Should I anti-foul

[fergusT]

Hi All,

I am hoping that someone will be able to settle my mind. I have a new (used) boat in Spain. It is an open day boat (quick silver 500) and has been kept in a garage and mostly launched and recovered. So the bottom has never been anti-fouled and is very clean.

I will keep the boat in the water for maximum 14 weeks, but that will include 3-4 week stretches when it is back in dry store. The longest time it will be in the water for will be around 6 weeks and more often it will be for 15-18 days at a time.

When in the water the boat will be on a swing mooring in an estuary that has strong tidal flows and a lot of vegetation and stuff is sweep along with each tide. The mooring pier is covered in mussels.

Should I anti-foul the bottom is my dilema. I think now is the time to do it, when it is clean and it is in the boat yard, so easy to do. Then I remember that I have read that you need to have the boat in the water for the anti-foul to go off. So I should not do it until I am about to put it in the water, but it will only be in the water for a week or so before being taken out and back to the boat yard.

Then I think, is it really necessary. If it is most often in for two weeks and then out, jet washed, scrubbed if necessary and keep in the boat yard until next use, which will be 3-4 weeks time, is it necessary to anti-foul with primer and then top coat.

So is there anyone else out there thatis having similar use of their boat in the med area that could offer some advice and let me sleep at night?

Many thanks,

 

[Portofino]

Prime + antifoul - you will not regret it .
Otherwise spend / waste time scrubbing off growth even after 2 weeks submersed .

 

[fergusT]

Thanks for the reply. That is very helpful and concise.

 

[landlockedpirate]

We used to take our non antifouled trail boats to the Med for holidays. There was a staggering amount of growth on the hull after just 2 weeks, that was with daily use. As said above prime and antifoul, its the only way.

 

[Gentlemanracer]

It's a tough call to cake layers of sticky suff onto a clean & smooth hull in order to deter other sticky stuff and once done, it's constantly recurring cash flow for those lucky sticky stuff purveyors / installers / maintainers! Sadly, it seems the combination of warm water and sunlight is the very least that critters and veg need to take up residence. But "growth" intensity seems to vary according to location. Were it me and if there is ready access to lift & squirt facilities then I'd only get AF installed if it became obvious that not doing it wasn't enough. Personally, I find the whole idea of making a smooth surface (for very good reason) into a sticky surface and having to repeat the blinking process each season counterintuitive. If it's necessary,then make it smooth and with no need at all to re-indulge its birthdays! Can't see that Coppercoat (from these perspectives) has any competition at all, providing you dont ever want to remove it!

 

[fergusT]

Thanks for the advise. That is why I am confused, some people have said definitely while others are saying maybe. So I think I will see how it goes. Get it into the water for 2 weeks and see what builds up and also what is left after the jet wash. If any persists then I will need to think serious about it. With regard to gentlemanracer and sticky stuff, I thought it was possible to buy anti-foul that has a hard finish and should be smooth. Am I getting more confused?

 

[Gentlemanracer]

No, you are right! I've inherited hard AF on mine but there's 5 years worth of it, not exactly smooth, adds weight & looks carp! Since any AF repainting needs to stay wet to work, advice to me is that it's pointless painting it on if the boat is not going to be in the water all the time! If it is, then the AF paint & repaint story is an option to become part if your life! Copper-coat is the only AF option I have found that doesn't mind being out of the water, so a no-brainer if like me you're in and out but fouling is or may be too fast for a regular squirt. And its as hard as you like!