To Copper coat or not ??

From a sailing point of view, the pay back time was about three years, results as good as best antifouling and better than most. Although this year a few boats in our neck of the woods have reported higher slime and fringe build up this seems to be common to all AFs and is probably due to warmer sea temps and more sun.

A boat out of the water is no good to me, so an annual lift out, jet off, anode and propulsion check suits me fine.

Down side...it's more difficult to clean and polish the hull and I'm trying to work out how I can redo the tired looking boot topping while it's in the water. If all else fails it's scrubbing grid time.
 
Just an observation, except for once exception where the application was in discussion as it was shedding, all those who have had it done support it and those who have not had experience of it are either agnostic or cannot justify the expense. Not sure if I want to say any more to encourage the wrath of some of the forumites responding to some of the other current threads. :-) Good well behaved thread so far lol.......
 
boatingdave said:
Just an observation, except for once exception where the application was in discussion as it was shedding, all those who have had it done support it and those who have not had experience of it are either agnostic or cannot justify the expense. Not sure if I want to say any more to encourage the wrath of some of the forumites responding to some of the other current threads. :-) Good well behaved thread so far lol.......
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It wasnt even a cost issue in our case. We had the funds there to have it applied and had already gone to the trouble of stripping the existing paint.

It was the advise of our surveyor that swayed us.
 
KevB said:
Well worth the money.
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+1

Now we lift out every other year. Saving £400 when it stays in and £200 each year for the antifoul. Payback time in my case was 4 years.

IMHO antifouling a boat is an awful task which is best avoided
 
gsturgeon said:
+1

Now we lift out every other year. Saving £400 when it stays in and £200 each year for the antifoul. Payback time in my case was 4 years.

IMHO antifouling a boat is an awful task which is best avoided
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Scraping it off is an awful task best avoided. Never again :)

Dont mind applying it though. Its always the best bit after time ashore to get fresh paint on the hull to finish off the job.
 
CX54WEK said:
It wasnt even a cost issue in our case. We had the funds there to have it applied and had already gone to the trouble of stripping the existing paint.

It was the advise of our surveyor that swayed us.
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He must have thought it was wood.

Quiz of the week: the qualifications required to be a yacht surveyor are:??
 
Delighted with our coppercoat, now in its 8th year and still performing well. Boat hasnt been out of the water in 4 years. I just dive to replace anodes and give it a scrub.
 
I asked the OP's question with regards to our new Nimbus, and got similar mixed messages with a majority in favour.
After 1 season, there was a film of slime which removed readily with pressure washing. This compared, with significant weed growth on my previous boat with Cruiser Uno antifoul. So my conclusion is that Copperoat performs better, and avoids the annual expense and aggravation of applying traditional antifoul.
 
NoviceRod said:
I asked the OP's question with regards to our new Nimbus, and got similar mixed messages with a majority in favour.
After 1 season, there was a film of slime which removed readily with pressure washing. This compared, with significant weed growth on my previous boat with Cruiser Uno antifoul. So my conclusion is that Copperoat performs better, and avoids the annual expense and aggravation of applying traditional antifoul.
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and the 1st season is the worst - it takes 3 months to get to full strength so a 1/4 of your season has been weak.

mark
 
Ok thanks to all who have answered. So the upshot seems to be if you can afford it do it, if you cant dont !
Time to check the bank balance!!
BTW.... Took delivery of my S28 monday and brought her back by sea from Weymouth. All went smoothly and we are looking forward to many happy days afloat ( after hull drying and copper coat or not).
I'm sure to be back soon with more begging questions !
 
NDB said:
Ok thanks to all who have answered. So the upshot seems to be if you can afford it do it, if you cant dont !
Time to check the bank balance!!
BTW.... Took delivery of my S28 monday and brought her back by sea from Weymouth. All went smoothly and we are looking forward to many happy days afloat ( after hull drying and copper coat or not).
I'm sure to be back soon with more begging questions !
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Despite my experience, I will not disagree, but do think carefully about who you get to apply it. You will be investing thousands of pounds on something that needs to be working for several years before you break even - if, like me, you find that there are issues with its application, you want to be sure that the contractor is still around and that they will warranty their work several years after it's been done.
 
maby said:
Despite my experience, I will not disagree, but do think carefully about who you get to apply it. You will be investing thousands of pounds on something that needs to be working for several years before you break even - if, like me, you find that there are issues with its application, you want to be sure that the contractor is still around and that they will warranty their work several years after it's been done.
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DIY is OK as long as you RTFM. To the letter.
 
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