow, keel, rudder). If we don't use our cat and it develops fouling we dry out on a beach and wipe down with a sponge - nothing too aggressive

Good luck,

Take care, stay safe

Jonathan

 

[blush2]

I cannot be specific - as I'm in Sydney

But the active ingredient is, or are, copper or compounds of copper. The manufacture defines how much copper is in his mix. Check the specification on the tin.

The chemistry of the resins is also critical, cheaper coatings tend to have less sophisticated resins systems. Expensive paints thus tend to be better, I've tested Hempel, International and Jotun and their top of the range products have been outstanding compared to their cheaper brands. Note that the top of the range from some suppliers, Hempel's Globic and Jotun's Sea Quantum might be difficult source, but not impossible, for a 'leisure' owner and only available to a professional applicator.

Don't eke out the paint - if the instructions say 3 coatings then apply 3 generous coatings (and then you apply more copper). The better AFs should offer a 2 year life, applied properly and with the vessel being used regularly (or wipe down with a sponge). If you achieve a 2 year life the savings you make in the cost of slipping ;pays for the better quality of AF. But consider - if your anodes only last 12 months - then schedule to apply AF every year - as you need to slip to replace the anodes.

If the vessel stays idle it will collect slime and barnacles will grown on the slime and not even notice the AF underneath.

The advice already given is sound - check with local boat yards, what do they use. What do other owners use.

I'd use International (whatever their top of the range is in the UK, sometimes different names in different countries) or Hempel's Globic or Jotuns Sea Quantum Ultra and I would be generous with application and expect 2 years (we don't slip for the winter but sail 2 x 365. Any paint left in the tin - apply to leading edges, bow, keel, rudder). If we don't use our cat and it develops fouling we dry out on a beach and wipe down with a sponge - nothing too aggressive

Good luck,

Take care, stay safe

Jonathan

We used to use International Micron 2, worked well but is no longer made. EU45 didn't work particularly well on the Hamble so we will try Seaforce this time and see how we get on.

At 2.2m draft we can't dry out easily, she tries to sit on her rudder so the bow needs to be tied down. The waterline gets done from the dinghy.

Usually she gets three coats (different colours so nothing gets missed) and more on the leading edges.

 

[Neeves]

We used to use International Micron 2, worked well but is no longer made. EU45 didn't work particularly well on the Hamble so we will try Seaforce this time and see how we get on.

At 2.2m draft we can't dry out easily, she tries to sit on her rudder so the bow needs to be tied down. The waterline gets done from the dinghy.

Usually she gets three coats (different colours so nothing gets missed) and more on the leading edges.

My only suggestion to your sensible AF process is to suggest you don't need 3 colours but could simply use 2, base coat 'A', second coat 'B' and final coat 'A' again this means you only need two colours which might be a more efficient use of paint (and money)

I assume, maybe wrongly (never guess, never assume), that you are using an ablative paint

I thought you still had careening grids is some locations in the UK? This would make conducting a wipe down easier (though the best way to clean the hull is to move the vessel) - but Covid has made that much more difficult. If we are cleaning from the dinghy we use those sucker things used by glaziers to move panes of glass about. They stick securely to gel coat and have an appropriate handle. But tie a rope to the device (they can fall off ). They are sufficient firmly attached that you can get some real pressure into a long broom to clean the nether regions down underneath (and beats swimming in cold and nefarious waters). This is easier with 2 people, one to hold the dinghy, using the sucker things, and one to manoeuvre the broom handle with sponge on the head. 2 sucker things with 2 suckers on each device means the person holding the dinghy steady can use bot hands. If you do swim - they also make it easier to clean as they provide a firm hand hold - mostly deficient on a yacht hull.

Jonathan

 

[blush2]

My only suggestion to your sensible AF process is to suggest you don't need 3 colours but could simply use 2, base coat 'A', second coat 'B' and final coat 'A' again this means you only need two colours which might be a more efficient use of paint (and money)

I assume, maybe wrongly (never guess, never assume), that you are using an ablative paint

I thought you still had careening grids is some locations in the UK? This would make conducting a wipe down easier (though the best way to clean the hull is to move the vessel) - but Covid has made that much more difficult. If we are cleaning from the dinghy we use those sucker things used by glaziers to move panes of glass about. They stick securely to gel coat and have an appropriate handle. But tie a rope to the device (they can fall off ). They are sufficient firmly attached that you can get some real pressure into a long broom to clean the nether regions down underneath (and beats swimming in cold and nefarious waters). This is easier with 2 people, one to hold the dinghy, using the sucker things, and one to manoeuvre the broom handle with sponge on the head. 2 sucker things with 2 suckers on each device means the person holding the dinghy steady can use bot hands. If you do swim - they also make it easier to clean as they provide a firm hand hold - mostly deficient on a yacht hull.

Jonathan

She gets three coats but we only use two colours.

The sucker handles are really useful, been using one for years. When she was kept on the Hamble we dried out at least once a year in the RAF dock where we could tie the bows down to stop her sitting on her rudder, but we haven't found anything like that round here. She also has a lead shoe on the keel so needs a flat surface to sit on so it doesn't get damaged.

 

[Neeves]

She gets three coats but we only use two colours.

The sucker handles are really useful, been using one for years. When she was kept on the Hamble we dried out at least once a year in the RAF dock where we could tie the bows down to stop her sitting on her rudder, but we haven't found anything like that round here. She also has a lead shoe on the keel so needs a flat surface to sit on so it doesn't get damaged.

I'm guessing 4 x4s other than status symbols are few and far between but if you have local 4x4 specialist shops, or stores dealing with camping and the like, then you will find that robust plastic pads are available to retreive vehicles from soft substrates. They make excellent pads to sit under delicate keels and also stop yachts sinking into soft mud. They come in garish colours, or they do here, and are not as cheap as a plank of wood. You do need to get wet to locate them correctly (and this is best done in waters devoid of sharks )

This sort of thing

MAXTRAX Mark II Orange Recovery Boards

We are serious cheapskates and if we plan to dry out we have a couple of dedicated pieces of hard wood - but we only draw 1m - so its - much - easier for us.

Jonathan

 

[ColinR]

From experience, what is the best antifoul to use on a boat kept on the Dart?

Last lift out we used up what we had left, the one that worked best was discontinued several years ago. After a couple of months there was heavy slime and the beginning of barnacles on the bottom.

The boat is kept on a fore and aft mooring. I think one of the problems is lack of use and no long trips.

Thanks

I had a mooring off Galmpton for many years until 2018 and fouling was getting progressively worse every year especially after Coppercoating. Also on the prop, whatever I tried. One year I had to be towed as the prop was so badly fouled. I left the Dart heading north in 2018. Off the Lizard the engine overheating alarm went off. Anchored off Newlyn I dived under and found a sea annamae or similar had planted itself in the cooling water seacock. Also a mussel farm on the keel, literally kilos of mussels that luckily came off in big slabs with a scraper. Needless to say the hull was badly fouled. I left her for 6 weeks or so in Menai Strait and when she was lifted the hull was clean. The change of water had made all the difference. Now I have a mooring on the west coast of Scotland. Fouling has not been an issue at all in the cooler water there. I suspect agricultural runoff in the Dart makes it fertile water, but thats just speculation.

 

[blush2]

I had a mooring off Galmpton for many years until 2018 and fouling was getting progressively worse every year especially after Coppercoating. Also on the prop, whatever I tried. One year I had to be towed as the prop was so badly fouled. I left the Dart heading north in 2018. Off the Lizard the engine overheating alarm went off. Anchored off Newlyn I dived under and found a sea annamae or similar had planted itself in the cooling water seacock. Also a mussel farm on the keel, literally kilos of mussels that luckily came off in big slabs with a scraper. Needless to say the hull was badly fouled. I left her for 6 weeks or so in Menai Strait and when she was lifted the hull was clean. The change of water had made all the difference. Now I have a mooring on the west coast of Scotland. Fouling has not been an issue at all in the cooler water there. I suspect agricultural runoff in the Dart makes it fertile water, but thats just speculation.

We have a saildrive and that gets tiny mussels in it. They seem to get detached when the engine is running, the water filter has a clear top so we can see them. We regularly run the engine and empty the filter even if we are not going anywhere.

When ashore we ream out the saildrive water intake and back flush it with a hose to get rid of as much as possible.