Our Experience With Hydrocoat

dscribner · Mar 2, 2012

MS,

I used HydroCoat but for a different reason. As you might recall, last year I was looking for a non-biocide, hard coat bottom paint. Not the easiest bill to fit. I settled on HydroCoat and I am satisfied with the result. But . . . I trailer mine. I needed something harder and less ablative than the blue stuff that was there before. Keeping critters off my hull is far less of an issue for me, like, a non issue. For the big boys like yourself, maybe it isn't a great product, but for us trailah sailahs, I'd recommend it. But, I have precious little to compare it to.

You dug out yet? I took out my truck window of my truck with rock from my snow blower. What a weekend!

Fair Winds!

Don

Rich Stidger · Mar 2, 2012

Hydrocoat - not good

I echo MS's evaluation as far as the performance showed. I didn't notice the lack of sloughing at haul-out, but the performance was poor.

I hauled out for hurricane Irene in October after a early June launch. No cleaning from June to October, but plenty of use. I was most unhappy with the amount of growth both hard and soft- but mostly soft. See the pictures below- all were taken at the Irene haulout.

The hull was not washed at the hurricane haul-out. Time was at a premium and the yard was just pulling boats as fast as they could. I did have it washed before re-launch a week later. At my end-of-season haul-out the hull was washed and it looked as clean as it normally does in November.

There were some posts about this paint back in October with a number of people unhappy.

I have enough paint left over for one more year. I hate to just throw away $100+ worth of paint, but I'm not happy with the result either. I haven't decided what I am going to do yet for this spring.

Marc14857 · Mar 2, 2012

Maine Sail

You did not have a bad batch of Hydrocoat as I had the exact same experience last year here on our H 44 in the Mystic Ct. area. In fact I've been thinking about what to do to prep the bottom this year. Due to the poor performance of the Hydrocoat, when the yard hauled us last November they were unable to get the bottom very clean using the power washer and now I have this residue embedded in the paint that does not appear to want to come off. I called Hydrocoat and they told me just to use a Scotch Brite pad and water to clean up the bottom, but based on your experience I'm not sure that is going to work. Thinking about getting a course "Hard Bristle" brush at the end of a broom stick to try and clean the bottom as best as possible and just paint over with a different product.

I initially had the bottom barrier coated and have a blue tracer coat under the two black coats of Hydrocoat I put on last year. Don't want to strip the bottom down again.

Marc

Gunni · Mar 2, 2012

I had zero hard growth on my newly applied Hydrocoat bottom paint last year. Same application dates, hauled second week of December. The only hard growth was where my waterline changed and submerged an unpainted area. It does appear to be a hard ablative, but it fully ablated on the leading edge of the rudder and keel. And the paint surface is smoother than at application, so it definitely ablated. Because it is so easy to apply, and because so much of it stayed intact I anticipate using just one coat this year and will use Hydrocoat SR to get the biocide.

Warren Milberg · Mar 2, 2012

My experience with 2 seasons using Hydrocoat is much like that of Gunni, and we are pretty much in the same area - a moderately fouling area. I do not apply multiple coats of Hydrocoat (or whatever paint I use on the bottom) and do not expect to get multiple seasons out of the paint. In order to avoid any kind of paint build-up, I only apply one thin coat at the start of each season and use a 1/4" roller rather than the more common 3/8" type. I've found that that this method results in virtually no significant paint build up at the end of the season and the Hydrocoat prevented hard growth everywhere it was applied. I did have some slime build-up that was easily removed by power washing at haul out. In addition to the ease of application and clean up, I like the price, which is typically less than $120/gal. I personally like Hydrocoat and plan to keep using it.

obsailor · Mar 2, 2012

Had a similar experience as Maine Sail in western Long Island Sound - no hard growth but tons of soft stuff. Every time I came out of the water after brushing the bottom I was covered in soft growth as though I was wearing a vest. Had a diver three times last summer to no avail. A message to Pettit received no reply. Bye bye Pettit. Anyone found a use for left-over Hydrocoat?

captainpat · Mar 2, 2012

I've been using Hydro Coat for about 9 years, in the Chesapeake, where I am continually back and forth between fresh and salt water. I mention the location because it has been shown through studies that different bottom paints react differently in different areas; and sometimes in the same area in different season. There are many factors that go into the effectiveness of any bottom paint.

Of some importance: 1. Hydro Coat is much easier to apply and clean up. 2. It is friendlier to the environment. 3. It can be thinned up to 10% with plain water. 4. It's priced realistically. As far as I can tell it is fully ablative and wears away as much as the previous West Marine ablative I was using. Just squirt the garden hose on it and you will see the paint ablating. Scrubbing it with a stiff bristle brush is almost as good as sanding – something you really shouldn’t have to do with any ablative. One thing I am going to change, however; I will add a biocide. Hydro Coat, although very effective against barnacle and other "hard" growth, is not as effective against slime and plant growth. I spent a season with Hydro Coat in the FL Keys. You could sit in the dinghy and watch the plant life grow. I would recommend to anyone using the product to use the "SR" version, or simply add the biocide yourself. I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages; at least in the area where I do most of my boating.

Rich Stidger · Mar 2, 2012

captainpat said:
........ One thing I am going to change, however; I will add a biocide. Hydro Coat, although very effective against barnacle and other "hard" growth, is not as effective against slime and plant growth. I spent a season with Hydro Coat in the FL Keys. ........ I would recommend to anyone using the product to use the "SR" version, or simply add the biocide yourself.

OK, I'll bite. Where do you get the biocide to add yourself?

Marc14857 · Mar 3, 2012

Anyone see a trend developing here? Seems as though those of us who sail in the Northeast have had a generally bad experience with Hydrocoat, while the experience for those sailing Mid Atlantic Chesapeake region seems to have much better results. "Must be something in the water"!

Kettlewell · Mar 3, 2012

Had barnacles with Hydrocoat

My experience with Hydrocoat wasn't good. Very easy to apply and the lack of fumes is great, but I found the paint extremely soft compared to the previously used CPP Plus. At the end of the season in Massachusetts up a river where the water alternates between brackish and salty we had pretty heavy barnacle growth on the bottom and significant areas where the paint had just rubbed off due to swinging around our mooring. So I would rate it as softer than CPP Plus, not as good an antifoulant, but easier to apply. Hydrocoat isn't terrible, but not great either. Definitely a step down from traditional paints.

By the way, this yard puts on a lot of Hydrocoat and the yard manager warned me that it is extremely soft compared to other ablatives and to "be careful" with it. I also noticed a lot of bottoms in this yard that looked very similar to mine in terms of barnacles at haulout.

toddco · Mar 3, 2012

Hello All,
I will be painting my ODay 20 for the first time for me. I have no intention of leaving her in the water for more than a long weekend, and even then it will be fresh water. If anyone wants to donate bottom paint, I'd be more than happy to pick up the shipping.

regards,

Todd

captainpat · Mar 3, 2012

BIOCIDE: I am going to call Pettit Tech on Monday to inquire about a biocide additive. You can also return the Hydro Coat in exchange for the Hydro Coat SR and just pay the difference. I have a full gallon of Hydro Coat that I intend to exchange. From now on I will be using the "SR" stuff.

ABLATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: I have to agree with Kettlewell; In my experience Hydro Coat was actually softer and more ablative then PCA or Micron. (BTW, I would not use CPP; West Marine changed it a few years ago from a multi season to a single season ablative)

Gunni · Mar 3, 2012

captainpat said:
BIOCIDE: I am going to call Pettit Tech on Monday to inquire about a biocide additive....

And they will tell you that the product is a regulated toxin that can only be sold to a qualified, licensed professional or purchased pre-mixed in their bottom paint product.

RichH · Mar 3, 2012

toddco said:
Hello All,
I will be painting my ODay 20 for the first time for me. I have no intention of leaving her in the water for more than a long weekend, and even then it will be fresh water. If anyone wants to donate bottom paint, I'd be more than happy to pick up the shipping.

regards,

Todd

If you dont leave the boat in the water for more than a few days, then no need to apply bottom paint especially in fresh water.
You dont get 'hard' growth in fresh water so there's no need for an ablative .... and in most cases VC17 is probably the best for long term fresh water and least polluting too.

Kettlewell · Mar 3, 2012

There are various bottom paint additives on the market. I have no idea if they work:

Barnacle Buster

Bio-Boost

I have read that you can still buy TBT at the hardware store as an additive to paint to kill off mold. Don't know if that is true, and it certainly wouldn't be legal in bottom paint.

Argyle38 · Mar 3, 2012

Marc14857 said:
Anyone see a trend developing here? Seems as though those of us who sail in the Northeast have had a generally bad experience with Hydrocoat, while the experience for those sailing Mid Atlantic Chesapeake region seems to have much better results. "Must be something in the water"!

It's worked pretty well for me in two seasons in Milford Harbor. The first season I didn't have any barnacles at all, except for a couple of spots where some old coats flaked away carrying the hydrocoat with it. Last season I applied a maintenance band around the water line only. Still looked pretty good at haul out this past fall. A few barnacles here and there but that's it. There was some soft growth, but after two years I'll take that. On the other hand, my propeller (coated with Pettit prop-coating anti-fouling spray) was covered in barnacles, so it's not like we don't have much fouling in this area. (Will probably try Prop-speed this year, but that's a different thread.)

It is strange how wildly different the experiences are with this stuff. It's too hard, it's too soft, it works great, it's garbage...

All U Get · Mar 3, 2012

Argyle38 said:
It's worked pretty well for me in two seasons in Milford Harbor.

It is strange how wildly different the experiences are with this stuff. It's too hard, it's too soft, it works great, it's garbage...

Do you suppose water temp and salinity are too variable?
All U Get

Kettlewell · Mar 3, 2012

It always seems to be this way in a bottom paint thread. Same thing around a boatyard even--if you ask around you'll get different opinions on the same paint in the same yard. There are lots of variables in how boats get used: some are fast and some are slow, some spend a lot of time not moving at all, some have deeper keels where the bottom is shaded a lot of the time, plus some years the water is warmer than some others. Not to mention the huge differences in water temperatures and fertility of the water between places like Maine, Narragansett Bay, and Long Island Sound. Plus, I wonder how much of a difference it makes if you launch as soon as you can vs. waiting for a few weeks after you paint. In the old days you had to launch quickly, but supposedly the ablatives are fine staying out of the water, but I wonder what difference it makes.

Our Experience With Hydrocoat

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.