Hurricane
Well-known member
JW is a young boat so it may surprise you that this year we opted for Coppercoat rather than traditional antifoul. Last year, we discovered that a previous antifoul paint had failed leaving a sticky coating difficult to remove so I spent the season researching a solution. In order to get the hull back to a good smooth finish, all the old antifoul had to be removed so I spent last season researching all the options. I’ve always considered Coppercoat as an alternative but ruled it out because it requires all previous antifoul to be removed. So, after long research, I decided that we should strip the old antifoul and apply Coppercoat.
There are several options to removing the old antifoul. Hand removal was out of the question – too expensive and difficult to remove in tight spaces. I chose slurry blasting rather than dry sand blasting. I’ve seen some boats dry blasted and the result is good but IMO the process is too aggressive. I was told by several people that the wet slurry processes used will remove all the antifoul without damaging the underlying gelcoat. This, indeed, was the case. For example I inspected a boat that had been dry sand blasted and there was a distinct ridge at the waterline where the antifoul meets the exposed gelcoat. The ridge was due to the sand blasting process removing a small layer of gelcoat as well as the antifoul. This ridge is not evident when slurry processes are used. In our case, I found that the removal process using the “slurry blasting” technique was just as promised. Amazingly it removes just the paint – nothing else. Even around plastic fittings, the paint is removed without damaging the plastic. I have also seen some excellent cases of dry sandblasting but I just didn’t want to take the risk.
So, here are some pics showing the removal process.
To save time and money, four boats were treated at the same time.
Two sailboats and two mobos.
The sailboat on the right in this pic was to have its antifoul removed after JW.
This pic shows the actual removal.
In comparison with other methods, it is a comparatively clean process.
All the slurry is contained within the enclosed space.
Dry sand processes tend to leak out and cover the whole boatyard.
The slurry does stick to the hull in places but once it has dried it can be simply brushed off with a hand brush.
The process removes the old antifoul paint from the most difficult of places. This pic shows dust in the thruster tunnel – no damage to the hull at all.
Even the metalwork can be initially cleaned up using the process.
Note the blasting nozzle on the floor in this pic.
This pic shows just how gentle the process is. Once brushed off, the gelcoat and all the mouldings are intact. Imagine trying to do that manually with sandpaper?
When finished, the site is left for the slurry to dry. The boat is then brushed with a soft hand brush and the waste swept up.
Props ready for polishing.
Then, after a bit of final preparation and masking, the application of the Coppercoat itself. Coppercoat is usually applied in 4 coats. All the coats HAVE to be applied immediately after each other. You can’t do a bit and leave it for a day. So JW was split into to halves. The port side was done in one day and the starboard the following day. Metal parts were primed with a special Coppercoat supplied primer. We had slightly over ordered the Coppercoat so an extra coat was added to the waterline area.
Four other boats were being treated at the same time so it was convenient to paint patches 3 days earlier and then lift the boat onto dry and cured patches. Note that the blocks on the bottom were moved onto finished patches at the same time.
Once applied, the Coppercoat was left for several days to cure.
In the meantime, we masked and repainted the waterline.
And refitted the thrusters and trim tabs etc.
And did the props – DON’T ASK – It’s an experiment!!!
And here’s the final result – just prior to relaunch.
Hope this post is interesting.
I also did my research on Coppercoat in the Med.
Every case that I looked into was a success.
Let’s hope this one is as well.
There are several options to removing the old antifoul. Hand removal was out of the question – too expensive and difficult to remove in tight spaces. I chose slurry blasting rather than dry sand blasting. I’ve seen some boats dry blasted and the result is good but IMO the process is too aggressive. I was told by several people that the wet slurry processes used will remove all the antifoul without damaging the underlying gelcoat. This, indeed, was the case. For example I inspected a boat that had been dry sand blasted and there was a distinct ridge at the waterline where the antifoul meets the exposed gelcoat. The ridge was due to the sand blasting process removing a small layer of gelcoat as well as the antifoul. This ridge is not evident when slurry processes are used. In our case, I found that the removal process using the “slurry blasting” technique was just as promised. Amazingly it removes just the paint – nothing else. Even around plastic fittings, the paint is removed without damaging the plastic. I have also seen some excellent cases of dry sandblasting but I just didn’t want to take the risk.
So, here are some pics showing the removal process.
To save time and money, four boats were treated at the same time.
Two sailboats and two mobos.
The sailboat on the right in this pic was to have its antifoul removed after JW.
This pic shows the actual removal.
In comparison with other methods, it is a comparatively clean process.
All the slurry is contained within the enclosed space.
Dry sand processes tend to leak out and cover the whole boatyard.
The slurry does stick to the hull in places but once it has dried it can be simply brushed off with a hand brush.
The process removes the old antifoul paint from the most difficult of places. This pic shows dust in the thruster tunnel – no damage to the hull at all.
Even the metalwork can be initially cleaned up using the process.
Note the blasting nozzle on the floor in this pic.
This pic shows just how gentle the process is. Once brushed off, the gelcoat and all the mouldings are intact. Imagine trying to do that manually with sandpaper?
When finished, the site is left for the slurry to dry. The boat is then brushed with a soft hand brush and the waste swept up.
Props ready for polishing.
Then, after a bit of final preparation and masking, the application of the Coppercoat itself. Coppercoat is usually applied in 4 coats. All the coats HAVE to be applied immediately after each other. You can’t do a bit and leave it for a day. So JW was split into to halves. The port side was done in one day and the starboard the following day. Metal parts were primed with a special Coppercoat supplied primer. We had slightly over ordered the Coppercoat so an extra coat was added to the waterline area.
Four other boats were being treated at the same time so it was convenient to paint patches 3 days earlier and then lift the boat onto dry and cured patches. Note that the blocks on the bottom were moved onto finished patches at the same time.
Once applied, the Coppercoat was left for several days to cure.
In the meantime, we masked and repainted the waterline.
And refitted the thrusters and trim tabs etc.
And did the props – DON’T ASK – It’s an experiment!!!
And here’s the final result – just prior to relaunch.
Hope this post is interesting.
I also did my research on Coppercoat in the Med.
Every case that I looked into was a success.
Let’s hope this one is as well.
