Coppercoat

[geem]

It's identical enough in content to what I got 18 months ago that I'd be 95% certain I know which yard. I think the "4 week package" covers haul out and haul in, although storage ashore for the proposed duration of the operation seemed to be covered by a separate 4-figure line item. I say "proposed" because a friend had his boat done there and their project management skills seemed to be out of the 1970s British workers' playbook with things overrunning by many months.

My quotes (last year) were in the (roughly) £9-10k inc range for a 12m boat for a complete package of lifting, mast take down, stripping old antifoul, re-epoxying and full anti-osmosis if necessary, coppercoating and relaunch and re-rigging. Check quotes carefully because they may not all be for the same thing, specifically number of coats (epoxy/coppercoat) and method of application. The coppercoating itself only seems to be about a quarter of the overall cost.

The quote I was most happy with content-wise (ie professionally put together, clear line items, options to "worst-case" and 6/7 sprayed coats of coppercoat) was from Deacons who were highly recommended by coppercoat and who have a manager who, in my previous experience, runs the yard professionally (and are conveniently located next to bursledon train station). It was also the most expensive but I trusted it more.

After weighing up a lot of factors I decided to stick to conventional antifouling for now

That is a crazy price! I can see why you stayed with conventional antifouling. As Vic has suggested, its not technically hard to do. You could have the hull and keel sandblasted and the rest is easily within normal DIY expertise. We did ours a year ago and its great. I think a good time to convert over to CC is when your conventional antifouling needs removing due to a rough flaky build up. It easier to get is blasted. At this point you are no worse off going for CC as you would likely have had it blasted anyway. The epoxy barrier layer is a good investment whether you go for CC or not so the only real on cost at that point is the cost of the CC. Over here in the Caribbean antifouling paint is super expensive. A couple of layers of good antifouling paint is only a little cheaper than an application of five coats of CC. Its a no brainer here

 

[Hydrozoan]

That is a crazy price! I can see why you stayed with conventional antifouling. As Vic has suggested, its not technically hard to do. You could have the hull and keel sandblasted and the rest is easily within normal DIY expertise. We did ours a year ago and its great. I think a good time to convert over to CC is when your conventional antifouling needs removing due to a rough flaky build up. It easier to get is blasted. At this point you are no worse off going for CC as you would likely have had it blasted anyway. The epoxy barrier layer is a good investment whether you go for CC or not so the only real on cost at that point is the cost of the CC. Over here in the Caribbean antifouling paint is super expensive. A couple of layers of good antifouling paint is only a little cheaper than an application of five coats of CC. Its a no brainer here

Leaving aside your location, that seems broadly logical to me. We had to have the hull blasted of flaking antifoul (about a decades’ worth) shortly after buying the boat, and as a precaution DIY’d the recommended two thick coats of Blakes Solvent Free Epoxy (no longer marketed, I believe) and the recommended primer before conventional antifoul.

That (ca. 12 years ago) has proved a good decision, and were we making it now I’d think about Coppercoat instead. Having said that, my considerations would be (i) the likely effectiveness of Coppercoat (and not on the basis of an epoxy barrier alone, as to work it must be pervious to a degree) and (ii) ensuring uniform and satisfactory DIY application.

 

[sailaboutvic]

In a couple of weeks I come back on my thread in PBO with a full cost of doing ours , I can assure you it be nothing like it's been quoted here .

 

[Lucy52]

After weighing up a lot of factors I decided to stick to conventional antifouling for now

Yes, that was my thought too, especially as it is already antifouled for the coming year.

I would like copper coat to save on the pain of getting underneath and scraping off. At the moment I am in a half-tide marina and the hull gets plastered in mud so I wonder whether it would be worthwhile to apply it here anyway.

The yacht was epoxied from new so once blasted off it wouldn't be too difficult to make good and DIY the copper coat.
The Copper Coat rep at SIBS said that most people do it themselves anyway.

 

[Hot Property]

I think people are Miss led that any Antifouling will stop all fouling .
The great thing with CC is in warm waters a swim and a light rub to keep all the weed away .
But as you say if you leave the weed on barnies will take hold .

You can do that with Silic One as well...

 

[photodog]

Recent quote for 31 ft boat.

Grit blast hull £600
Grit blast keel £150
Fill and fair and four coats of epoxy on keel £750
Move boat from blast bay to shed £275
Scrape waterline, sand hull and minor fill and fair £45 per hour
Mask and apply three coats of epoxy £1000 (optional)
Apply four coats of coppercoat £1900
Lift and block patches £275
All ex VAT
Around £6000 inc VAT.

There was something about a "four week package" at £500 which I didn't understand and have't followed up.

I dare say other yards would come out cheaper but would it be apples v's oranges.

Highly rated South coast yard.

It is a BOAT, but at that price I would have to think quite hard. Now if you could guarantee there would be no fouling for say ten years, then that might be different.

I understand that as you get older, getting under the hull and doing it yourself becomes more difficult if not impossible and you would have to weigh up paying the yard every year vs coppercoat.

That’s almost the exact same costing we had for our 31 footer in 2017... at a good east coast yard... work would have been done indoors.

Frankly I’m dubious about the economics at that price... I would need 7-8 years to break even v conventional... and that’s with the yard doing the work.

I looked at it around 2012 and it was significantly cheaper...

 

[sailaboutvic]

There cost of copper coat Quoted are staggering surely the every day boater don't pay this type of money to get his boat CC .
At these rate it wouldn't justify having a boat CC .

 

[Achosenman]

There cost of copper coat Quoted are staggering surely the every day boater don't pay this type of money to get his boat CC .
At these rate it wouldn't justify having a boat CC .

I think from memory I paid £5800. I was quoted £8000 by my home berth and they wanted 3 months including unstepping the mast. The boat didn't need prep work either. The boat was in Dartmouth on the hard, I wasn't. I looked at all the options and nothing worked. They know when they have you over a barrel and it hurts.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

I had my gel coat replaced (5 layers epoxy), with the previous owners partly badly removed gel coat cleaned off a bit first, plus Coppercoat, about two layers epoxy all for under £5,000 in 2011. This is for a 31footer. Another rival quote was £6000 but I would have had to sail it with stripped gelcoat and all to a different port. So obviously the Gelcoat part of the job was less than £5000 perhaps as much as half. The yard had not done it before and didn't want to warranty the work but when all is said and done it is heavily metalised paint and I could see if it was painted on correctly so I didn't mind

I know prices will have gone up but £19,000 is silly. Maybe they didn't want the work

 

[RichardS]

I had my gel coat replaced (5 layers epoxy), with the previous owners partly badly removed gel coat cleaned off a bit first, plus Coppercoat, about two layers epoxy all for under £5,000 in 2011. This is for a 31footer. Another rival quote was £6000 but I would have had to sail it with stripped gelcoat and all to a different port. So obviously the Gelcoat part of the job was less than £5000 perhaps as much as half. The yard had not done it before and didn't want to warranty the work but when all is said and done it is heavily metalised paint and I could see if it was painted on correctly so I didn't mind

I know prices will have gone up but £19,000 is silly. Maybe they didn't want the work

At £19,000 I'd just buy another boat when the old one needs antifouling. :encouragement:

Richard

 

[Deleted member 478]

At £19,000 I'd just buy another boat when the old one needs antifouling. :encouragement:

Richard

£19,000 for your boat, including your CopperCoat disaster! Yes, I'll buy it for that. How would you prefer payment?