To antifoul your props or not that is the ?

I

ianainge

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took my mullered props to Steel Developments for repair and they told me never to antifoul props, loads of tech talk but i was on a double yellow with warden approaching and didnt take it all in, whats the opinion of you lot?
 
Well I've never seen an antifould prop. And I'd also go along with what ever Steel developments said. Cant see antifouling staying on a prop for to long even if you did put it on.

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn
 
You must have stuffed a spud in the end of your tie as a kid, and then whirled it round your head till it shot out and brained the neighbour's cat, surely? Well, antifouling a prop's just the same. Only underwater, and without the potato. Or the cat.

The stuff won't stay on - it just gets flung off, and it also probably eats the metal. Or stops the anodes working. Or both. I read somewhere if you antifoul your props, you'll get boils, as well.
 
Veridian

I thought this was specifically for props (and legs). Although, as others have said, there seems little point in putting anti-foul over the paint if the paint comes off straight away anyway!

Another handy hint is to use your boat. This will stop the barnacles and weed. I'm sure you do but many don't!
 
I always seem to get pitting on the props and I don't use anti-fouling, Steel Developments suggest more anodes. This year they just passed mine to be fixed - thank god - I'll get new ones next year.

I use Veridan and seems to do the trick for me and keeps them clean, just make sure you do it properly.

RM.
 
assuming you put the stuff on so it stays on....I reckon whether to antifoul (using right stuff to avoid corrosion) depends on whether the boat spends weeks & weeks just sitting there...or actually gets used a bit.
 
I used to paint mine then got the pet talk from Streamlined Props. The stuff never came off though - well not just messing about on the river. My new Dp-e drive just has black factory supplied props so I won't be painting them now.

Peter

Not everything is black and white if you prove otherwise you’ll get run over on a zebra crossing
 
I used to have VP duoprop alu propellers, never antifouled. They began loosing their original black paint after one season. At the end of the second season, almost no paint was left, and they did not survive the third year.
Always replaced the anodes of course, and kept the boat in dry dock during winter.
With my current displacement boat, I was suggested to antifoul the props.
Considering that the baby cruises at 10 kts or so, I thought it could have been worth a try.
After one season and a whole winter in the water, it was a pleasant surprise to see that the props antifoul was still perfect.
Besides, I noticed that in my dockyard there are also planing boats (like the amazing Camuffo 60', a wooden flybridge capable of 45 - yes, fortyfive - kts) which are treated in the same way: also in their props the antifoul was still OK.
Don't know about type of paint used, preparation, etc.; just saw that the colour is grey.
If anybody is interested, I could ask more details.
 
Depends on what you use.

After 2 seasons, our previous boat's volvo AQ205 DP props started losing the original black paint. We tried MTX which was useless.
Then decided to go for Prop-o-drev. V easy to apply from spray cans BUT you must get the surfaces prepared perfectly. We had a few naff bits and it came off from there easily. The rest was fantastic. Basically, it lasted 3 seasons mod hard use + we were v pleased.
Unfortunately......... it is a REAL B****r to get off in order to get back past the primer and start again. As it is teflon(ish) you can forget trying to buff/grind it off - it just doesn't work. I think we ended up using some nasty clear stripper (in a green tin - name forgotten) which turned the antifoul and primer into a nasty goo which then had to be wiped off and repeat x 5-6 before it was clean. Then primer and spray again. Certainly kept the props v clean but I'm not sure if I'd go through it all again.

Anthony
 
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