Anti-fouling Paint

[slomotion]

Hello -

So our summer sailing season has been taken over by barnacles. Our sailboat hit the water in April 2015 and we left her in the slip over the winter. Didn't think it would be too much of a problem, but on our last trip out we noticed a slight drag in our boat. She goes a blistering 6 knots usually, so it was really noticeable. Our friend who has a lot of sailing experience said "barnacles". Sure enough, went over the side and felt around and she is coated. We are hauling her out this weekend, but have run into the question of which anti-fouling paint to use. We are still pretty new to sailing and are getting a little over our head with lots of advice. Anyone have a go-to paint they use and why? Thanks!

 

[Rich Stidger]

It would be nice if one size fitted all, but it seems that different locations do best with particular paints. I would see what others use in your area and use that as a starting point.

 

[kappykaplan]

I use Interlux Micron Extra here in Southern Maryland (Solomons).

 

[Ron20324]

I use Micron CSC for 10 years here in Annapolis. I hauled out in May for the first time in 3 years. One guy was hosing the bottom, the other one asked if I did this every year. I said no, this is three years. He was amazed it was so clean- with the pressure cleaning, of course.

 

[DougM]

I watch these bottom paint threads a lot, and it's interesting that with differences in types of marine growth and salinity, no matter what paint, owners expect to have their bottom paint last for more than a year. That is a learning experience for me.
Having sailed in fresh water that freezes over in the winter, annual haulout and dry storage is a way of life. Since that negates the effectiveness of many bottom paint formulations, annual repainting is almost mandatory.
Now I have a dilemma. I may have to move my boat from Lake Michigan to lower Chesapeake Bay. As the result, I will have to strip the VC17 which works perfectly in fresh water, and change to something different. Not only that, I have a 10 year old boat that has only had 40 months of use. Hearing all the legitimate concern about barnacles and other natural forms of fouling, the internal debate has changed to selling the boat and forgetting about sailing or just changing boats. Almost every boat the same age I have looked at around here looks like its been under maintained and corroding away.

 

[Warren Milberg]

...and you think you've got barnacles....

 

[JohnVTX]

...and you think you've got barnacles....

Good grief....

 

[Gunni]

Pettit HydroCoat SR works well in the middle bay, and is a soft-ablative, water-based multi-season paint that is very easy to apply, and can be applied over any paint solidly attached (other than that Teflon based sweet water paint) with a simple scrub. I have our boat hauled every December and after a pressure wash the only hard growth I have is on the underwater metal (which is not painted with ablative). Because it is multi-season, and stays effective in dry storage I typically only repaint the water-line, rudder, keel, and any scrapes or dings. It is overkill for my use, but I plan to leave the boat in for a few years, so this is a good paint for me.

 

[Ken Cross]

Hearing all the legitimate concern about barnacles and other natural forms of fouling, the internal debate has changed to selling the boat and forgetting about sailing or just changing boats. Almost every boat the same age I have looked at around here looks like its been under maintained and corroding away.

Actually, don't let salt scare you away. It isn't as bad as you might think. I'm in brackish water and I could get 3 years between haulouts, but I prefer to haul, inspect and change zincs every 2 years. I usually have very little hard growth in that time. I know we live in a different location, but here if you look at pilings at low tide there is a ton of marine growth. It's mostly barnacles and muscles. Here in Washington, we have a new requirement coming up for non-copper paint. I tried it last year (Micron CF) and so far it seems okay. It does have plenty of soft growth but if we sail her for a mile or so and she seems to be clean. It's way too cold here to swim under for a peek, but I'll know more when I haul her next spring.

As for what type of paint to use, just ask around at a marina where you intend to land. See what works in that area.
Ken

 

[ggrizzard]

Water temperature, salinity, current speed and frequency of direction change, and algae propensity all play a factor in hull fouling. Current at my marina in Fla is a big contributor as the buggers propagate by floating their spawn to their next victim! Local knowledge is the best reference.

 

[CloudDiver]

I just use foul language... The little microscopic bastards too scared to come anywhere near my baby smooth hull.

 

[Joe]

In my neck of the woods, it is common to have your diver clean the bottom just before haulout. If that stuff starts drying out it becomes extremely hard to remove.... even with a pressure wash.

 

[Ron20324]

[QUOTE="...In my neck of the woods, it is common to have your diver clean the bottom just before haulout. If that stuff starts drying out it becomes extremely hard to remove.... even with a pressure wash.[/QUOTE]

In my neck of the creek, the power wash is done minutes after haulout, and the result is very good cleaning of the bottom, and thru-hulls. They even use an ice scraper pole to get the critters off the keel.