Which antifoul ?

[Pinnacle]

Nick

In my experience, jetwashing does take quite a bit off - esp if you have used an eroding type of A?F. For Portsmouth Harbour, we have found Seajet Shogun 033 to be quite good. We only switched to that type cos the bloke next to us in the marina said he had been there for >10yrs and was the best he had found. Before that, we had used a cheap brand. It was useless!

So, we had the boat out for a week at the beginning of July and put 2 thick coats on ( we used 3 and three quarters 2.5L tins on our 41ft LOA boat, so pretty similar to yours ). We shall see how well that performs over the coming months.

 

[pathfinderstu]

You need some dodgy TBT

Your probably right, and probably more environmently friendly at the end of the day than all the gallons of rubbish that's been washed of my hull over the last ten years!
you got any spare?

 

[Robin]

Last year, having spent many hours cleaning up the keel, I put on a double coat of Cruising A/F. This year, had her lifted and pressure washed at the end of May (prior to RTIR) and the antifoul still looked OK.

Eight weeks later, seriously struggling to keep up with smaller boats, had her lifted again this afternoon. I wasn't present at the time, but was told that it looked like a layer of green suede. Obviously, 15 months was too long before a re-coat, especially with the hot weather in July causing a level of weed (in Lymington river anyway). Also, having had a pressure wash in May has caused the A/F to deteriorate quicker

I dont want to put on another coat now because my longer term plan has been to strip the whole lot back to bare GRP this winter anyway - which is another reason I didnt put on a coat earlier in the year.

Now I am thinking about what to put on next. Racing owners spend a lot of time and money keeping the boat's bottom clean and smooth, and it clearly makes a big difference to their performance. So why do cruisers buy cheaper antifoul ? It seems to be a false economy - surely it is better to spend £80 per tin instead of £40, and not lose a knot or more of sailing speed? Then there is the additional fuel cost to overcome the additional drag.

What to do ????

`I wouldn't go expensive until you can do the complete strip and start again job. That said we used International Optima, two part and water based for some years which was excellent ( Blakes had a similar but solvent based two pack one a friend used with success too) Our bottom stayed clean and free of everything even Poole slime all year but then we had a bad batch of paint that flaked off and had to take it all off next lift out and time constraints and weather conditions had us go back to Micron which was more tolerant of temperature/rainy days and the difference in cost over optima would have paid for several diver clean-offs at 35 squids a pop back then. In practice Micron must have improved since we had previously used it because we just needed a very quick diver sponge before going on our annual cruise and no more were required. in the following three years we just stuck to Micron and the diver had to find another customer to fund his own boating.... That was in Poole which suffers badly from slime BTW. We used whiteOptima and Micron as it was easy to see any slime build up and deal with it if we wished, I love a smooth clean bum. a thin layer of Poole slime would still knock 0.75kt off our 2000rpm cruise speed under motor so we had a comparison base

Over here in Florida growth is rapid yet boats lift out every 2nd or 3rd year only for repaints, having regular diver cleans and zinc replacements in between. We used a USA made International (Interlux here) Micron 66 on our mobo we lived on that was good and the same has just gone onto our new Benny over 4 coats of epoxy barrier coat since we had the old paint totally removed.

Our friend in the UK who used the Blakes equivalent of Optima only put one coat on to our two coats and that worked for him whilst keeping his costs down too and he was a racer and fussy.

 

[nigelmercier]

We are blessed with three chandlers all within walking distance, and between them they sell whatever one wants to buy - or they can order it in.

Ask them what they sell the most of, especially to fishermen.

 

[oldbilbo]

I've had me bottom stripped back by soda-blasting, and have painted on Jotun's Vinyguard as a tie-coat. At some point I will apply Jotun Seaqueen, as recommended, in 2 coats. However, I happen to have enough for 4 coats....

I can't find any reliable guidance on whether 2, 3 or more coats is optimum. Any ideas...?

 

[nigelmercier]

^I've been advised to use 2 coats, but 3 for a roller width at the waterline.

 

[Seatrout]

For swinging mooring in the Clyde, I recommend Seajet Shogun. I converted to that last season after meeting the bloke next to me in winter storage and remarking on the new appearance his AF job. He told me it was was untouched for the last 3 seasons!
At the lift out last winter, the marina staff remarked that my hull was the cleanest they had lifted thus far.
That said, a sailing yacht is for sailing and I cruise for most of the season, while back at the moorings, those that go out for only the occasional weekend, grow green beards.

 

[Seven Spades]

Your probably right, and probably more environmently friendly at the end of the day than all the gallons of rubbish that's been washed of my hull over the last ten years!
you got any spare?

You can order it here:-

http://www.seahawkpaints.com/Our-Products/Product/Islands-44-Plus.aspx

My guess is that it is probably legal to buy and import but illegal to use.

or you could try these chaps:-

http://www.seahawkpaints.com/Our-Products/Certified-Applicator/Deka-Marine.aspx

They seem to be listed as a "Certified Applicator" in Turkey, but the site might be wrong. It might be that they only do commercial vessels, but probably worth a call.

 

[Blueboatman]

The haulout and prep time is a cost exceedign that of the paint in my experience, unless you have a drying mooring or a bilgekeeler. I put at least three coats on ( ablative but strongest whatever available for the waterline 6 inches). But I do hull clean in the water regularly and gently
I hauled out in April after 2 years of south coast use and didn't wash off anything except a couple of barnacles around the prop.
I suspect that lymington is a tougher kettle, always used to be..

 

[Steve Clayton]

After years of buying cheap, this year (after a bit of research on what works locally) I have gone for Jotun. Cheap it was not, and applying it in this years near zero March temperatures meant using more than probably needed. However, normally by this time I expect to see all manner of critters, hard and soft, but this year she is looking remarkably clean. Jotun also say that it should continue working for 2 years, however my diligence in removing the water from around her in the winter time I guess will kill off any hope that being tested.

I am now a convert to a more expensive paint.

PP

+1 for Jotun; excellent stuff