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Thread: Antifoul?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Antifoul?

    What's the latest on this hull protection? Any thoughts or observations?

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  3. #2
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    'Delaide, Australia
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    You want anything new to settle down for a few years to see what happens.

    Also it does depend a bit where you are mooring the boat. Whatever works on other boats in the same area will probably work on yours too.

    MIK

  4. #3
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    Thanks Mik, I suppose my reason for asking is a concern for the environment, not just what I'm sailing on but what's existing beneath the waves. Are the chemicals that go into antifoul similar regardless of the brand or do they vary considerably? Is there a base chemical common to all antifoul products ie;tributyltin?
    Ta folks .

  5. #4
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    Howdy Huon,

    Basically the regulations covering antifoul have become more and more stringent - both in terms of what is in them and how they are prepared and applied.

    I am sure the environmental damage is waaaaay less than when I was working on slipways.

    However - a good question and I urge caution

    There are the epoxy/metallic copper ones that put less into the environment, but their efficacy varies a lot from place to place. Some boats have FANTASTIC results with others pretty poor. I used to sell it, but it is very variable in behaviour. Its advantage is that very little goes into the water.

    There have been antifouls that rely on chilli - do you want fries with that - that came ... and went (I believe).

    And teflon antifoul that made it impossible for anything to grip - came and ... went (I also believe). It also claimed that it would improve a boat's speed - so it should be on every racing craft in the universe.

    It ain't - because water doesn't work like hands rubbing a surface.

    I did a search on google - the first site is expired - sounded good - "not a paint" "5 years between recoats" or there is the one that measures it its thickness in "sheets of paper" "2 sheets thickness for 6 to 12 months"
    http://www.google.com.au/search?&q=%...tifoul&spell=1

    OK - I was searching on the wrong buzzword - no antifoul can really be considered "environmentally friendly"

    However "environmentally responsible" seems to yield more information
    http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=e...G=Search&meta=

    Can you see what I am getting at. Be careful with new stuff on the market. Apply well tested products to the manufacturer's directions.

    M

  6. #5
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    The best, non-invasive anti foul I've found is spray on truck bed liner. Think of this stuff as an aerosol 3M 5200 (similar chemically). It sticks tenaciously, but the surface must be very clean (no oil soaked wood, etc.) and not much can get a grip on it.

    I've been doing some research on this stuff, with a specific manufacture and have had a sample piece of plywood, completely coated, mostly submerged in the nastiest looking water possible. Yep, it does "slim" up, pretty much like everything else, but it's a simple wipe off thing and serious growth (barnacles) are easy to knock off, but you do have to stay after them if the boat is static (moored or berthed for a long time). Underway, it does appear to be relatively self cleaning, though again, you'll have to keep after it with occasional brushings.

    Nothing leaches into the water and no harm comes to the beasties that attempt to cling to it. It will also seal up a sound hull and permit a lot of movement between planks (traditional construction methods) without it cracking or separating from the substrate, which is my primary intrest in the goo.

  7. #6
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    Antifouling is of perennial interest, but there seems to be no easy answer. The ones that work well are too dangerous to the environment, and the safe ones don't work very well. Years ago we were able to buy antifouls containing tributyltin (now banned) and they worked for 2 years or more before recoating. Since different places have different water quality and temperature, and different organisms, there is no one antifoul that is best in all locations anyway. Best bet is to find out what the commercial boaties are using in your area, since they have a strong interest in the best-performing products. Interestingly, here in the Gippsland Lakes at the moment we have a bit of algae in the water and boats that would normally be badly fouled are coming out completely clean. Now, if we could only harness what's in the algae...

  8. #7
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    Some years ago I was watching the National Press Club program on the ABC , there was a lovely woman speaking about Australian inventers ,the one inventer that grabbed my attention was this fellow researching marine plants ( I think ,memory's not what used to be ). He noticed a particular plant unencumbered with any foreign growth , the speaker on the show mentioned that this fellow was trying to isolate the chemical/gene that kept the plant free of marine ?pests? .At the time, not having any interset in sailing I never followed it up . Would be interesting to know if anything has developed since then .
    Last edited by HUON; 6th April 2008 at 06:03 PM. Reason: spelling mistake

  9. #8
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    Default PAR? antifoul follow up

    [QUOTE=PAR;712420][FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][COLOR=#000000]The best, non-invasive anti foul I've found is spray on truck bed liner. Think of this stuff as an aerosol 3M 5200 (similar chemically). It sticks tenaciously, but the surface must be very clean (no oil soaked wood, etc.) and not much can get a grip on it.

    Hello PAR, this was part of a post from back in 2008, I am interested to know if there was any follow up, did you end up doing a boat with it, it won't be to long before I will need to antifoul and am looking at the alternatives

  10. #9
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    Various truck bed liner formulators have used these products on boats, pilings, docks, etc. with mixed results. If you clean regularly, it remains growth free, but like anything left in the water for long, particularly unattended periods, you'll get growth. The good thing with these polyurthane coatings are, they're fairly easy to clean and things don't like to grow on it, but given time and no upkeep, everything will eventually get a coating which the beasties will cling to. I did some in field studies for one of the major formulators and had reasonable success, on the samples that were maintained. The samples that weren't, faired only slightly better intially then tradisional bottom paints, with all eventually getting growth.

    In the end, my tests concluded that it was a good coating, especially on older wooden hulls, as it helped keep them sealed up, plus growth free, if regularly cleaned. If not regularly dived on it still sealed well, but picked up growth slight slower then regular bottom paint.

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