What if I don't (add more) anti-foul?

[Judders]

What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

There is a reasonable covering left over from last year. A couple of gaps but not many. The boat will dry out regularly so a scrub if required will be no great hassle...

Thoughts?

 

[stevebrassett]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

I'm not reantifouling this winter. I'm going to scrape the barnacles off, and see how it goes. Worst case is that I get loads of marine growth and I don't do it again.

 

[npf1]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

if you don't .. the swindlery will make less profit!

So far ... well since Dec 2003 ... mine has had about the same amount of fouling each year and I have not redone it. Not using any special antifouling either.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

Over the years I have tried using alternating colours of antifouling and found that after two years there is a reasonable amount of the previous antifoul showing but the effectivness of the antifoul if left for a further year is poor. So my conclusion is that given a good initial application and at least one scrub per year the antifoulings that I have used (Blakes Tiger, Int.Cruiser Premium and its recent replacement) will comfortably last for two years with the added advantage of less build up. This has been in the SW on a river swinging mooring and a marina. Give it a scrub and leave it. One thought is that if you are out of the water for any length of time over the winter some of the componants may deteriorate and a quick rub down prior to launch may reactivate them. Don't forget that antifoulings are quite toxic so wear a mask and gogles etc.

Good luck

 

[mithril]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

Lots of liveaboards only re-antifoul when either the old has worn off or it has ceased to work. Maybe you simply want peace of mind and so might feel happier re doing it. Costs though.

 

[richardabeattie]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

I always rise to anti fouling threads! If you have a bilge keeler and don't race why antifoul? I just dry out on hard sand once every summer for a half hour scrub off and then pressure wash when I lift out at the end of the season. Ten years of no anti fouling must have saved me a lot of time and money. As far as I can see this has very little effect on my boat's performance and in any case as far as I could see none of the post TBT stuff seemed to do much good.

 

[jakeroyd]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

I bought a boat last year which had a coat of International Micron Extra on it. This is supposed to last 2 years anyway. The boat is out of the water now and I reckon assuming the antifouling was done last Spring it will do another year with a bit of touching up.
My previous boat we anways used to do every year but we used cheap 'cruiser' antifouling , we tried going two years with this but found by the middle of the second year the growth on the hull had slowed the boat markedly.
So I reckon it comes down to the sort of antifouling you use and perhaps how thickly you can get it on , plus the cruising area you sailing amd prehaps how much sailing you actually do. Boats that lie in Marinas most of the time tend to get more fouled.

 

[Searush]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

Those of you who read my posts (OK - so no-one ever does!) will know that I am not a big spender! I have been antifouling every other year (occasionaly less) for some years now.

On the no paint years I have sometimes had to do a high season scrape (start of July/ August cruise) but apart from that the only problems are for the chandlers' profits. N Wales is a bit of a bad fouling area too, water is warm & full of nutrients (strong currents & fine silt) so we do see some pretty big barnacles once they get started.

We have enough pollutants in our rivers ans seas any way - why add to it unnecessarily? Do your bit for the planet, minimise use of antifoul and scrape a bit now & then instead.

People say its easy for us bilge keelers, but have YOU ever tried to paint in between the keels when beached on mud? Fin keelers can do it all standing up, if they dry out leaning against a wall - mind you it could take a second tide to turn it around to do the other side!

You have nothing to lose but some bills!

 

[Norman_E]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

Why not just touch in any gaps, and possibly put a bit on the areas that are likely to get most wear, like the leading edge of keel and rudder?

 

[andy_wilson]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

All that you will have left is a pourous pigment, the chemical agents will have leched out at a controlled rate over the period it was designed to (a season - prob'ly).

However, I only A/F every other year, and scrub 2 or three times duing the 'off' season. Growth is non-existant until June, so after a clean launch, a mid / late June scrub deals with the first wave of hatchlings. Weed will need scrubbing every 6 weeks if you are keen.

This way the A/F layers don't build up if you use a nylon scourer.

 

[bonny]

Re: What if I don\'t (add more) anti-foul?

Initially I used to antifoul yearly but found that on one occasion when I accidentally left it 2 years there was no major fouling. That was with a lift keel boat that could be dried out. I use Int. Cruiser Premium or Blakes Cruiser.

My present boat is fin keeled and is still looking very clean from it's last application in March 2005. Not only do I save money by not halving chandlery proffits but I also deprive the boat yard of extorsionate lift out/in fees.