I Can’t Believe It’s Not Coppercoat!

Sarabande's comments are absolutely true, this stuff will enter the food chain via sealife and end up in people with serious consequences. I really hope that this crazy plan to concoct anti-fouls is just a silly idea and will not materialize. Covering your hull with illegal and potentially dangerous materials is reckless to humans and all life.Coppercoat has been widely tested and is generally reckoned to be the safest of any anti-foul. If you can't afford to do the job properly then you will have to scrub your boat more often.
 
tolhurstorganic said:
Sarabande's comments are absolutely true, this stuff will enter the food chain via sealife and end up in people with serious consequences. I really hope that this crazy plan to concoct anti-fouls is just a silly idea and will not materialize. Covering your hull with illegal and potentially dangerous materials is reckless to humans and all life.Coppercoat has been widely tested and is generally reckoned to be the safest of any anti-foul. If you can't afford to do the job properly then you will have to scrub your boat more often.
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Yes - saving many hundreds of pounds - plain crazy. Silly me. What was I thinking of?!

Which part is illegal and why? Are you suggesting Coppercoat's or Star Brite's products are illegal?
 
I think these suggestions to add broad-spectrum antibiotics are those of short-sighted and selfish people, who cannot relate to the environment in which they sail or motor.

It is utterly wrong - as well as illegal.
 
oh, for goodness sake !

If it illegal in the UK, then you must assume that there are sufficient and proper reasons for the ban. Does living abroad change the laws of biology ?
 
sarabande said:
I think these suggestions to add broad-spectrum antibiotics are those of short-sighted and selfish people, who cannot relate to the environment in which they sail or motor.

It is utterly wrong - as well as illegal.
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Actually, in the case of chemicals like antibiotics, I'm inclined to agree.

If you feel that strongly, would you, say, advocate boycotting all Star Brite products?

How do you feel about products like this?
 
Yes I would boycott Starbrite products in the same way I boycott many other products that have the potential to serious environmental damage. The reason I have farmed organically for 40 years is to protect the environment and bio-diversity. You must be planning to mix your cocktails out of EU then as the pesticides laws are EU wide?
 
tolhurstorganic said:
Yes I would boycott Starbrite products in the same way I boycott many other products that have the potential to serious environmental damage. The reason I have farmed organically for 40 years is to protect the environment and bio-diversity. You must be planning to mix your cocktails out of EU then as the pesticides laws are EU wide?
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If they're that bad for the environment, I won't be using them at all. This is a journey of discovery, and the simple mixture of copper powder and water-based epoxy should sufficient.
 
Contradictory though it may be - Sarabande (and the organic farmer), I fully concur. As far as I know unlicensed use of OTC and TC is banned in most of the developed world. Sadly it can be bought in tonnage quantities from both India and China without question - all you need is the money.

The thread commenced with a reasonable objective. Its definitely gone off the rails.
 
Perhaps more interesting is the idea that people are freely touting antibiotics, in what could be largish quantities, to all and sundry - and furthermore promoting its use in applications in which, for most of us, its banned.

I'm with 'tolhurstorganic' on this (I looked the name up this time) and would not buy anything from them at all, but then I am known to have strong views on discreditable marketing behaviour - even if some do not share my strength of convictions.
 
OK. I'm no 'bleeding heart' eco-warrior and am currently looking at an array of soon-to-be-used pots of antifoul paint, wondering - provoked by this thread - what I could readily add to the mix to enhance effectiveness.

Whatever, I won't be adding antibiotics - again due to this thread. I'll keep the nasty biocidal stuff for my personal fungal infections ( ! ) and leave the poor barnacles to enjoy their simple little lives blocking up water intakes.

There! I've said it. Now I can go away feeling all self-righteous, having saved a little bit of planet..... :rolleyes:
 
It's a really interesting discussion.

I'm talking about making a simple copper/epoxy mix, which will expose critters to chemicals on contact, rather than a specifically leaching product.

Surely a product which actively injects these chemicals into the water is always to be just as bad - although I'm not sure precisely what chemicals are in leaching antifouls, and how they stack up to the additives I've found.

Perhaps what's more alarm is that these chemicals are supposed to be added to any antifoul you like, including leaching types, for a double dose!
 
BoatingBeginner said:
It's a really interesting discussion.

I'm talking about making a simple copper/epoxy mix, which will expose critters to chemicals on contact, rather than a specifically leaching product.

Surely a product which actively injects these chemicals into the water is always to be just as bad - although I'm not sure precisely what chemicals are in leaching antifouls, and how they stack up to the additives I've found.

Perhaps what's more alarm is that these chemicals are supposed to be added to any antifoul you like, including leaching types, for a double dose!
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If you stick to investigating the use of copper and resins, its economics, formulation etc, you will engender much support. Even if it gets nowhere or everywhere you will enjoy encouragement - if you stray into questionable areas for too long the support will die.
 
BoatingBeginner said:
I’m sold. If I could afford it, I’d buy some Coppercoat today. I’d find the best professional painter(s) money could buy and set them to work.

But this is not a real world option for me.
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My advice would be to buy real Coppercoat and DIY it. I applied it to my kit boat, and it was very easy indeed - 4 rolled-on coats in a day. A friend tried a lookalike and ended up with dollops of slumped copper and areas of naked epoxy.
 
charles_reed said:
It's a broad-spectrum antibiotic - originally produced by Pfizer in the 1950's.
It's a bacteriostat and is one of the many added to animal feed to make animals grow faster and people grow obese.
Rather like letting a toddler loose with a detonating cap.
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In the UK ( & Europe) there are NO antibiotics/antibacterials added routinely to farm animal feed "to make them grow faster". This has been the case since 01-01-2006. Any antibiotics/antibacterials used are incorporated only on Veterinary Prescription for a specific illness/disease problem.

It is a well-monitored system & it works.

The oxytetracycline product illustrated is a US item where the controls are less rigorous.

What makes people fat is the huge amount of food they consume & the little exercise they take....
 
maxcampbell said:
My advice would be to buy real Coppercoat and DIY it. I applied it to my kit boat, and it was very easy indeed - 4 rolled-on coats in a day. A friend tried a lookalike and ended up with dollops of slumped copper and areas of naked epoxy.
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Me too, its not the cost of the CC but the cost of removing the old AF and then faring. The risk of getting a DIY formulation wrong (and then the cost of remedial treatment) does not merit the possible savings.

But I'm still interested in the idea but would not take the risk.
 
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