Should I coppercoat my 24 Achilles 24?

[slawosz]

My 24 A24 is fin keel and quite narrow - 2 meters and 6 meters waterline. I am thinking about applying copper coat. I don’t think I will change boat any time soon. I think I would pay around 500 quid for coppercoat, which is not that much as I need to spend around 100 every year for very good AF.
Now, I read and watched a lot on topic, but I appreciate different opinions hence the topic. Apparently it’s quite easy to apply and most people, maybe except the ones that failed, says that it’s very simple process. Yet people are having mixed opinions.
The pros are no need to do any AF for years, easy to clean surface in case of minimal grow. The cons is risk that it will work poorly, but even then, jet wash mid season - free in my club - does not risk removing AF.
I wold do work myself - with help of others - following every step of manufacturer instructions.
Any thought appreciated.

 

[[70521]]

Get it done professionally, in a yard that spays the stuff on, in mid summer, in a shed. Amazing stuff if applied correctly.

 

[Concerto]

From what I have heard, Achilles sail so fast they are supposed to be self cleaning.

 

[ridgy]

From what I have heard, Achilles sail so fast they are supposed to be self cleaning.

I believe that you are mistaken for the Anderson 22

 

[Tranona]

Best to have the hull and keel blasted first, and if it is an iron keel apply epoxy immediately and then 5 or 6 coats. You need at least a week of warm dry weather if doing it outside. The actual application is easy with rollers and 2 people if you follow the instructions. As ever with applying coatings the key is in the preparation - and in this case the cost of good preparation is equal to or greater than the final coat. well worth doing if you look at a 5-10 year time scale.

 

[Gwylan]

Worth it. Probably easier with a fin keel, rather than struggling underneath a bilge keel
Just do it properly and take your time
Most important is to have warm weather. >10°C at least.
We soda blasted everything off, below the waterline. Let things dry for a couple of weeks.
Epoxied the keels, several coats. Then a couple of coats over everything up to the waterline.
Buy decent masking tape and do not leave it on too long.

Make sure there has been an extended period of warm, dry weather so the hull is well dried.
Wipe down with acetone before applying CC.

On an Achilles it will not take long. Mix one batch, slap it on and wait. Being only 24 feet means it will not take long.
It may need some time for it to be ready for the next coat.
You may find the stuff going off before you can get a second coat on. That's a problem I can imagine.

Buy a job lot of rollers. Each coat will kill a roller.
Worth the effort, not to mention the faff of AF every season.
Lift, wash off, abrade with a 3m green pad and relaunch. One tide, all done
Pressure wash once more in the season if you get the chance or feel you need to
Ours lasted, did a top up couple of coats at 10 ye. Now 15+ since the first job.

 

[Biggles Wader]

Have you considered obtaining some commercial standard antifoul like Hempel Globic/Olympic or the Jotun equivalent? Cant be bought by private owners from chandlers but is available on Ebay, usually in 20 litre drums. This stuff lasts three years between recoats and is pretty effective. If you can get three or four owners together to share a drum it is even quite cheap.

 

[syvictoria]

If you're doing it outside, tape a 'skirt' of damp proof course around the waterline to allow any overnight dew or light perspiration to drip off at the waterline, rather than running down below it and onto your freshly prepared or painted surface!

Something like this (or possibly a little wider):
Capital Valley Plastics Ltd Damp-Proof Course 1968ga Black 30m x 100mm

 

[slawosz]

Right, thank you very much.
So far I see those main points:
- stable weather
- very good hull preparation
- protecting from water

Now I have few points to discuss with CC support.
Oh, and I would never pay for the job - it doesn't makes sense for me, as would probably cost at least 1.5 k in Essex.

 

[slawosz]

So I wrote an email to Coppercoat, they responded quite quickly. Basically, they said - stick to the instructions, don't overthink. I also watched this video:

which gives quite a good feeling how it should turn out.

I think, what was said in the video, lot of people, also yards, are thinking of copper coat as of normal antifoul, and for example applying it too thick or so.

 

[srm]

I applied it in 2009 on the hard in Plymouth as boat had been ashore for over 2 years and hull was dry. Cleaned old antifoul and hull down to gelcoat then high build epoxy. Coppercoat must be applied in very thin coats by roller (or spray) wet on wet. Area under props was touched up by brush after props moved and needed a lot of rubbing down the following two or three years to get to active copper.
Dried out to pressure wash each year in N of Scotland.
First lift out 2019 and touched up with coppercoat as some blisters in the epoxy sub coat and some loss of coppercoat around sintered bronze cooling plate for fridge. Relaunched 2020.

Has not been cleaned since but snorkling shows thin film of soft growth, plus barnacles on un-coated prop.
Frequency of cleaning depends on the water, once or twice a year in N of Scotland though passages through the Caledonian Canal helped. Here in Azores its still acceptable with a soft film of growth after two years in the marina.

Expensive and takes time to do properly, but saves on subsequent antifouling and, if you can dry out to scrub/pressure wash, saves lift out costs.

Hull must be really dry before coating, otherwise risk of the coppercoat blistering as its near enough impervious.