A Question about Antifoul

Bern Hanreck · 16 May 2003, 14:21

I know there have been several threads already about antifoul,
my question is this......
I f you purchase a three year old Rib that was antifouled in it's first year , what exactly are the implications ?
I know it may take a little off your top speed. I know it may crack or craze and look cosmetically ugly and I know some people will be suspicious that you are trying to hide something underneath ,when you come to sell it.
Are there any other drawbacks ?

Thanks in Advance for any tips....

Charles · 16 May 2003, 15:07

One pain in the behind is that you have to continue anti-fouling it annually or even bi-annually.

Bern Hanreck · 16 May 2003, 15:29

Charles , Why exactly do you have to continue ?
What happens if you don't ?
Can the existing antifoul be removed without inflicting any further damage to the gel coat ?
Please excuse my ignorance.

Bilge Rat · 16 May 2003, 15:35

Good question Bern, what does happen if you dont keep antifouling the hull, i'll assume the boat was left in the water and now lives on land between dunkings before you owned it.
I do know antifoul is a bugger to get off and can hide up a multitude of sins when selling boats.

R

David Hickman · 16 May 2003, 16:22

I have used International "inter strip" on gel coat without any damage. easily gets the antifouling off.

Charles · 16 May 2003, 19:23

Quote:

Originally posted by Bern Hanreck
Charles , Why exactly do you have to continue ?
What happens if you don't ?
Can the existing antifoul be removed without inflicting any further damage to the gel coat ?
Please excuse my ignorance.

Well simply put, you have to maintain the anti-foul otherwise what's the point. Normal wear and rear will erode it, thus making it imperative to keep re-applying. If you were to keep it out of the water, I would remove it pronto.

Garygee · 16 May 2003, 20:42

Hi Folks

On the subject of antifouling I will keep mine aflote 365 days so need do it.

However I was going to do the outdrive (non copper of course

) but looking at most boats, many dont look like they have had any antifouling on them.

Do people do their outdrives and also is it worth it as you wont be able to do all if it given the inside bits, etc without stripping it down and I dont want to do that.

Regards Gary

Stuart Mecham · 16 May 2003, 21:50

i looked at a Rib with Anti Foul on, but i thought it was trying to hide something so i walked away, good thing i did. I ended up buying the very same boat, but cheaper and better cond..

Aging Youth · 17 May 2003, 09:47

Good Morning Everyone,

I have anti foul on My Boat - Self Erroding. As the boat will no longer be kept in the water for long periods. I am thinking about removing it completley. Starting to look unsightly crazing and errosion marks on bottom and sides of hull.

I am informed that by removing, this should add a couple of knots to overall top speed. You can get a Gel which acts like a paint stripper and has no effect on Gel Coat, Once hull has been washed and polished should be good as new.

I have read that some yachts are now using a copper based film to lay over hull(sticks on in square pads). It is guaranteed to last over 5 years with no ill effects. Based on cost(£2500) for one treatment, over 5 years was very competative against annual treatment for 10m Yacht.

I am not sure if this treatment would be suitable for Ribs but as hulls are GRP on both would this be a problem?

Regards

matiboy · 17 May 2003, 15:59

of antifouls strippers

suggest you do a test area well out of view to see what it can actually do

You may find gel is slightly discoloured when removed

I've found in the past it sometimes needs several applications to remove

Far easier than removing it is to repaint it , it is a horrible job scraping it off with the gel remover , not at all easy , highly poisonous , hazardous to your health

Antifoul painted on with a roller can look very good and is quite easy to do

need to wear goggles, gloves , overall & breathing mask

this is a job well worth paying someone to do

Pete7 · 17 May 2003, 17:36

Painted the stern drive of my Pacific 22 with antifoul because I want to keep her in the water for the summer. I agree that a roller gives a good if mat finish, whilst the finish with a brush was awful. Used a long hair radiator roller. The other rib lives on a trailer all year round but came with antifouling paint. Just left it alone as its in good condition and really can't be doing with spending a whole weekend with chemicals to remove it.

Pete

Alan · 17 May 2003, 18:46

If the boat that you are looking at (which I have heard about in some detail Bern

) is in good condition and well fitted out and importantly the right price don't let the antifouling put you off. As it is dry stored at present and you would be using it from a trailer the antifoul shouldnt get eroded much so you will not need to recoat it or remove it in a hurry. Also if it gets a bit tatty whats the bother? I dont imagine it'll do much to affect your performance. Finally antifouling a 6m RIB is not going to be that much hassle even if you decided to do it once a year. (I've done bigger yots, now that is a pain in the behind!)

Cheers,
Alan

Andy Cox · 18 May 2003, 15:35

If you want to antifoul an outdrive unit, then the best product that I'm aware of for this is an International product called VC Prop-O-Drev which comes in 500ml aerosol cans, which makes it easy to apply to all the tricky bits you can't reach with a brush or roller.
It is formulated specially for outboard lower units / sterndrives etc.

Hope this is of use.

Andy Cox