Best antifouling this year?

[Daydream believer]

That’s an interesting approach on your boat. You can presumably scrub most of the hull from the deck, in the water, with the right brush if needed, but not the fin. And part of our rationale for copper coat was the application, or lack of it. We can afford a yard to do our boat once in 10 years, but every year would sting a bit. And though I have a few years advantage on you, I don’t enjoy being under our boat in the cold and dirt with any spillage dripping on me.

Your craft is totally different to mine. With 1.8 draft I can walk under it with my back bent ( or could before my injury)There is no spillage as such from a vertical fin although some dust from sanding. But it is only 3.5 M2 so not excessive
I still have it out on a full season for a mid season jet wash as coppercoat does not work. The shogun can be seen to perform considerably better, but I sometimes put another coat on then. It takes about 20-30 minutes to to the fin as I do not need to abrade it mid season. Just get the yard to jet wash that bit first so it starts to dry first. As soon as they are done, on goes the paint. Normally get the yard to do it just before the midday break so it comes out, is washed & I get some time to apply the paint before it goes back in.

 

[Ceirwan]

Never used to be so, but what a fortunate regular extra revenue stream for all the yards doing mid season lifts and scrubs.

Are you suggesting a conspiracy here?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Your craft is totally different to mine. With 1.8 draft I can walk under it with my back bent ( or could before my injury)There is no spillage as such from a vertical fin although some dust from sanding. But it is only 3.5 M2 so not excessive
I still have it out on a full season for a mid season jet wash as coppercoat does not work. The shogun can be seen to perform considerably better, but I sometimes put another coat on then. It takes about 20-30 minutes to to the fin as I do not need to abrade it mid season. Just get the yard to jet wash that bit first so it starts to dry first. As soon as they are done, on goes the paint. Normally get the yard to do it just before the midday break so it comes out, is washed & I get some time to apply the paint before it goes back in.

All sounds good. Our copper coat would grow a considerable beard if I didn’t keep at it, but I do that whilst OH and friends swim, or sometimes, best, in fact, in water a bit more than knee deep on a sandy beach. I doitonce a fortnight at least by peakgrowing season, ie now. Monday afternoon in Newtown was the most recent. If we used conventional antifoul, we’d just scrub it all off in 5 months, that’s what happens on the XOD. But then we crane her out and put her in a barn for the winter, and spray on a new coat in April. Not so much of an issue on a 20ft boat. Clearly the performance of both your antifoul types is very similar.

 

[Sailing steve]

Are you suggesting a conspiracy here?

Of course not - wouldn't even dream of such a thing.

There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why commercial shipping can continue to enjoy the advantages of top performing weapons grade biocides yet just a few miles down the river us poor leisure sailors have to struggle with ineffectual watered down rubbish.

 

[Mark-1]

I've also given up on antifoul. I scrub a couple of times a season which I was having to do anyway.

A scrub is a fraction of the time and effort of scrub+antifouling so 4 scrubs is probably the same time as one thorough antifoul session for me. Plus I don't have the heartbreak of seeing £150 worth of antifoul washed off in mid May.

I wouldn't call this strategy a success but it doesn't seem worse than the alternative.

I'd be interested in knowing if barnacles and mussels attach over winter.

 

[Ceirwan]

Of course not - wouldn't even dream of such a thing.

There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why commercial shipping can continue to enjoy the advantages of top performing weapons grade biocides yet just a few miles down the river us poor leisure sailors have to struggle with ineffectual watered down rubbish.

Do you have anything to back up that claim?

All anti-fouling paint, commercial or leisure, since 2008, has to comply with the AFS. or "International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships", your local boat yard isn't sending bribes to the IMO to bring new international conventions into force just to so they can get a few quid out of you.
And trust me, its costly for commercial shipping as well, at least you don't need an international anti-fouling system certificate & survey, or to carry a signed declaration along with evidence as to the products used, something commercial vessels do have to do.

And there's nothing stopping you going online and buying commercial anti-fouling products if you're really sure that they contain nasties that the proletariat masses aren't allowed.

 

[winch2]

Just another reason why we opted for a small centre board pocket cruiser wth copper...We have a lovely sandy beach in our harbour and give her a good once over twice a season.. makes for a fun afternoon.

 

[Sailing steve]

Do you have anything to back up that claim?

And there's nothing stopping you going online and buying commercial anti-fouling products if you're really sure that they contain nasties that the proletariat masses aren't allowed.

Yes I do and yes there is.

Ignore the overpriced rubbish in yacht chandlers and instead try going online to any Trade paint supplier and ask if you can buy a well regarded antifoul such as Jotun 30 or 60 or 90 and they'll straight away tell you it's for professional use only and refuse to supply it.

From SML paints - Please note that for Health & Safety reasons we can only supply this product to commercial operators & shipyards for use by trained/professional applicators on commercial/working vessels.

Rawlins paints - Professional use only

Paints 4 Trade - For professional use only.
To purchase and for further information on this product, please call our sales team on 0845 XXX XXXX

That's just three - I've found several more examples where you can't buy any decent antifoul anymore

 

[Biggles Wader]

Yes I do and yes there is.

Ignore the overpriced rubbish in yacht chandlers and instead try going online to any Trade paint supplier and ask if you can buy a well regarded antifoul such as Jotun 30 or 60 or 90 and they'll straight away tell you it's for professional use only and refuse to supply it.

From SML paints - Please note that for Health & Safety reasons we can only supply this product to commercial operators & shipyards for use by trained/professional applicators on commercial/working vessels.

Rawlins paints - Professional use only

Paints 4 Trade - For professional use only.
To purchase and for further information on this product, please call our sales team on 0845 XXX XXXX

That's just three - I've found several more examples where you can't buy any decent antifoul anymore

Correct. Although these products can be obtained through unofficial sources and I don't believe it is illegal to do so. Local fishing boats often use this stuff and there can be surplus paint available at decent prices. Much cheaper than yacht antifoul especially if a couple of boat owners club together. They tend to be eroding though so the boat needs to be used regularly for them to work.

 

[Graham376]

Ignore the overpriced rubbish in yacht chandlers and instead try going online to any Trade paint supplier and ask if you can buy a well regarded antifoul such as Jotun 30 or 60 or 90 and they'll straight away tell you it's for professional use only and refuse to supply it.

Strange situation as that only seems to apply in the UK. I've been buying, using and reselling Seaforce for many years, direct from Jotun Iberia who tell me no such restrictions apply although they're supplied from UK since Spanish factory closed.

 

[Sailing steve]

Strange situation as that only seems to apply in the UK. I've been buying, using and reselling Seaforce for many years, direct from Jotun Iberia who tell me no such restrictions apply although they're supplied from UK since Spanish factory closed.
from the UK leisure market.

It wouldn't be a situation in the UK if our government hadn't banned many of the more and most effective biocides and TBT replacements in antifoul formulation from the UK leisure market that are still readily available throughout Europe.

Whether that's as a result of some sanctimonious, holier-than-thou environmental points scoring against our continental neighbours or a rapacious attempt at screwing a few more quid out of the sailing community by compelling us to buy and apply antifoul more often and fork out hundreds more every time a lift and scrub is needed is anybody's guess.

Or maybe it's an official blind eye being turned to various utility companies enriching our coastal waters with raw sewage so they can enhance their bottom line rather than spend any money on treating the stuff properly despite the environmental damage that obnoxious practice causes.

Wherever, anyone - or maybe all of these policies are ruinous and represent an absolute game changer from twenty or more years ago when you could get a full seasons protection and performance from any mid priced antifoul to now when even the most expensive product you can get your mitts on fails to do what it says on the tin after just a few short weeks.

 

[Daydream believer]

from twenty or more years ago when you could get a full seasons protection and performance from any mid priced antifoul

That would be when you lived in a shoe box on the motorway would it?

 

[Mudisox]

Of course not - wouldn't even dream of such a thing.

There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why commercial shipping can continue to enjoy the advantages of top performing weapons grade biocides yet just a few miles down the river us poor leisure sailors have to struggle with ineffectual watered down rubbish.

Commercial shipping has better[old type] biocides but they do keep on the move in water that is not beneficial to slime and barnacles. They also go at a reasonable speed through the water.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Commercial shipping has better[old type] biocides but they do keep on the move in water that is not beneficial to slime and barnacles. They also go at a reasonable speed through the water.

It's not easy to tailor an antifoul for the kind of conditions that us play sailors experience. Pity that a commercial drive through boat bottom scrubber is unlikely to cater for the many types of bottoms .

I'm resigned to hard antifoul and regular "Scrubbis " sessions. It works well for me during the last three years. The cost of the Scrubbis is a little more that a premium tin of antifoul. Perhaps Hempel's Silic One may prove to be the long term answer .

 

[Sailing steve]

It's not easy to tailor an antifoul for the kind of conditions that us play sailors experience.

It's an absolute doddle.

Antifoul manufacturers had been producing really effective products for the leisure market for decades 'till government meddling put a stop to it.

 

[Ceirwan]

Yes I do and yes there is.

Ignore the overpriced rubbish in yacht chandlers and instead try going online to any Trade paint supplier and ask if you can buy a well regarded antifoul such as Jotun 30 or 60 or 90 and they'll straight away tell you it's for professional use only and refuse to supply it.

From SML paints - Please note that for Health & Safety reasons we can only supply this product to commercial operators & shipyards for use by trained/professional applicators on commercial/working vessels.

Rawlins paints - Professional use only

Paints 4 Trade - For professional use only.
To purchase and for further information on this product, please call our sales team on 0845 XXX XXXX

That's just three - I've found several more examples where you can't buy any decent antifoul anymore

Trust me, you can buy all of those online, simply by ticking a box to say its going to be for professional use, over the counter may be more tricky, but I normally purchase online anyway, so no biggie for me.

And I think its more down to the chemicals contained that make them professional use only, rather than a cynical attempt to cost us all more money, now you could call that nanny state and I'd agree, but I don't think there's a conspiracy here. Plus, there's nothing stopping you getting a professional to apply it to your yacht, AFAIK its just a restriction on the purchase, it can be used on a leisure craft if applied professionally.

I've been using Hard Top HB for deck paint, which is a 'professional only' product, but SML will still sell you if it if you tick the disclaimer box. Far cheaper than the equivalent AWLGRIP or other yacht aimed offering & for a non skid deck, just as good if not better.

So if you think its a better anti-fouling then buy it & use it.

 

[Sailing steve]

Trust me, you can buy all of those online, simply by ticking a box to say its going to be for professional use, over the counter may be more tricky, but I normally purchase online anyway, so no biggie for me.



So if you think its a better anti-fouling then buy it & use it.

I'd love to find an effective antifoul - because if I can't then it's game over with me and boats 'cos I'm just not prepared to throw a stack of time and money every year banging my head against the frustration of fighting relentless slime and weeds building up just a few weeks after launch.

I've tried 5 different off the chandler shelf and mail order products and they've all been utter crap, and I've also been refused sales of "professional only" products, so it's not like I haven't tried.

Soooo - any hints of whom to try for something better?

 

[Ceirwan]

I'd love to find an effective antifoul - because if I can't then it's game over with me and boats 'cos I'm just not prepared to throw a stack of time and money every year banging my head against the frustration of fighting relentless slime and weeds building up just a few weeks after launch.

I've tried 5 different off the chandler shelf and mail order products and they've all been utter crap, and I've also been refused sales of "professional only" products, so it's not like I haven't tried.

Soooo - any hints of whom to try for something better?

I can't comment on which anti-fouling is most effective, as I have copper coat on my current boat & the last boat was in a mud berth, so anything would work.

But if for example you wanted to buy the Jotun Sea Force 30, you can purchase through Industrial Coatings ltd:

Jotun Seaforce 30M

(no connection, its one I googled) I was able to get through to the point of paying for it, so I think that one is a good shout. They sell it in 5L or 20L.
CH Marine I was able to make it through to the checkout.

SML are another good option for buying professional products, you just have to tick the box to say that you understand its for pro use only, but it doesn't look like they keep the Sea Force in stock.

If they do ask if it will be done professionally or you are a professional than say yes, most places don't care as long as they can say they've done their due diligence.

 

[Graham376]

But if for example you wanted to buy the Jotun Sea Force 30, you can purchase through Industrial Coatings ltd:

Jotun Seaforce 30M

This is Seaforce 30M after 11 months in the water.

 

[PaulGS]

This is Seaforce 30M after 11 months in the water.

Wow!