Four Blooming Short Months

[oldgit]

Another RCC Medway boat lifted and jetwashed last week , same story, A/F about 6 months ago in MDL Chatham. and now covered in slime and weed from bow to midships and barncules everywhere aft of that.
Barneycules on IPS legs but nothing on Props.
2 x small block anodes on stern totally gone.

 

[Zing]

It’s global warming. Best stay at home.

 

[trapper guy]

has anybody thought of trying their own antifoul?
several years ago i scrapped a lot of lead acid batteries, scrapped in the sense that i cut them apart (after emptying into a container ofc) i used the acid as a copper and stainless pickle, the grey sponge lead i recast into fishing weights, and the red oxide i crushed to a powder after drying and added it to some 'red lead' paint, which contains hardly any red oxide lead.
ive used it on everything, and it actually works.
ive yet to experiment with antifoul, but most pottery suppliers provide pretty much all the types of copper and oxides etc as ingredients for pottery glazes.
im betting a homebrewed antifoul will outmatch many of the commercial blends, as they tend to skimp on ingredients as a way of maximizing profits, afterall, the more you have to buy, the more profits they make....its good business sense.

but then im old school, i remember how my grandparents and their parents 'made do' with things at hand, it appears to be a dying art.
one suggestion i would offer is not to use anything containing tar or bitumen or anything like as the base material as there are actually organisms in salt water the feed off it, oil being a hydrocarbon, or carbohydrate....oh, and mushrooms, they love waste oil

 

[AntarcticPilot]

has anybody thought of trying their own antifoul?
several years ago i scrapped a lot of lead acid batteries, scrapped in the sense that i cut them apart (after emptying into a container ofc) i used the acid as a copper and stainless pickle, the grey sponge lead i recast into fishing weights, and the red oxide i crushed to a powder after drying and added it to some 'red lead' paint, which contains hardly any red oxide lead.
ive used it on everything, and it actually works.
ive yet to experiment with antifoul, but most pottery suppliers provide pretty much all the types of copper and oxides etc as ingredients for pottery glazes.
im betting a homebrewed antifoul will outmatch many of the commercial blends, as they tend to skimp on ingredients as a way of maximizing profits, afterall, the more you have to buy, the more profits they make....its good business sense.

but then im old school, i remember how my grandparents and their parents 'made do' with things at hand, it appears to be a dying art.
one suggestion i would offer is not to use anything containing tar or bitumen or anything like as the base material as there are actually organisms in salt water the feed off it, oil being a hydrocarbon, or carbohydrate....oh, and mushrooms, they love waste oil

The main reason is because it's illegal to make home-brew antifoul; environmental protection legislation means that anything used as an antifoul must be licensed for use, and a one-off homebrew isn't going to get a license. The other reason is because it is very unlikely that you'll get anything more effective than commercial products; as I've repeatedly stated, antifouling is a major commercial interest for lots of players: shipping, oils and gas, renewable energy, ports and anyone with a marine installation. The antifouling we use is a by-product of a massive industry that has no interest in marketing products that don't work as welll as possible.

A further point is that by the time you've researched and bought a suitable paint to use as base (remember, it must slowly release the active agent) and bought the additives, you'll have spent more than the real stuff.

Lead is very unlikely to be very effective; most of it's salts are insoluble, so not biologically available. As seawater is extremely hard, most of the lead would be converted to lead carbonate or sulfate, which are almost totally inert; lead water pipes are safe in regions with hard water for exactly this reason.

 

[trapper guy]

The main reason is because it's illegal to make home-brew antifoul; environmental protection legislation means that anything used as an antifoul must be licensed for use, and a one-off homebrew isn't going to get a license. The other reason is because it is very unlikely that you'll get anything more effective than commercial products; as I've repeatedly stated, antifouling is a major commercial interest for lots of players: shipping, oils and gas, renewable energy, ports and anyone with a marine installation. The antifouling we use is a by-product of a massive industry that has no interest in marketing products that don't work as welll as possible.

A further point is that by the time you've researched and bought a suitable paint to use as base (remember, it must slowly release the active agent) and bought the additives, you'll have spent more than the real stuff.

Lead is very unlikely to be very effective; most of it's salts are insoluble, so not biologically available. As seawater is extremely hard, most of the lead would be converted to lead carbonate or sulfate, which are almost totally inert; lead water pipes are safe in regions with hard water for exactly this reason.

thats both interesting and lengthy, but i dont recall suggesting lead as an antifoul agent..
i remember speaking about it in terms of a rust preventative, but im sure i mention derivatives of copper from a pottery suppliers for the antifoul.
of course of course, environmental protection etc, detonating nuclear devices at muraroa atoll were perfectly environmentally friendly, as are depth charges and the like.

it a yarn ive heard before

 

[Sailing steve]

The antifouling we use is a by-product of a massive industry that has no interest in marketing products that don't work as well as possible.

I see what you say but if the antifoul industry is manufacturing the best possible products they can then for whatever reason they've become hopelessly ineffective.

I don't object to paying £ 90 -100 a tin for the wretched stuff and I don't mind the miserable March afternoons grovelling around under my boat applying it either - providing it works. But clearly it doesn't anymore because in more than 30 years sailing around the Thames estuary I've never known fouling anywhere near as as bad as it's been over the last few seasons.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I'm waiting for the NASA Target bottom scrubber complete with screen and control nob. It has to happen eventually.

 

[trapper guy]

I'm waiting for the NASA Target bottom scrubber complete with screen and control nob. It has to happen eventually.

or the roombaAF

 

[MikeBz]

Though East Coast based we have been cruising around the Solent for a week or so. With the density of boats on berths/moorings in this area it’s blindingly obvious why having every boat leeching poisons into the water is a really bad idea.

Back to the original topic, I used Micron 360 this year. Launched at the beginning of May and went onto the posts for a scrub 2 weeks ago to find only a thin layer of brown slime and some barnacles where the bottom of the keel and rudder sit in the silt at LW. No weed/growth. I suspect this is more attributable to being in a marina (first time for us, due to unavailability of pontoon berth in the creek) than down to any magic in the antifouling, but I was certainly surprised.

 

[Gargleblaster]

detonating nuclear devices at muraroa atoll were perfectly environmentally friendly,

I remember passing Mururoa to the South (ie upwind), the fact it glowed red in teh sunset was offputting. And it was a very effective antifoul. When arriving in Australia the bottom was as clean as it was leaving Panama. Almost all the way in tropical waters, not even a hint of a gooseneck barnacle. Maybe a annual pass of Mururoa is the ideal antifoul, maybe Biikini would be an alternate.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

or the roombaAF

Can they be marinised ?

 

[oldgit]

Might one suggest that using the boat can be a great help in keeping the bottom clean.
The rubbish weather earlier in year certainly dissuaded some of us from a couple of organised cruises and several ad hoc days out.

 

[trapper guy]

Can they be marinised ?

Can they be marinised ?

im sure anything can be pickled with enough enthusiasm and determination

 

[johnalison]

Might one suggest that using the boat can be a great help in keeping the bottom clean.
The rubbish weather earlier in year certainly dissuaded some of us from a couple of organised cruises and several ad hoc days out.

That is certainly true, but I think that use has to be very regular to make much difference. When I was working I could only get about one weekend in two to sail or maybe two in three if I was lucky, and a couple of weeks in the summer. My boat much of the time was kept on a mooring in Maylandsea creek and fouled very badly, probably from picking up suspended matter. When I retired the boat stayed clean until early September even when we sailed down the Channel instead of the low-fouling Baltic. This year I have only been able to go for day-sails but contrary to what people are saying, fouling doesn’t seem too bad. Sailing seems OK but motoring down about 0.4 knots

 

[Sailing steve]

That is certainly true, but I think that use has to be very regular to make much difference. When I was working I could only get about one weekend in two to sail or maybe two in three if I was lucky, and a couple of weeks in the summer. My boat much of the time was kept on a mooring in Maylandsea creek and fouled very badly, probably from picking up suspended matter. When I retired the boat stayed clean until early September even when we sailed down the Channel instead of the low-fouling Baltic. This year I have only been able to go for day-sails but contrary to what people are saying, fouling doesn’t seem too bad. Sailing seems OK but motoring down about 0.4 knots

Same as when I was working too - real life got in the way and my previous boat would sit unused in Bradwell creek for sometimes weeks at a time but now it's happy days and I can and do go sailing whenever the weather feels like playing nicely

Back then fouling wasn't a problem at all and a late season visit saw a clean hull and a boat that sailed just as well as it did when launched after a couple of coats of mid priced antifoul 6 or 7 months earlier but even with much more frequent use now within weeks I've got a knot and more shaved off my flat out engine speed through the water and a boat that's frustratingly dull and sluggish to sail.

I've got a longish trip planned early Sept and if the boats as badly fouled as I expect it might be again after a scrub just a few weeks ago I'll think I'll be going back ashore and find something else to do instead.

This really isn't good enough.

 

[johnalison]

Same as when I was working too - real life got in the way and my previous boat would sit unused in Bradwell creek for sometimes weeks at a time but now it's happy days and I can and do go sailing whenever the weather feels like playing nicely

Back then fouling wasn't a problem at all and a late season visit saw a clean hull and a boat that sailed just as well as it did when launched after a couple of coats of mid priced antifoul 6 or 7 months earlier but even with much more frequent use now within weeks I've got a knot and more shaved off my flat out engine speed through the water and a boat that's frustratingly dull and sluggish to sail.

I've got a longish trip planned early Sept and if the boats as badly fouled as I expect it might be again after a scrub just a few weeks ago I'll think I'll be going back ashore and find something else to do instead.

This really isn't good enough.

For me it’s the performance under power that matters. A third of a knot off one’s sailing speed may matter to a racer but it is hard to judge in ordinary sailing, but long trips often involve quite a bit of motoring and this can be very frustrating at reduced speed, especially when against the tide.

 

[trapper guy]

For me it’s the performance under power that matters. A third of a knot off one’s sailing speed may matter to a racer but it is hard to judge in ordinary sailing, but long trips often involve quite a bit of motoring and this can be very frustrating at reduced speed, especially when against the tide.

i had to motor 95% of the time west along the south coast, had to wait for windless days to avoid wind over tide, which is NOT a comfortable passage, so no wind and pissy little tides necessitated the use of the engine

 

[johnalison]

i had to motor 95% of the time west along the south coast, had to wait for windless days to avoid wind over tide, which is NOT a comfortable passage, so no wind and pissy little tides necessitated the use of the engine

Although I used to think of myself as something of a purist regarding the use of sails, I would guess that around half of our passage-making after I retired was under power. I did make one classic trip to the Channel Isles and back in our then Sadler 29 when we almost did the whole trip under sail, putting in a total of two tacks, but that was exceptional.