Has anyone had Copper Coat applied in Monastir, Tunisia?

Cardo

Cardo

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www.yacht-tinkerbell.co.uk
Evening, all

We are planning on visiting Monastir this spring to have our yearly maintenance carried out. As Tunisian labour is reportedly pretty cheap, we have decided to get some extra work carried out on Tinkerbell. Something I would like to have done is have the current antifoul blasted off and have the hull tidied up with epoxy.
Seeing as this is pretty much all the prep work for Copper Coat, I figured it wouldn't cost much extra to also CC the boat.

Has anyone had this work carried out at Monastir? Thoughts?
 
No idea about costs or reliability but if you do go down the Coppercoat route, make sure that the people doing the work follow the maker's instructions to the letter or you'll wind up with problems with the stuff adhering properly. Also make sure that they use the right quantity of Coppercoat, as recommended by the makers. It's not a case of four coats is enough, it's more a case of Coppercoat say this number of litres to be applied to a yacht of your size, keep applying coats until you've used it all.
 
duncan99210 said:
No idea about costs or reliability but if you do go down the Coppercoat route, make sure that the people doing the work follow the maker's instructions to the letter or you'll wind up with problems with the stuff adhering properly. Also make sure that they use the right quantity of Coppercoat, as recommended by the makers. It's not a case of four coats is enough, it's more a case of Coppercoat say this number of litres to be applied to a yacht of your size, keep applying coats until you've used it all.
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Thanks for the advice. I have been advised to supply my own "paint" if getting this done in Tunisia, so would buy however much CC tell me to get for my type of boat.
The problem is, no matter how much I've read about doing this stuff, it's just not my area of expertise, and I would like to know whether if I go to these guys and tell them what I want doing, that they will in fact do it, and not just mug me off with half the job.
 
Cardo, I've applied Coppercoat about half a dozen times. Like all paint processes the most important and laborious part is surface preparation, although other than that it's straightforward enough (especially somewhere with better weather than the UK). However, I'd be very reluctant to entrust with a professioal job anyone who didn't come with a recommendation, and who hadn't done it many times before. The cost of the materials alone makes a duff job unthinkable.

Have you discussed your questions with AMC (the Coppercoat people)? They may have some knowledge of CC work in Monastir. I've found them always responsive to queries.
They should, I think, be your first avenue for questions, but if there's anything specific I can help with, please feel free to PM me.
 
macd said:
Cardo, I've applied Coppercoat about half a dozen times. Like all paint processes the most important and laborious part is surface preparation, although other than that it's straightforward enough (especially somewhere with better weather than the UK). However, I'd be very reluctant to entrust with a professioal job anyone who didn't come with a recommendation, and who hadn't done it many times before. The cost of the materials alone makes a duff job unthinkable.
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That's why I'm asking to see if anyone's used them before! Whilst it would be a pity to miss out the opportunity to CC whilst we're in a balmy country, I don't want to just waste money.

Have you discussed your questions with AMC (the Coppercoat people)? They may have some knowledge of CC work in Monastir. I've found them always responsive to queries.
They should, I think, be your first avenue for questions, but if there's anything specific I can help with, please feel free to PM me.
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Good shout about AMC, I'll drop them an email.
 
duncan99210 said:
No idea about costs or reliability but if you do go down the Coppercoat route, make sure that the people doing the work follow the maker's instructions to the letter or you'll wind up with problems with the stuff adhering properly. Also make sure that they use the right quantity of Coppercoat, as recommended by the makers. It's not a case of four coats is enough, it's more a case of Coppercoat say this number of litres to be applied to a yacht of your size, keep applying coats until you've used it all.
Click to expand...

Although I think the litres recommended by the makers (AMC) is simply derived from the number of coats of coverage they believe will result from the volume.

When I contacted them they recommended x litres for 3 coats and y litres for 4 coats for my hull.

As you say, once you've bought the stuff you might as well apply the lot!

Richard
 
Cardo,

I'd also want to watch the workers like a hawk, in case they get the idea it's valuable ' paint ' and decide to dilute / otherwise stash some for later lucrative jobs !
 
Waste of time unless you like slime growing on your boat, nothing is added to fight the growth of slime and if it was it could not effectively leach the Epoxy resin layer to make a difference.
The copper particles may have an effect as long as the particles are repeatedly exposed to the water as they erode from the surface of the waterproof epoxy resin.
They like to give people the impression the resin has a wash rate in the water because it is water based. Ask what is the rate of wash in microns per year ?

If you apply a dry film thickness of 100 microns per coat how long will that last ?
 
Sticky Stuff said:
Waste of time unless you like slime growing on your boat, nothing is added to fight the growth of slime and if it was it could not effectively leach the Epoxy resin layer to make a difference.
The copper particles may have an effect as long as the particles are repeatedly exposed to the water as they erode from the surface of the waterproof epoxy resin.
They like to give people the impression the resin has a wash rate in the water because it is water based. Ask what is the rate of wash in microns per year ?

If you apply a dry film thickness of 100 microns per coat how long will that last ?
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I'm a tad confused by your post. Are you simply bashing copper coat? There have been numerous reports that CC is very effective (as long as it's correctly applied) and only requires a spray down once a year. But if you are knocking CC, I'd appreciate it if you don't drift this thread, as I'd rather have helpful answers to my questions, please.
 
It's very important that CC is correctly applied to a well preped surface- if in doubt get Les Wood to do it in Preveza- he has probably more experience with CC than anyone in the Med & is a thoroughly decent bloke.

John
 
RichardS said:
When I contacted them they recommended x litres for 3 coats and y litres for 4 coats for my hull.
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Hi Richard,

I think there is a little confusion here. Coppercoat is not sold or quoted by the coat. Instead, we calculate the underwater area of the vessel to be treated, and supply the appropriate volume of material for a full treatment. The finished treatment coverage rate is 4m2 per litre (not including waste). The exact number of coats it then takes to apply this will be down to factors such as personal technique/preference, the type of roller, the temperature, and so on.

As a guide, most people find that they complete the task in either 4 or 5 coats. But the key to a good smooth finish is to apply multiple thin coats, and to keep going until all the supplied goods have been applied. As an example, if I were applying 10 litres to a 40ft fin-keeled yacht with an underwater area of approximately 38m2, I'd prefer to apply this as 5 coats of 2 litres, as opposed to 4 coats of 2.5 litres, as each coat would be slightly quicker and easier to apply and the overall treatment would be smoother. But as long as all 10 litres were applied, the correct and required total film build would be achieved.

I hope this clarification helps, but please feel free to contact me for more assistance if required.
 
Sticky Stuff said:
Ask what is the rate of wash in microns per year?
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The wear rate is incredibly low - typically less than 5 microns per year. The exact wear rate will depend on factors such as water temperature, boat use and so on, but please use this figure as a guide.

The fact that Coppercoat uses a water-based resin is not the key issue - all the water evaporates as part of the curing process. The water in the original blend acts as the solvent to make it easy to apply. While uncured Coppercoat is water-soluble (allowing application tools etc. to be washed under the tap), the cured coating is virtually permanent and certainly not "water-soluble".
 
Cardo
We did our own three years ago , and s far we happy with it , we have a small spot on the keel that have came away and we plain to re cc the keel next time it come out , a friend of ours had his boat cc in the fishing Harbour in monstir as far as I know it all went ok but he did keep a very close eye on the work ,
 
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