Cost of getting anti-foul applied professionally?

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fredrussell

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Being halfway through doing the anti fouling on my (31ft) boat, I’m wondering what others are currently paying to have the job done by ‘the yard’? I don’t mean blasting back to bare hull, just the usual jet wash, quick scrape/sand and then a.f. paint applied.

If you could give boat length and approx cost that would be great. I’m (relatively) cash rich and time poor at the mo and every year I find my patience waning a little more during this task.
 
fredrussell said:
Being halfway through doing the anti fouling on my (31ft) boat, I’m wondering what others are currently paying to have the job done by ‘the yard’? I don’t mean blasting back to bare hull, just the usual jet wash, quick scrape/sand and then a.f. paint applied.

If you could give boat length and approx cost that would be great. I’m (relatively) cash rich and time poor at the mo and every year I find my patience waning a little more during this task.
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26 feet, £75 if I supply the paint. That's with the old stuff pressure-washed off at lift out.
 
Moored off Itchenor a forty footer goes on the piles.Waited until tide had gone out come Haines man with power washer ,freshwater power wash,retired and later appeared two men and the applied one coat of antifoul,boat floated off with the tide.
 
I copper coated last summer. Year one and I've enjoyed not having that horrid job.

At my charge out rates it will become cost neutral next year, after that I'm saving money and a boring job.
 
It’s not my favourite job ?. It’s also a good measure of having friends to help (I evidently don’t have any). It usually takes me a couple of days to apply one coat all over, two coats on the leading edges of the keel and rudder and Trilux on the saildrive and bow thruster. Despite wearing PPE, I always shed a layer of skin from my hands about 2-weeks after applying the stuff.

Commercially, I’ve always considered it the same as chassis welding of a rotten car in the 1970s. A lousy job so the price is pushed to the limits.

Interested to read of people’s experience.
 
So no one has answered the question then. I was looking forward to hearing some scary numbers as several people on Facebook have showed themselves not using PPE. My suggestions that they do so because of the recent suggestion of making antifouling a pro-only application met with derision. They mostly seem new boat owners too. Sad really.
 
OP here. Must admit when I started this thread I was having one of those moments when you wonder why you didn’t get into tiddlywinks instead of sailing all those years ago. Having got the scraping over I now find myself in a more positive mood. Tomorrow I apply the AF and then comes that wonderful moment when you peel the masking tape off. Always a nice moment that.
 
fredrussell said:
OP here. Must admit when I started this thread I was having one of those moments when you wonder why you didn’t get into tiddlywinks instead of sailing all those years ago. Having got the scraping over I now find myself in a more positive mood. Tomorrow I apply the AF and then comes that wonderful moment when you peel the masking tape off. Always a nice moment that.
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At the risk of spoiling everything by actually answering the question:
I have looked at my invoice from May 2019 for antifouling my 29ft bilge-keeler and it comes to 1.5 hours labour at £46 per hour plus materials at £100.34, making £169.34 .VAT to be added, of course, giving a total of £203.21.
(I decided to give up doing my own antifouling when I turned 70.)
 
alan_d said:
At the risk of spoiling everything by actually answering the question:
I have looked at my invoice from May 2019 for antifouling my 29ft bilge-keeler and it comes to 1.5 hours labour at £46 per hour plus materials at £100.34, making £169.34 .VAT to be added, of course, giving a total of £203.21.
(I decided to give up doing my own antifouling when I turned 70.)
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I haven't a bill to hand, but I think my last seventy quid was an hour and half of labour, plus consumables, so pretty similar.

I decided to give up doing my own antifouling when I discovered that paying the yard cost me the same as a return trip by car and ferry to do it myself. It's the second greatest revelation of my life, the greatest being frozen diced onion.
 
When I was in Gosport a local labourer was recommended to me and I paid him £10 an hour to help me with the antifouling.

His presence made the job far more bearable. I think we only did about 3 hours a day over 2 days.

I believe he previously worked in a car body shop - he was much neater with a brush than I am.

LMK if you want his number.
 
Ive a 43 foot Moody it is based in La Coruna Spain just N of Valencia. To lift power wash 2 coats of paint and return to water they are charging 699 euros about £650 very good value. Ive done the boat myself lots of times and I use about 3 or 4 tins normally. Each tin as you will know costs over £100 so it is a good deal. I have had the marina do the job before and they do a good job. I dont mind doing the job myself as you get to carefully check the underside as you go but for that price? and the paint they use is a good quality one. They no doubt get it at cost in bulk. Dont know what the cost would be in the UK but at least double or treble the price.
Maurice
 
I had Capricious antifouled by the marina a couple of times when I kept her in Scotland; driving 8 hours to apply antifouling didn't appeal! I don't remember the cost, but it wasn't silly money .

However! My experience is that boatyards apply the antifouling as thin as they can; their main customer for this service is boats for sale, where a fresh coat of antifouling makes a boat look smarter, but longevity isn't an issue. So, I always specified a number of coats or the amount to be applied.
 
I recall about £200ish for 33', but better ask your yard. I am with Antarctic, it's not worth a full day's drive, burning £100+ fuel and your time.
 
How do you guys get it so cheap? Just a pressure and scrape wash for my 35' boat takes the yard a good two hours. Then there is removing all the growth that doesn't come off via normal means. If you use acid on it to disolve the calcium shells, then that's your old antifoul done, and you probably need a tie-coat. So that would be one day. The next day applying a new af coat, then another day for the second coat (due to drying times), Normally I get 2.5-3 coats on plus extra on the edges.

Including a haul and launch and time on the hard, plus materials, i've not spent less than £1000 doing the work myself.
 
Mikedefieslife said:
How do you guys get it so cheap? Just a pressure and scrape wash for my 35' boat takes the yard a good two hours. Then there is removing all the growth that doesn't come off via normal means. If you use acid on it to disolve the calcium shells, then that's your old antifoul done, and you probably need a tie-coat. So that would be one day. The next day applying a new af coat, then another day for the second coat (due to drying times), Normally I get 2.5-3 coats on plus extra on the edges.

Including a haul and launch and time on the hard, plus materials, i've not spent less than £1000 doing the work myself.
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Washing mine never took longer than an hour, not much growth though.
Haul and launch comes on top of course, you need that if you're doing the work yourself too. However, my boat is lifted for winter anyway.
 
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