Ten year old Copper Coat on new boat.

[Nigel52]

I’m buying a ten your old Beneteau Antares 30 which has Copper coat antifouling. Normally this would be seen as a benefit if only a few years old but ten is near end of its lifespan. My surveyor is not a fan of copper coat for this type of boat and prefers a good erodable antifoul.

Any thoughts on this.

 

[Tranona]

Try it and see how it performs for a year. It may need refreshing. Personally would not go back to conventional antifoul. If the existing turns out not to be effective but still sound then recoating is sensible. Material costs (and labour if paying) are a higher, but that's it for another 10 or more years.

 

[Nigel52]

Thanks. I am trying to get costs to see where I stand.

 

[Momac]

Do you know the copper coat is as old as the boat?

I would see copper coat as a bonus.
If its still working whats the problem?
If it needs refreshing whats the problem?
It's a 10 year old boat not a new boat

 

[Seastoke]

1 how can it be 10 year old on a new boat , only joking .
If it’s a good boat why worry about the AF
Ask the surveyor, to give reasons why he does not like it , he should know better ,did he like the stripe down the side.

 

[Nigel52]

Ok, thanks for all the comments. Will now wait for the survey report.

 

[Hurricane]

I've been using Coppercoat for about 15 years now.
We did a full "top up" at about 9 years ago.
A good rubdown and 3 more coats.
During the next lift, I'm going to "top up" the vertical sides of the chines (if you know what I mean.
I understand if re-coppercoating that it is best to make the first layer epoxy only.
When I say epoxy only, I mean the resin and hardner only - no copper.
Coppercoat comes in 4 parts
1 - Resin
2 - Hardner
3 - Thinner
4 - and the actual copper is supplied as a powder.

With respect to actual antifoul, Coppercoat isn't as good as conventional antifoul.
But it is a good strong hard coat.
Your surveyor should have praised it for the protection that it gives to the hull.
I suppose he doen't like it because conventional antifoul is better at stopping the fouling.

In our case, we lift the boat often and pressure wash.
If you do that with conventional antifoul, you will end up washing it off.

If I were you, I would have a good look next time the boat is out of the water.
It is a good idea to "re-acticate" coppercoat when the boat is out of the water.
This is done with a very light rubbing using a stiff Scotch pad.
Maybe just try that on your first season.

My advice is "stick with it".

 

[Nigel52]

I've been using Coppercoat for about 15 years now.
We did a full "top up" at about 9 years ago.
A good rubdown and 3 more coats.
During the next lift, I'm going to "top up" the vertical sides of the chines (if you know what I mean.
I understand if re-coppercoating that it is best to make the first layer epoxy only.
When I say epoxy only, I mean the resin and hardner only - no copper.
Coppercoat comes in 4 parts
1 - Resin
2 - Hardner
3 - Thinner
4 - and the actual copper is supplied as a powder.

With respect to actual antifoul, Coppercoat isn't as good as conventional antifoul.
But it is a good strong hard coat.
Your surveyor should have praised it for the protection that it gives to the hull.
I suppose he doen't like it because conventional antifoul is better at stopping the fouling.

In our case, we lift the boat often and pressure wash.
If you do that with conventional antifoul, you will end up washing it off.

If I were you, I would have a good look next time the boat is out of the water.
It is a good idea to "re-acticate" coppercoat when the boat is out of the water.
This is done with a very light rubbing using a stiff Scotch pad.
Maybe just try that on your first season.

My advice is "stick with it".

Thank you.

 

[rafiki_]

I had coppercoat on my Azimut. I’m a big fan. Will do the same on the next boat.

 

[Momac]

Your surveyor should have praised it for the protection that it gives to the hull.

This is a big plus especially if it was done from new

 

[Moonstruck]

Having copper coat applied to my boat 8 years ago was one of the best things I’ve done. Not sure I understand the comments above saying it is not as good as conventional anti fouling as in my personal experience it has performed better than anything I had used previously. I guess everyone has their own opinions but I’m surprised at your surveyors comments. I would definitely view it as a plus on a boat.

 

[IanCC]

Sounds like the surveyor i had. Utterly useless. So i might take it as a symptom of that rather than as a fault with the boat.

 

[jon and michie]

My surveyor is not a fan of copper coat for this type of boat and prefers a good erodable antifoul.

Any thoughts on this.

Could this be down getting Osmosis checks done on the bottom of the hull made difficult if copper coated ? - (this is a question as I dont know).

I Know when (when ever that is ) - I will get my next boat Copper coated with the costs spread over the average of 10 years its not worth doing it in standard A/foul.

 

[EugeneR]

It depends on how often it has been abraded to expose fresh copper.

I had several layers of copper coat professionally applied, only lightly abraded it once every 2-3 years, so there is lots of fresh copper left.

I would mildly abrade it, and see how it goes, first.

For me, coppercoat works - maybe one mid season quick lift and wash to remove the slime, but otherwise zero growth. No sanding, no painting, no hassle.

 

[Momac]

Could this be down getting Osmosis checks done on the bottom of the hull made difficult if copper coated ? - (this is a question as I dont know).

I Know when (when ever that is ) - I will get my next boat Copper coated with the costs spread over the average of 10 years its not worth doing it in standard A/foul.

I would have thought copper coat being an epoxy coating is in itself effective Osmosis protection.
For me conventional antifoul is cheaper but that's only because do it myself. It is only the work needed to prepare for copper coat that deters me. Someone I know did his own copper coat a few years ago and it works very well . Quite envious last time out he needed to do nothing.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I would have thought copper coat being an epoxy coating is in itself effective Osmosis protection.
For me conventional antifoul is cheaper but that's only because do it myself. It is only the work needed to prepare for copper coat that deters me. Someone I know did his own copper coat a few years ago and it works very well . Quite envious last time out he needed to do nothing.

It is of course possible to do your own coppercoat, but it’s very hard work. It is apparently not the ideal water barrier for osmosis prevention, but you generally use an epoxy primer under it. Ours probably is ‘less effective’ in the short term, ie some grown happens, but it mostly falls off with a decent fast run, so should be ideal for you motor boat types. It’s pretty good on a sporty trimaran. I just scrub in the water or on the beach before racing, for the best, smoothest bottom. If you can do 20kn you can probably forget that bit and just give her a blast every so often.

 

[jon and michie]

I was quoted £6k to have it done on a T43 including taking the old A/F off back to Gelcoat

But based on 2 coats of antifoul per season x4 tins averaging £100 per tin at best = £400 then there's the consumables paint brushes / rollers / sanding blocks / PPE and the time it takes to Prep / plus fuel costs if the boat is a distance from Home and then do the Arduous task.

Over Copper coat lasting an average of 10 yrs is £600 per year and no ball ache of laying under the boat wishing you had paid to get it done in the first place