Which Antifouling?

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smth448

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I know this may well be very boring but....
I keep my boat on a swinging mooring on the Medway and for the past few years have used International VC Offshore or 17M as antifouling. I race so scrub the boat regularly.
VC is more like fertiliser than antifouling so I wrote to International and grumbled about it.
They said basically that the stuff I have been using is no good for a high fouling area such as the Medway, inspite of the tin saying it was high strength.
They recommended either MIcron or Interspeed Ultra but I would have to remove all the VC as the teflon in it would not allow another coating to stick. He did say that if I put three coats of Micron on it would survive two scrubs. So it looks like Interspeed for me.
So, if I am going to go throughthe pain of removing all the A/F, will the Interspeed work or does anybody recommend something else.
All the locals seem to use different stuff. Some years one will work well but the next year not so.
I am almost thinking about putting nothing on at all and just scrubbing every other week.
 
You need to get very local recommendations from other Medway based boats. Teh experience over here in the Blackwater is that products are only VERY locally effective. Even as far as saying something is OK in Mersea, but not in Brigtlingsea....
 
when I was on the Medway I took the advice of Steve (Bosun at MYC) he recommended Jotun Seaguardian. I've been using that ever since. Cheap and performs well (in my limited experience). Available by post from Shepherd Marine.
 
ChattingLil said:
when I was on the Medway I took the advice of Steve (Bosun at MYC) he recommended Jotun Seaguardian. I've been using that ever since. Cheap and performs well (in my limited experience). Available by post from Shepherd Marine.
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Used SeaGuardian last season and had horrendous growth but maybe that was partly to do with not leaving the berth between Easter and August Bank Holiday.
 
Ianqv said:
Hi

I'm in Bradwell Marina and heard it can have very high weed growth there.
I used Micron SPC 66 Bio Lux.
International claim it is as good as TBT (It's good.... but not that good!!).

Here's a Link to what I used: http://www.yachtpaint.com/LiteratureCentre/M66_GBR_ENG.pdf

I also fitted the ultrasonic anti fouling - and this is working GREAT!!

I hope this helps

Ian
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Ultrasonic not an option on a swinging mooring?
What happened to Blakes Hard Racing? That was scrubbable.
 
FullCircle said:
What happened to Blakes Hard Racing? That was scrubbable.
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Had Hempel Hard (which I believe is the same product)-worked fine for 3 years on a swinging mooring at SYH.

Boat left in the water all year round.
First year didn't do anything to it.
Second year: one pre-season scrub.
Third year required 2 mid-season scrubs though.
Then boat spent a year ashore, and that seemed to have 'killed' it: weed & crustation central.
Now have Coppercoat: very, very, very, very, very, pleased. Apply and forget. Lift, replace anodes, drop, go sailing.
 
That's the thing with VC either Offshore or 17M. They contain teflon so nothing else will stick, apart from weed and barnacles that is. They do come off quite easily witht he pressure washer. Trouble is I am getting fed up with scrubbing every two weeks. I might just as well take it all off and have no a/f at all.
Or.. Just had a thought. Leave it as it is.
 
VC Offshore with Teflon

I used VC Offshore with Teflon for 3 years too long, I might as well have used emulsion paint. The price they charge for it you would expect it to at least work a little.

I am now using Cruiser Uno which has the performance I had expected from an expensive anti foul. Maybe the properties of Uno better suit the weekend sailor and VC is probably better for the racing enthusiast who will lift their boat several times in a season.
 
smth448 said:
That's the thing with VC either Offshore or 17M. They contain teflon so nothing else will stick, apart from weed and barnacles that is. They do come off quite easily witht he pressure washer. Trouble is I am getting fed up with scrubbing every two weeks. I might just as well take it all off and have no a/f at all.
Or.. Just had a thought. Leave it as it is.
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Our boat is about 200 yards from yours and this year we used the self eroding International Micron Optima. This was applied over VC offshore Teflon with a barrier coat of Primocon. No flaking patches etc whatsoever.

I abraded the hull first with 180 grit wet and dry with a 150 mm orbital sander, with the surface a bit damp and have had no problems with paint adhesion.

I have used Blakes hard racing which was the worst performer by far in the river, the VC Offshore Teflon was better and the Optima the best by far. 3 coats though.....

Only negative of the Optima is if you follow the instructions correctly, you need some decent weather to apply i.e warm and dry.....not just slapping it on when it's frosty/ snowing etc!
 
I've used Optima for many years now, both on a swinging mooring at Maylandsea and now at Titchmarsh. Our fouling recently has been very little, but that could partly be because of our 3 month cruise on the move each year. At the mooring, we and another boat found it to be superior to others (at the time) and didn't require a mid-season scrub.

One requirement for Optima is anhour to cure before immersion, which means that you can't fill in bits while in the slings but have to do it earlier. We get our props moved while painting. Also, the colours are not very good, but I intend to continue with it for the time being, especially as it is water-washable and uses no thinners.
 
emandvee44 said:
This is our yacht after almost 6 months afloat,mostly in a tidal marina. It has not been washed yet.

Michael.
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So you recommend we all move to Devon then?
Might be a bit of a long commute to go sailing.
I always noticed, even on th emedway that in a marina the fouling was much less as the boats all sit in a soup of antifouling poison. Mind you if you are in a Tidal Marina I would expect it to keep onm flushing the stuff through. All our marinas either have locks or they dry out
 
I saw a bloke go without antifouling the year before last on a B.O.D keelboat, as soon as the sun came out he was scrubbing twice a week so put that silly idea right out of your head !
I am currently using " Premier marine " antifoul, bought at Ipswich boat jumble from the manufacturer and it seems to work at least as well as the big name brands . We race every weekend and scrub three times a season and it has stood up to it quite well. Best thing is that it is about 1/3rd the price of International. They have a website so perhaps you may take a look.

BRING BACK TBT, Bugger the environment
 
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