Experience with Hydocoat Multi Season Ablative

[Barry White]

Hi to all, I am contemplating using Petit's "Hydrocoat" which among the multi-season ablative paints appears to have some technical advantages (i.e., lower fumes on application, water clean-up) over the more costly CSC by Interlux for example. Has anyone had recent positive or negative experience with this paint. Our sailing area is coastal Nova Scotia, and we have a Fin Keel C-34. Looking forward to your feedback,

Cheers,

Barry White
Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia

 

[Warren Milberg]

I haven't used this product as yet, but bought some on sale at West (net cost $80 -- so the price is right) and will use it next year. It always seems the bottom paint sales occur a few weeks after I have already bottom-painted my boat. I have two friends, one with a Pearson 28-II and the other with a Beneteau 285, who have used Hydrocoat and both love it. The Beneteau is a race boat and does well in the PHRF and CBYRA races here on the Chesapeake. Their good experience with this paint was the primary motivator for me to buy it.

 

[Barry White]

Re Hydrocoat experience

I haven't used this product as yet, but bought some on sale at West (net cost $80 -- so the price is right) and will use it next year. It always seems the bottom paint sales occur a few weeks after I have already bottom-painted my boat. I have two friends, one with a Pearson 28-II and the other with a Beneteau 285, who have used Hydrocoat and both love it. The Beneteau is a race boat and does well in the PHRF and CBYRA races here on the Chesapeake. Their good experience with this paint was the primary motivator for me to buy it.

Thanks for the feedback Warren, we also race our 34, so it sounds as though your friends are more than satisfied, and that suggests that there aren't any major concerns.

Cheers,
Barry

 

[BobM]

I have used it for the past five years in Boston Harbor. Goes on easy, clean up is a piece of cake and fumes are pretty negligible. Growth hasn't been a problem, but I am at a mooring. Just be aware that it is meant to be a multiple season ablative. After four years of a single coat every year and two on leading edges of my last boat I did have some build up / chipping.

Last year I put a quick coat on my new boat just to get the bottom all one color. The previous owner used up some old paint on the keel and it was two tone. This year I just plan to paint the leading edges of the keel and rudder and the waterline and to skip the rest. The surveyor had said the ablative on her was pretty thick and that I should just let it wear off. I don't know if that is going to work and may end up stripping it next year.

 

[BarryL]

Hello,

I used Hydrocoat last year. It worked OK. Not great, but OK.

My boat is on a mooring and gets sailed about twice a week, mostly for 2 hour or so day sails. My sailing area is the long island sound, and my boat is in the water from the end of April until the end of October. Last year I scrubbed the bottom just once, in August, and it needed it again in September, but I didn't get around to it. When the boat was hauled there was a good amount of slime build up and a few barnacles.

This year I am trying Pettite SSA instead.

Barry