White antifouling, less effective?

jerrytug

jerrytug

N/A
Joined
31 May 2006
Messages
3,771
Location
Lorient
Visit site
I would like to use white antifouling, to show off the lovely shape of my hull. But I have read mutterings that it contains fewer or weaker poisonous chemicals than the traditional dark red stuff. (my aim is to establish a toxic death zone around the hull, so nothing can get a hold, but I appreciate it's unkind to seahorses etc).

Is there any evidence? or is it an old wives' tale, and all colours of the same type are equally powerful?

I was thinking International Cruiser Uno, simply because it was effective on my last yacht. However, that was in the very dark blue colour..

I don't know if there is any point asking the paint company, would they admit it?

White would have advantages, such as being able to clearly see any barnacles or growth, or scrapes, dents from flotsam, weeping nail heads etc.

Thanks for any expert advice, Jerry
 
I'm no expert, but I used a white antifouling some years ago, on the Halcyon 27 that we kept on a mooring at Warsash. I couldn't see that it performed any differently to the blue we had used previously, or to the majority of boats around us..

My Dad is a (long retired) marine paint chemist. I'm seeing him later this morning, and will report back with his views.
 
I bought some antifoul paint last week- thanks paypal tappers

the first chandlers I wernt in did not have any and told me that it is less effective than the others

however, I wanted the white so I bought it elsewhere

being a twin keel man I am a bit of a scrubber anyway

D
 
jerrytug said:
I would like to use white antifouling, to show off the lovely shape of my hull. But I have read mutterings that it contains fewer or weaker poisonous chemicals than the traditional dark red stuff. (my aim is to establish a toxic death zone around the hull, so nothing can get a hold, but I appreciate it's unkind to seahorses etc).

Is there any evidence? or is it an old wives' tale, and all colours of the same type are equally powerful?

I was thinking International Cruiser Uno, simply because it was effective on my last yacht. However, that was in the very dark blue colour..

I don't know if there is any point asking the paint company, would they admit it?

White would have advantages, such as being able to clearly see any barnacles or growth, or scrapes, dents from flotsam, weeping nail heads etc.

Thanks for any expert advice, Jerry
Click to expand...

The only point I would make is that for growth conditions the White may reflect more light around and increase the growth.
The extra light would obviously not affect barnacles (I have never caught one sunbathing yet ;)
 
My understanding is that the 'natural' colour of most antifouls is a copperish brown. To make it white, blue or anything else requires additional pigments. So, since most leisure antifouls are priced the same regardless of colour, buyers of 'natural' antifoul effectively subsidise their more chromatically sensitive brethren. In other words, the latter are getting summat for nowt. Enjoy it.
Personally I'd like to see a few Gingham hulls.
 
Whitty said:
Merchant vessels seem to use black or red i wonder why.
Click to expand...

On that basis we should be able to pick it up for nothing compared to other colours.

Someone somewhere is making lots and lots of money if they only sell black and Red
 
Am just changing to black and actually I think you will find it shows off her lines better!

If you ever pass a heeled over yacht wearing black the hull stands out much better against the water and looks better whereas a white hull just looks dirty with even the slightest smudge of slime on it - you dont know it yet, but you want black, and it is much more effective as well. :)
 
I have also been told that white is less effective but it also would tend to show the slime more anyway - which is why I want it - easier to see when she needs a clean.

I have been using micron extra white for years but am changing to a stronger formulation that is available in all the normal colours - apart from white - make of that what you will.
 
I used white in the past and more recently changed to grey. I think any difference in actual performance between any colours is probably slight and impossible to measure objectively given the vast number of variables that may have an effect. However, I do thing white/grey shows the fouling more than the darker colours, which can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage as the comments on this thread have shown.
 
I've used white Cruiser Uno for the past few years and have had good results. I can't comment on it's efficacy compared with other colours, and would expect year on year variations in water temperature or salinity to result in a greater variability in growth than pigmentation.

One big plus for me is that there is very little build up since the boat was blasted back to gel-coat three years ago so hopefully there won't be a need to scrape or blast again in the near future.

Rob
 
I used Micron Extra 2 in Dover White last year. Berthed in Chatham Marina and I never bothered to scub before lifting out. Only a light layer of slime and no weed. Just a few barnacles on the prop and bottom of the keel. The growth in the marina is certainly lower than in the river, but I have been very impressed with the white antifouling.

Personally I do not think Cruiser Uno is a powerful as Micron Extra 2, and when you consider how long it takes to apply the paint and the time and effort of scrubbing, the cost saving is minimal. Treat your new boat with the best, Micron Extra 2 did come out best in the PBO test of antifouling paint.
 
My last boat had blue a/f and my new one has white. I always use Uno and I've just last week applied 6 litres of the wretched stuff (despite barrier cream and two layers of gloves I always loose skin on my fingers a couple of weeks after applying it).

Mid season, I always dive under the vessel for a look around. White seems to show the slime / sediment more than blue but I thinks that it's purely due to the colour contrast. At the end of the season, a quick jet was removes everything very easily, nothing has taken permanent residence. Subjectively, white does its job for my 6 month season. By comparison, the Yanmar saildrive leg was not antifouled and after 6 months in the water was a right bl00dy mess. Despite being told that it was not recommended, this season I've applied Primocon and Trlux 33 to it.
 
We've used Seajet Emporer white a/f for the past eight years and have been very pleased with its performance. We found International's Dover white wasn't colour stable - the copper turned the boot line a verdigre (sp?) green very quickly. Not so with the Emporer, completely colour stable. White looks fantastic for the summer but looks increasingly grubby over winter, that doesn't bother us too much but that's a personal thing.

Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top