Coppercoat anti-fouling

[slavkod]

Dear all,

I am thinking to apply Coppercoat on my sailing vessel. Current anti fouling is Hempel. I am not shure if all is as written in instructions and would like to hear from one who have done it on his boat. Are results as good as they promise?

Thank you,

Slavko

 

[vyv_cox]

I have done it and it's very hard work. I gave up after finishing the keel.

You have to remove all traces of existing antifouling. This really needs slurry or grit blasting. When it comes to applying the Coppercoat the temperature needs to be warm but not hot. The resin cures quite quickly so you need to work fast. You need to stir almost continuously to prevent the copper from falling out of suspension.

In service: it looks horrible. The colour when in the water is a yukky dark green, not at all attractive. You may not mind this but I do. On my iron keel I must say it has worked very well, virtually no fouling in seven or so years. The coating is now quite brittle and the keel is beginning to rust beneath it, forcing some off. I patched up a few places last winter and that seems to have worked OK.

If you can put up with the appearance I think it is a good product. However, I would never apply it myself again, prefer to pay someone else to do it. I have seen it sprayed on, making a good thick layer that was very smooth. That would be my preference but it needs special equipment and lots of experience.

 

[CPD]

If one were to add large quantities of copper powder to standard anti-fouling paints, wouldnt that do the same thingas coppercoat ??. I know where vast quantities of copper powder can be sought .

 

[scarlett]

I have had Coppercoat on for five seasons in the Med and it is still working but this year I will have to give it a burnish as I got a few barnacles in 2006.

It came off the keel because of rust underneath. I had some Coppercoat powder. Mixed it with an International VC antifouling product and it has been good but I will not know for a few years whether it is the powder or the VC that is doing the business.

I second the opinion about the work involved. It took three weeks, two and a half of them prep, two days to put it on.

 

[vyv_cox]

When I patched up the rusty areas of my keel I mixed copper powder left over from the original job with West Marine epoxy, which I also owned and was near its sell-by date. Seems to have worked well but will find out for definite at haul-out in May.

Not sure about adding it to antifouling paint, I think you might lose adhesion. Got to be worth a try if you have access to the copper.

 

[macd]

I've put the stuff on two hulls. It is damned hard work, especially on a 40-footer, but the final result is pretty much as the manufacturer claims. I couldn't give a stuff what colour the boat is below the waterline, but if you want it to look prettier it's simple enough to paint on a conventional boot line.
The most straightforward method of removing old antifoul is a tungsten-bladed scraper, about £10 from B&Q. Sometimes the old stuff almost falls off, sometimes it's a bit of a battle. For the harder antifoul, antifoul remover helps. You can buy this, or make your own from caustic soda and wallpaper paste (there are several old threads about this). If slurry-blasting is available nearby, then you'll certainly be glad of the help. Getting down to the gelcoat is by far the biggest part of the whole job.
You'll also need an orbital sander and plenty of discs to get off the most stubborn stuff and to key the gelcoat.
I'd suggest you talk to the Coppercoat people, Aquarius Marine Coatings, about the best primer to use. It can be quite critical. And like all surface coatings, preparation is everything.
Providing conditions are right, the actual application of the Coppercoat is no big deal but, as vyv points out, you do need to keep agitating the mix to stop the copper falling to the bottom.
I know of one bloke who mixed copper power with household emulsion. He said it worked OK. Not sure mixing copper and West epoxy would work well, though. Coppercoat uses a water-miscible epoxy, which means it erodes slightly, allowing the copper to 'activate'. I doubt West would allow this.
One word of caution: I gather there's another brand of copper-based long-term antifouling which the makers have claimed can be applied over old antifoul. A friend applied this two years ago and half of it has fallen off. Granted, that's just a sample of one.
Incidentally have no connection with Coppercoat other than as a paying customer.

 

[steveallan]

Applied it to my boat because it was new so only prep required was sanding the gelcoat to get a good key for two coats of epoxy primer plus thee to four coats of coppercoat. Just kept going until it ran out. Do not regret doing it but it has been totally useless in stopping fouling where I keep the boat (Orwell).

 

[vyv_cox]

<<Not sure mixing copper and West epoxy would work well, though. Coppercoat uses a water-miscible epoxy, which means it erodes slightly, allowing the copper to 'activate'. I doubt West would allow this.>>

I only did it because I had the West with me and it wouldn't have lasted too much longer, so was scrap anyway. The copper loading level was very high, not possible to brush it on but it went on with a scraper well enough. It has been on for a year now and appears to have worked well so far as underwater inspection is concerned. Haul out will tell all.

 

[snowleopard]

I too applied it from new. For the most part it has worked well but with some reservations:

Several patches have peeled where the topcoat detatched from the undercoat or the undercoat from the hull

It was as much use as spreading marmite on the hull in the caribbean.

In my current mud berth I get lots of barnacle growth where the hull rests on the mud.

My advice is: yes, it's a good idea if you are afloat 24 hours a day in northern European waters. Have it applied professionally with a written guarantee so you have some comeback if it peels.

 

[slavkod]

Thank you all.
It is not as aesy as I tought in first place. My boat is 2003 and have Hempel anti fouling on from begining. I have planned only 5 days for antifouling work and there is no local expertise on Coppercoat.

br,

Slavko