Cuprotect not that great then?

[Sans Bateau]

A report in Feb YM by Dick Durham says that the Cuprotect that was applied to 'Powder Monkey', his Contessa 32, has not worked, in fact much slim and weed has also helped barnacles to grow in several areas. this is despite the boat being kept in a fast flowing tidal stream.

Interesting, because I had thought about Cuprotect before using Coppercoat. Whilst in what was recognised as a particularly bad year for fouling, 2 boats including ours that I know of using Coppercoat, only suffered heavy silting plus weed at the water line, this is despite being kept in a marina with brackish water. Not bad seeing that Coppercoat cost me less than a third the price of the Cuprotect. Mind you the additional cost of the cuprotect would be as a result of them having to apply it.

So with the added catastrophic failure of Pure Seal, does this mean that there is no easy way to protect against fouling? Are the traditional methods the only way? What will the future hold with aims toward more environmentally friendly products?

 

[bonny]

What with that and applying expensive yoghurt! I'll stick to the old faithful Cruiser premium.

 

[Searush]

Errm, "Fast flowing stream" sounds like perfect conditions for serious fouling. First of all, lots of barnacle & weed larvae are whizzing past so some are bound to latch on to your hull. Secondly, that same fast flowing stream is pouring food past anything that does latch on making sure they all very well fed!

Please feel free to discuss this idea /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Woodlouse]

[ QUOTE ]

So with the added catastrophic failure of Pure Seal, does this mean that there is no easy way to protect against fouling? Are the traditional methods the only way? What will the future hold with aims toward more environmentally friendly products?

[/ QUOTE ]
As they say, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

 

[Sans Bateau]

mmm, DD says "My boat had been on an all-tide mooring in a river with a powerful flood and ebb tide scouring past twice a day".

Thought that meant sort of what it says. Still water, I would have thought, would give better chance for growth to get hold. After all silt only settles in a slow steam.

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
does this mean that there is no easy way to protect against fouling?

[/ QUOTE ]
Two words: Micron Optima... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Searush]

And where do you find most of the fish then? In the overfall where all the food is stirred up I think.
Yes, silt settles in calm waters and stuff lives in the silt - hence all the waders - but barnacles are filter feeders, they would probably starve or asphyxiate in still water. Absoluteley tons of healthy barnacle in Menai Straits, R Conwy & Mersey. All very fast flowing - also rather silty too due to speed of current and fine muddy bottoms.

No expert of course - but always happy to share an opinion & argue it as I see it! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[benjenbav]

I think maybe the idea of all the slime and barnacles swooshing off comes from us mobo types. They can latch on at 3 knots but 33 sees them off.

 

[Johnjo]

Agree with you on that Simon, ok so you pay a bit more, but at least it works....

Well it does for me

 

[michael_w]

Haul out, dry sailing, keep her ashore,etc. This is well proven. Don't trust snake oil salesmen.

The only antifouling that really does the business is not for sale in either the EU or the USA. It's Seahawk Island 44. Works best with extra TBT booster additive. Get it in the West Indies.

 

[Guest]

Yup, you get what you pay for - it is a bit pricey, but saves mid-season scrubs etc. I'm generally a bit of a skinflint - have a minimal annual budget, but it's one thing I don't economise on. I used it for 6 years based in several different places - and it was great in all of them! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Birdseye]

Have a relative in the channel islands who takes a different approach. He doesnt antifoul at all, but instead dries out end June tim, sprays the underside of his baot with cheap chlorine bleach, lets it stand for an hour or two to kill everything and then powerwashed off. very little appears after June time so one more swill in the autumn and thats it.

Certainly seems less work and expense than anti fouljng

Over the years there have been a number of the copper powder / epoxy systems but mostly they seem to have been less effective than normal paint

 

[Sans Bateau]

[ QUOTE ]
Over the years there have been a number of the copper powder / epoxy systems but mostly they seem to have been less effective than normal paint

[/ QUOTE ]

I would'nt say that in our marina Coppercoat had been any less effective than regular AF during this last season. In fact the method you describe your friend in the CI's uses is similar to mine, without the bleach! I have always expected to lift out or dry out once a year to pressure wash off, this has had to be extended to twice a year, one of those times I am now having to polish the surface to refresh the copper. However I still don't have to reapply fresh AF every year, so it does save some work.

The point I think I am trying make though is that the Cuprotect and Coppercoat type product lead us to believe that lift out would be a thing of the past, this is not so. If I had used Cuprotect I would be £3000 worse off, as it is my DIY application of Coppercoat cost less than £1000. The question now is, would I have applied it in the first place given this years experience, or is this year a one off? Only time will tell.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

[ QUOTE ]
"Fast flowing stream" sounds like perfect conditions for serious fouling.

[/ QUOTE ]You're spot on. Just watched David Attenborough's program on marine growth in tidal areas. The stronger the stream speed the more marine life there is. Sounds counter intuitive but does explain how our transfer from half tide mud marina to swinging mooring saw the largest growth of barnacles I have ever seen.

Where can i get some TBT?

 

[srm]

[ QUOTE ]
Where can i get some TBT?

[/ QUOTE ]

Application of TBT antifouling to small boats has been illegal since the mid 80's in UK and elsewhere. It was a very effective antifoul though.

 

[jamesjermain]

Hmmm! Attracting slim eh! I like that idea.

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
Two words: Micron Optima...

[/ QUOTE ]

This had me hunting out the invoice for last year's job. (I ran out of time commissioning Freestyle for her trip home, so the yard kindly agreed to help out with the antifouling. It was a great success. After two month's sailing, including in the weed-infested Clyde, and four months in the Menai Strait, there was barely a hint of slime.)

That warm glow of smug satisfaction evaporated as I read the invoice. Materials £376! Gold plating, or what? No. Just 2.5 litres International Micron (presumably "Extra" judging by pack size) plus roller, masking tape etc. £676 all told - good grief! No wonder the gang at Berthon are so polite. The same materials this year cost me about £80, plus transport, say £20, plus labour £0; £100 all told, or a magnificent saving of £576.

The silt-laden tidal flow in the Menai Strait is reputed to gobble up mooring chains, but it doesn't stop fouling, if my mooring bouy is anything to go by. To Searush's list (increased contact between organisms and hull; increased supply of nutrients) I would add increased leaching and dilution of copper-laden microenvironment.

Mark

 

[dk]

FYI I had Cuprotect applied in spring 2005, then slowly cruised down to S Brittany over 5 months. On taking her out in Oct she was spotless, no growth of slime or barnacles at all, however we did have a minor adhesion problem - or lack of that is. On several areas where the hull had been damp during application it had fallen off entirely. It was repaired by Cuprotect, who came out to France to inspect and rectify the problem, and on arrival back in the UK in April 06 she was still clean.
I think the product works well as an antifouling, but as with all epoxies, needs to be applied in the correct manner.
D

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
That warm glow of smug satisfaction evaporated as I read the invoice. Materials £376! Gold plating, or what? No. Just 2.5 litres International Micron (presumably "Extra" judging by pack size) plus roller, masking tape etc. £676 all told - good grief! No wonder the gang at Berthon are so polite. The same materials this year cost me about £80, plus transport, say £20, plus labour £0; £100 all told, or a magnificent saving of £576.

[/ QUOTE ]
Good grief, how on earth can they justify that! By Optima is expensive, I meant £80 plus say £15 for tape and roller...

Have you asked them to justify the extra £576 quid? It's more than I spend on annual marina fees...

 

[Sans Bateau]

Maybe DD needs to do a bit more testing then, if he moves his boat out of the tidal stream be thinks is scrubing his hull, he might get a better result.