Copper coated boats in Milford Haven

[bitbaltic]

Looking at winter maintenance coming up for my Hanse 301 (30ft). She only needs basic maintenance this year, but for the last few years I have been wondering whether it’s false economy to keep stabilising 18 years of antifoul or whether the time is coming to have her stripped back (dry ice or whatever) re-epoxied, then copper coated.

Has anybody got a copper coated boat in Milford with a few year’s worth of experience to tell if it’s a viable solution? And ideally some sort of price comparison.

Cheers

 

[oldmanofthehills]

I cant tell you about Milford, but up in the muddier Bristol channel at Uphill it certainly helps. You still get small barnacles but you don't get weed. The barnacles brush off nicely or you can use a pressure hose. All of which much less messy than new antifoul. If you are racing then a clean down every year might not be sufficient though drying out midseason not that onerous. It is only meant to last 10 years but as we have only got to 8 years I cant judge. We only did it as we needed re-epoxying and additional cost was small but I think if existing gel coat is clean and good to bond too its less work.

 

[bitbaltic]

I cant tell you about Milford, but up in the muddier Bristol channel at Uphill it certainly helps. You still get small barnacles but you don't get weed. The barnacles brush off nicely or you can use a pressure hose. All of which much less messy than new antifoul. If you are racing then a clean down every year might not be sufficient though drying out midseason not that onerous. It is only meant to last 10 years but as we have only got to 8 years I cant judge. We only did it as we needed re-epoxying and additional cost was small but I think if existing gel coat is clean and good to bond too its less work.

Thanks, very helpful. You can’t remember costs can you?

I think if I have her blasted back it will bring off the epoxy coat, which was described as soft by the surveyor seven years ago. So would expect both jobs.

Is a re-epoxy so expensive that copper coat is cheap by comparison? I would have expected the other way around.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Getting the boat yard to do the entire gel coat with epoxy then adding notionally 2 further layers of Coppercoat epoxy gel coat mix cost about £5k in 2008 but the previous owner had started on the job and mucked it up and our buying price included for stripping off what he had left of the gelcoat. Copper coat is simply a water based epoxy with fine copper filings in it.

It is quite possible to do gelcoat epoxy yourself. You tell supplier how big your boat is and they give you enough to cover your boat to required thickness. Then you apply it with a roller let it nearly set and apply another coat till all is gone. The trouble is that setting time varies from about 18 hours to 48 depending on temperature so hard to fit in with working life. Our boatyard guessed about 7 coats for the thicker epoxy. Then of course 2 for the copper coat epoxy. The weight of copper is significant and costly but the major cost was still labour which makes the Coppercoat about £2k or perhaps a bit less.

I have touched up/reapplied the copper coat when I had to repair rudder after mooring chain abrasion. Easy peasy.

 

[Bilge Rat]

We've kept our boat in Milford marina since 2010. She had Coppercoat applied about 10 years ago by the previous owner at the same time as an osmosis treatment. We had her lifted yesterday and I took this photo before pressure washing the hull. She was last out of the water for a lift and hold in March when all she had was a quick pressure wash
.

 

[Big Andy]

Hello Huw, hope all is well with you and the family. I can't answer all your questions but my experience is since it was applied on the east coast, four months there then 10 months in Milford. The only build up was a coating of slime that came away with a quick jet wash followed by a light rub over with abrasive paper to freshen the coating. I was under the hull last week now in Maderia six months later and apart from the slime which I can wipe off with my hand the only barnacles are on the prop and in the bowthruster tube which are not coated. As to costs it was all applied before i bought the boat so can't help you.

 

[Pete735]

I know your post was some time ago, so not sure if it helps, but my boat (similar size to yours) is at Rudders and my coppercoat was applied 3 years ago. She came out in Sept. looking pretty much like photo Bilge Rat has posted. There was a slime on it that pressure washed off easily which is exactly what I have found in previous years.

I did the complete job myself, but did get a quote from Dale Sailing that was over £6,000, but to be fair to them that involved removing the mast and doing the job inside, whereas I did it outside on a suitable day.
Cost including an epoxy barrier coat on the cast iron keels (all supplied by Coppercoat) was just less than £1,000.

Coppercoat are very helpful over the phone by the way and worth talking to.

Coppercoat have a 10% off offer for January (boat show special I think they call it) if you are interested. I might (I did say might!) be able to come up with a name local to the area who has done it in the past for others if you are interested.

Unrelated to that I also went the Sailtrack route last year and have been delighted with it.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

I know your post was some time ago, so not sure if it helps, but my boat (similar size to yours) is at Rudders and my coppercoat was applied 3 years ago. She came out in Sept. looking pretty much like photo Bilge Rat has posted. There was a slime on it that pressure washed off easily which is exactly what I have found in previous years.

I did the complete job myself, but did get a quote from Dale Sailing that was over £6,000, but to be fair to them that involved removing the mast and doing the job inside, whereas I did it outside on a suitable day.
Cost including an epoxy barrier coat on the cast iron keels (all supplied by Coppercoat) was just less than £1,000.

Coppercoat are very helpful over the phone by the way and worth talking to.

Coppercoat have a 10% off offer for January (boat show special I think they call it) if you are interested. I might (I did say might!) be able to come up with a name local to the area who has done it in the past for others if you are interested.

Unrelated to that I also went the Sailtrack route last year and have been delighted with it.

Advance Marine redid my gel coat on a 31 footer (six or seven layers of epoxy) plus doing the Coppercoat (about 2 layers of copper laden epoxy) for about £5000 in 2011. I have since redone bits where damage to rudder and skeg required the copercoat to be removed to get at things. Coppercoat is fast drying and just applied with a roller until none left. A lot easier than gelcoat replacement where the resin is different and slower to dry between coats

 

[bitbaltic]

I know your post was some time ago, so not sure if it helps, but my boat (similar size to yours) is at Rudders and my coppercoat was applied 3 years ago. She came out in Sept. looking pretty much like photo Bilge Rat has posted. There was a slime on it that pressure washed off easily which is exactly what I have found in previous years.

I did the complete job myself, but did get a quote from Dale Sailing that was over £6,000, but to be fair to them that involved removing the mast and doing the job inside, whereas I did it outside on a suitable day.
Cost including an epoxy barrier coat on the cast iron keels (all supplied by Coppercoat) was just less than £1,000.

Coppercoat are very helpful over the phone by the way and worth talking to.

Coppercoat have a 10% off offer for January (boat show special I think they call it) if you are interested. I might (I did say might!) be able to come up with a name local to the area who has done it in the past for others if you are interested.

Unrelated to that I also went the Sailtrack route last year and have been delighted with it.

Thanks that’s really helpful. It’s a bit out of the question this year (part budget as we are moving house- to Pembrokeshire, to follow the boat! And live the dream) and time.

Glad you are happy with the Tidesmarine sailtrack, can only apologise that I never had time to get properly back to you about it. Can’t praise it high enough, makes every sail a pleasure. A good result.

Cheeers
H

 

[Birdseye]

cost me £3500 in Cardiff in 2009 for a 35 footer. Excellent result given that I dont like scraping and messing about underneath. I would do it again on a new boat

Price included epoxy undercoats

 

[Euphonyx]

cost me £3500 in Cardiff in 2009 for a 35 footer. Excellent result given that I dont like scraping and messing about underneath. I would do it again on a new boat

Price included epoxy undercoats

Did you re do it?? Mine is 5 seasons old. Wondering how much I can squeeze out of it!

 

[Birdseye]

Still going strong except the bit that is direct onto the lead keel. getting anything to stick to lead is a PITA and coppercoat is no exception. Preparation is the answer - wire brush the lead to bare and immediatly epoxy so the epoxy goes onto shiny abraded lead surface. Maybe even a single layer of glass. Then coppercoat that. But of course the problem is that if you dry out against a wall in say Padstow or Falmouth, you break the epoxy, let water in and away you go again.

On the GRP hull its going fine and I would expect it to work for another 5 years yet.