Hard racing antifouling for a boat on a swinging mooring

[baart]

We have been using Cruiser 250 since we bought the boat but I am tempted to look for an alternative. As the boat is on a swinging mooring it bounces on waves a lot and Cruiser 250 comes off pretty quickly especially on the bow and the stern, at least where I am now. I have put 3 layers in those areas and after a diver did a gentle scrub recently there isn't much paint left there. Also it doesn't seem to be very effective as there was quite a lot of growth on the hull developing between March and June. I have used Hempel Boot Top Hard Racing Antifoul above the water line and it seems to be very effective with no growth and hardly anything wearing off even though it is pretty much constantly wet with the boat's movement. So I started thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to use this paint below the waterline as well considering the conditions ? What would be the forum's opinion ?

 

[William_H]

Yes try hard antifouling. Might just stand up to the constant water movement on swing mooring. ol'will

 

[Sandy]

Coppercoat is brilliant. I keep my boat on a fore and aft mooring and never had a problem.

 

[Daydream believer]

Coppercoat is brilliant. I keep my boat on a fore and aft mooring and never had a problem.

You might not have had issues, but I have & so have loads of others.
Only advantage is that the extra mid season scrub that is needed is about the same cost as antifoul paint & less labour intensive

 

[baart]

With my current boat I can't justify the investment into coppercoat. I am looking to sell it in a few years qnd get something bigger, maybe then I will look into it. Another option I was considering is Micron 350 but not sure whether this would make any difference

 

[Refueler]

There are two aspects of Hard racing that may be of importance here :

1. It is not eroding - so when it comes to time to redo - needs to be stripped off or at least prepared for new coat.

2. It is designed for periodic scrub through season to maintain clean surface.

IMHO - its a big change from Eroding to Hard ...

 

[Sailing steve]

I stripped old antifoul off my hull last winter and applied Hard Racing.

I'm on a swinging mooring too and within weeks I had enough slime built up to knock a knot or so off speed. So far I've had to do two scrubs this season and will need another one pretty soon.

 

[baart]

I've had to do two scrubs this season and will need another one pretty soon

Makes you think whether to bother with anything other than basic cheapest antifouling and just keep scrubing once a month or so.

 

[johnalison]

I haven’t looked into this for a long while but I would doubt if hard racing can be put over eroding AF, so stripping might be needed. I don’t know if just primer would work.

 

[Koeketiene]

My boats have almost always been kept on a swinging mooring.

Used Hempel Racing Hard on the previous boat for a while.
Boat kept on the Orwell at the time.
The Hempel did really well and lasted two seasons.

I then switched to Coppercoat and it was great for 5-6 years.
Some slime at most when she was lifted every year to replace the anodes.
Subsequent years there were barnacles and she required a pressure-wash.

Sold the boat 12 years after the Coppercoat application and you could see it was time to be redone.
The new owner switched to conventional antifoul.

 

[Refueler]

I haven’t looked into this for a long while but I would doubt if hard racing can be put over eroding AF, so stripping might be needed. I don’t know if just primer would work.

Correct - you should not apply hard over eroding .... stripping back is recc'd

 

[baart]

stripping back is recc'd

Ok, if that's the case than it kind of closes the debate. How would then Micron 350 or others compare to Cruiser 250 ?

 

[Lucky Duck]

Maybe not, see International’s paint compatibility chart

Antifouling compatibility | International

I have used Micron 350 since it replaced Micron Extra, currently there is some slime visible but nothing else. This is in stark contrast to my coppercoated neighbour which was last lifted and jet washed just in time for the RTIR

 

[Refueler]

Interesting table.

 

[johnalison]

Interesting table.

Unfortunately for me, I don’t know which, if any, of the ‘new’ AFs are hard.

 

[Hunterlees]

I posted a query about using F2 ECO antifouling but did not get any response, I wonder if it is worth considering in your situation?
Buy F2

 

[Sailing steve]

Makes you think whether to bother with anything other than basic cheapest antifouling and just keep scrubing once a month or so.

I've no idea where the solution is now.

Back in the '90s and '00s a couple of coats of any mid priced antifoul would pretty much guarantee you a clean hull through a season and back then I recall anticipating a winter afloat to save a few quid on storage ashore and opting for a top of the range two pack antifoul that lasted through the first summer, a whole winter and nearly all of the second summer afloat.

But now you don't get anywhere near that longevity no matter how much you spend, and you'll be doing well if you have more than a few weeks afloat without getting heavy enough fouling to drag your hull speed right down. How on earth all the impressive reviews and wonderful test results on various antifoul paints the yachting press come up with from time to time is beyond me. I've bought on the basis of those results over and over and got nothing like the reported performance.

Strikes me antifoul now is not fit for purpose and rather than a product that serves the buyer well it's become an over hyped rip off. It's the nautical equivalent of sinking a huge stack of cash and many hours of effort into running a classic car but spending your precious leisure time driving it around with the handbrake on.

And seriously - who'd put up with that?

 

[Refueler]

I have to agree with 'Sailing Steve' ..... but its not only Antifoul paint ... its on a wide range of products where Govt's restrict chemicals and compositions.

One of the most marked for me (after Antifoul) ... Cilit Bang Lime and Rust cleaner. It was absolutely magic to clean up boat hulls - removing the brown stains and also black exhaust deposits. But then along came some bureaucratic 'greeny' and it literally is no better than Windowcleaner now.

Wonder how long it will be before Oxalic is taken off the shelves ??

 

[Graham376]

I have to agree with 'Sailing Steve' ..... but its not only Antifoul paint ... its on a wide range of products where Govt's restrict chemicals and compositions.

One of the most marked for me (after Antifoul) ... Cilit Bang Lime and Rust cleaner. It was absolutely magic to clean up boat hulls - removing the brown stains and also black exhaust deposits. But then along came some bureaucratic 'greeny' and it literally is no better than Windowcleaner now.

Wonder how long it will be before Oxalic is taken off the shelves ??

Sometimes it's government regulation but I also suspect manufacturers are playing games. Jotun Seaforce works well for me and widely used on small and large commercial vessels where perhaps prices are more competitive. No restrictions on buying it in Portugal but, only for professional use in UK. They do of course have far more expensive range of "leisure" products.

 

[Refueler]

Sometimes it's government regulation but I also suspect manufacturers are playing games. Jotun Seaforce works well for me and widely used on small and large commercial vessels where perhaps prices are more competitive. No restrictions on buying it in Portugal but, only for professional use in UK. They do of course have far more expensive range of "leisure" products.

The prohibition of traditional antifoul for anything other than Professional Commercial shipping etc. was an international matter - not actually by one or more states. The implementation by each state of course was another matter.

Its well known that a friendly word with a Fishing Boat Yard can often conjure up a few litres of the old stuff ... I know of a transaction that involved a bottle of brandy for a 5ltr can ....

I had a chat with a 'Greeny' some years ago about this and his reasoning was that we as leisure sailors take our boats into more sensitive shallow areas than commercial shipping ... the effects of old style antifoul would have far more damaging effect there than ships passing miles offshore.

In a way - I cannot argue against that ... I'm just not sure ...