Bottom Paint in the Gulf of Mexico

[ITMaster]

Well Then

Mr JWB, why don't you explain it then instead of attacking and being argumentative as others here have been? Put some facts down instead of just running off at the mouth which clearly all you have done.

There are two types of paint, one hard and self polishing that has anti fouling properties and the other soft and ablative and designed to leach off the boat.

So... post something informative in lieu of wanting to find fault with someone that is trying to be helpful.

what have you contributed to inform the op and help to try to provide an answer?

in other words, piss off, I'm going sailing, have a nice day!

 

[seadaddler]

Paint

One of my friends here in punta gorda is going on 5 years with Sea Hawk hard bottom paint and a diver cleaning every 6 weeks,he will be hauling this fall for new bottom job.
Any way I think the point is to use a hard bottom paint and diver cleaning when needed here in the warmer parts of the country like Florida.
Up north where hauling is done every winter a softer bottom paint that is made to wear off is a good thing and don't need to use $$$$ paint if you repaint every haul in winter.
Nick

 

[fstbttms]

There are two types of paint, one hard and self polishing that has anti fouling properties and the other soft and ablative and designed to leach off the boat.

There is a big difference between Ablative and Anti Fouling paints and the length of time they last.

Just to clarify:

"Anti fouling paint" is the catch-all term used to describe the coatings we put on our boat hulls to retard growth. This includes ablative paints and hard paints (there are other types as well.) "Anti fouling" is not a type of paint like "ablative" is a type of paint. And just to be 100% accurate, copper-loaded epoxies like Coppercoat are not actually even paint.

Clearly an Ablative paint is designed to leach off and fall off which the manufacturer's design it to do, whereas the Anti Fouling paint is designed to be a hard paint that lasts and is to be exposed to cleaning from either divers or haul out.

Almost, but not quite. In a nutshell, ablative paints work by slowly wearing away as water moves past the hull (much like a bar of soap), thereby constantly exposing fresh biocide to the surface. Hard paints work by leaching their biocide out into the water at a controlled rate.

What I have found though is that no paint will keep the bottom of the boat clean. It still requires either being cleaned while in the water or by being hauled and washed. And the methods used to clean the bottom have an impact on the longevity of the paint.

This is very true, especially in regions of moderate to high fouling. And in-water hull cleaning certainly can affect a paint's effective lifespan, depending on the methods used to clean it. But regardless of the methods used to clean a particular paint, regardless of what paint is in use, that paint was designed at the factory to give up its biocide at a given rate. And once that biocide is depleted to a certain level, the paint is no longer effective. Nothing we do can significantly change the rate at which the biocide is released. Certainly we can shorten a paint's lifespan by aggressively cleaning it and scrubbing paint off the hull. Conversely, we can help a paint reach it's maximum potential lifespan by cleaning it gently. But the bottom line is that anti fouling paint has a lifespan built into it and that lifespan cannot be lengthened beyond its designed limits.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Superb explanation

Thanks, well written and informative.

 

[RDS2012]

Lets just all go sailing!