Is There An Undiscussed Problem With Coppercoat?

[RichardS]

No idea what esoteric copper salts may or not be forming round my boat but what I do know is that the Coppercoat has been on it for the past fourteen years. My Saildrive anode lasts two or three seasons, mainly dependent on going through the hassle of adapting it to the rope cutter. As others have said, there is no electrical connection between the hull and the Saildrive, so the anode only has to protect the Saildrive, a fairly small area of painted metal hence the slow use rate.

I can only think that the chap who's boat you saw in Croatia was not maintaining the electrical isolation between engine and Saildrive, hence the speed that his anodes were being used. I can see no mechanism whereby the Coppercoat could be involved in the reaction at all.

Forgot to mention, we're Med based, so little or no water movement to wash away any copper salts that might or might not be hanging round.

That's very encouraging Duncan. To try and minimise the variables, how much of the time do you spend on shore power and do you have a galvanic isolator?

Richard

 

[Monique]

Hello RichardS,

I think your mate has a BIG electrical problem. It is not the CC causing the problem.

 

[Gwylan]

Seems this thread is in urgent need of a "one eyed man", next thing they'll be discussing the best chicken to sacrifice before a voyage.

Copper coat is good, has some requirements about good application and maintenance but dies not cause loss of hair or impotence.

 

[duncan99210]

That's very encouraging Duncan. To try and minimise the variables, how much of the time do you spend on shore power and do you have a galvanic isolator?

Richard

All winter. No galvanic isolator: no requirement for one as there is no connection between the mains system and any through hull fittings.

 

[Tintin]

You can't edit thread titles.

I think you can by going into advanced.

 

[Norman_E]

I too think that the anode consumption problem must be related to stray electrical currents, and the first suspect for that is usually badly installed shore power systems in marinas. What puzzled me is that aluminium boats used in salt water often have anodes made of magnesium because it is lower in the galvanic scale than zinc, the latter being lower that aluminium, but not by very much. Where aluminium alloys sit in the galvanic scale depends on their composition, but are sail drives really that well protected by zinc anodes?

 

[pvb]

I think you can by going into advanced.

Life's too short.

 

[RichardS]

Hello RichardS,

I think your mate has a BIG electrical problem. It is not the CC causing the problem.

Yes, I'm inclined to agree with you Monique, although there are many non-CC boats in the same marina with the same electrical supply (including mine, previously) and they don't seem to have anode problems. The charter owner has 20 boats so if there is a problem with the boat electrics it must apply to all the boats, which although unlikely, might be correct if they are all identical models.

If there is any truth in what the guys in the marina are saying, it might be that CC'd boats are more prone to accelerated anode wear where there is already a pre-existing electrical problem. I agree that this is not a problem with CC - in fact, one could argue that CC is doing the owners a favour by drawing to their attention an already extant problem.

Once again, I am speculating.

Richard

 

[RichardS]

Copper coat is good........ but does not cause impotence.

That's a relief. I'll look for another explanation!

Richard

 

[RichardS]

All winter. No galvanic isolator: no requirement for one as there is no connection between the mains system and any through hull fittings.

Thanks Duncan. I'm rarely connected to shorepower but have a GI anyway. The net result is that neither of us will have any marina electrical issues and, as your anodes are healthy, then mine should be also.

Richard

 

[Sans Bateau]

We've had CC on our boat since 2004. It sits in a marina with very little tidal flow most of its life, it continually has shore power connected as do all the other boats around it. It does have a GI. We change the saildrive anode once a year. End of post.

Oh, sorry, PS. I'd be very surprised if the charter boats had GI's, just think of the added cost to a fleet adding those!

 

[greeny]

II've had copper coat for 5 yrs now and not experienced increased anode use. Going back to the original post, I can't believe the charter company are lifting all their boats 3 times a year when they can be changed in the water by a diver!

 

[RichardS]

II've had copper coat for 5 yrs now and not experienced increased anode use. Going back to the original post, I can't believe the charter company are lifting all their boats 3 times a year when they can be changed in the water by a diver!

Good point. They might not be. That particular boat was due to receive a new coat of antifoul on its fin keel so needed to come out anyway.

Richard

 

[CJ13]

We have Coppercoat on the Hull & Keel and a Saildrive which has Triilux A/F. I last changed the Anode in 2010- it's eroded but still useful life left.
We generally anchor, but spent 2 winters aboard in Marina's , plugged into shore power, surrounded by lots of other boats plugged into shore power.

I'm very happy with CC & have just had it reapplied in Preveza.

Folding Props are a known Anode eater, but we've had no problem with CC.

John

 

[Monique]

I'll restate it again, the culprit is voltage leak from the boat. It is impossible for the CC to give the described result.

GL

 

[p435]

Good experiences here with CC on a cat, and yes, even on the sail drives. I used 2 coats of epoxy primer first, then the CC. Slow anode usage I(sort of half an anode a year...) before and after applying tho not often on shore power.
.

What you wrote is exactly what i want to in the next about 2 weeks. I even think about CC my props as well. Like you, I have a cat..

 

[Tranona]

What you wrote is exactly what i want to in the next about 2 weeks. I even think about CC my props as well. Like you, I have a cat..

Coppercoat do not recommend coating either saildrive housings or propellers. It is not a question of incompatibility, but to get the required thickness of coating on the saildrive results in reducing the size of the water intakes and on props it does not adhere well.

The best approach is to use Trilux (or the Hempel equivalent) on both the housing and the prop, or alternatively Velox on the prop.

 

[Yngmar]

Applied Coppercoat myself in October 2015, boat has been in the water ever since - now lifted out February 2018. That's 28 months in the water. Did not apply it to metal areas as per advice from AMC and Jefa (rudder manufacturer). It's probably fine but I just didn't want to risk it, and while it might stick to the saildrive leg, I doubt it would stay on the propeller.

Here is the saildrive anode (and a new one for comparison) after 28 months in the water. A majority of the time was spent in Brighton marina, then last summer we headed to Normandy, crossed back to Portland, Biscay, Spanish Rias and Portugal. Mix of marinas and anchoring.

There are no other anodes, nothing is bonded and everything is insulated (plastic rudder bearing, fully insulated Saildrive 120S-E, cockpit drains with rubber hose, Tru-Design skin fittings).

Oh, and the Coppercoat performs well, except where the bottom of the keel was stuck in Brighton marina mud and couldn't activate. Will blog about this in more detail soon.

 

[Daydream believer]

My boat gets launched late April & I go cruising until end of June when boat has to come out for jetwash (because the coppercoat does not work) During this period I use shore power a lot in marinas & when the boat is washed i have to change the anode on the Brunton autoprop. For the rest of the season the shore power does not get used very much & the anodes last to layup at end of october.
So I believe that the problem is shore power. This has been very much worse since fitting the autoprop. I have the galvanic isolator.
I did not notice any difference in anode wear when changing from proper antifouling paint to the under performing copper coat

 

[wotayottie]

My boat has been coppercoated since 2010 without problems as far as anodes are concerned. It has a shaft rather than a saildrive - I would never consider the latter - but since the zinc znodes on the boat are more galvanically active that ally I would expect them to show a problem if coppercoat were an issue. Instead they last 2 years.

I have had two problems with coppercoat. The first is that my boat has a lead keel and coppercoat wont stick to that metal. But to be fair to coppercoat, the lead development research lab said nothing much in the way of paints would stick to lead long term. The problem is that if there is the tinyest water penetration of the coat, the oxide formed on the lead peels off the coating and a peeling / blistering process starts up. So if you have a boat with a lead keel what you need to do is to laminate the keel to the point where it has a waterproof cover, and dont run aground.

The other problem with coppercoat is that if you need to touch it up, you need a week of warm dry weather. No slapping on a coat between tides.

Other than the above, its been excellent and I would coat a new boat without question.