antifoul smoothness

[gtflash]

My boat will potentially spend some time afloat this season, upto a month at a time. I am thinking hard racing antifoul

Ive always been afraid of antifoul and its impact on speed. What is the smoothest antifoul any of you guys have used, and have you any pictures of the smoothness please, the sample cards tell me nothing.

[Zippy]

Honestly, unless it has already been antifouled i wouldnt bother.

give it a really good clean / polish before it goes in, then lift scrub and repeat when it comes out.

Use some Y10 to get rid of any staining. the biggest problem we have is fouling around trim tabs.

Ours is antifouled and i reckon it takes around 3 kts. ours stays in year round with lift and scrub every 4 months or so.

[willk]

Don't do it!!! It makes me wince just to think about it!

A month afloat is generally no big deal. If you are taking regular trips at speed, it will also reduce the fouling rate. A good pressure wash and Y10 if needed will suffice.

I used Hempel's "hard racing" once. It was quite stippled when rollered on cold.

IIRC, the hard antifouls aren't that effective anyway, so you'll have to wash her either way. I still say "don't do it!"

[office888]

Originally Posted by gtflash

My boat will potentially spend some time afloat this season, upto a month at a time. I am thinking hard racing antifoul

Ive always been afraid of antifoul and its impact on speed. What is the smoothest antifoul any of you guys have used, and have you any pictures of the smoothness please, the sample cards tell me nothing.

https://www.auroramarine.com/store/repelin.html

This stuff works pretty well.

[Fender]

Plus it will negatively affect the resale value of the boat,you could always wash the hull after a couple of weeks to keep on top of any growth

[jambo]

Guys sometimes AF is a necessity. I moor my rib on a swing mooring in a heavy fouling area for six months of the year. I would not have as much time on the water if was not for AF. Therefore AF would not effect the price as far as I'm concerned in fact it would a bonus as I would not have to start the process. Just my situation but I'm sure others on here will recognise the issue


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[Hambleite]

Our 6.5 has been antifouled with some fairly hard stuff (I’m sure Searider will confirm the exact type). We normally get it re-applied every Easter but not so far this year.

5 weeks growth on the antifoul in May / June was horrendous. There was literally green algae type plants underneath the hull and it was a pain to jetwash off. I never even bothered with a speed run!

Interestingly, we changed moorings (both on the Hamble) last year and the current mooring seems to attract a lot more growth. I guess this is a function of light and current.

The point I’m getting to is that each mooring scenario is different and this will affect how much growth you do or do not get. This will be a factor in deciding if you want to get it antifouled or not.

As an FYI, the rib had some really chalky antifoul on it when we bought it so I can’t say what the ‘polished hull’ speed ever was.

As a tactic, why not try Zippys approach of super clean polish hull, lift out after a month and see what you think? I'd rather a bare hull too but the boat is moored all year round.

[Tim in Yorkshire]

You may find a wax polish may assist if only on a mooring for a limited time, with a bit of a scrub down/reapplication in between.

[HUMBER P4VWL]

If the anti foul is sprayed on it is better speed wise.

[gtflash]

Thanks all. Not the answer I wanted but I hear your concerns. Seen someone on here used copper coat and gained speed. Stl can't find any final finish pictures that look glossy so I presume it's also a rough finish.

I bought a boat with antifoul before. Never bothered me, but I wasted a fortune trying to get it all off after and failed

[Mollers]

For kick off, don't. I kept un-antifouled hardboats in a marina for years, 6 weeks is about the max before the barnacles start to form. In 4/5 weeks you'll only get the soft slimey light green weed. You can either trailer it, or get a mask on in shallow water and rub it off, you'll hardly need a brush. Obviously, periods will alter port to port due to natural variations.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by gtflash

Thanks all. Not the answer I wanted

Is it more speed via antifouling that you're looking for?

[Searider]

Originally Posted by Mollers

You can either trailer it, or get a mask on in shallow water and rub it off, you'll hardly need a brush. Obviously, periods will alter port to port due to natural variations.

Depends how much time you have to dick about doing this stuff.

We wasted most of last Saturday putting the boat on its trailer and pressure washing the bottom. We should have been out playing, not cleaning.

[Searider]

Originally Posted by gtflash

My boat will potentially spend some time afloat this season, upto a month at a time. I am thinking hard racing antifoul

Ive always been afraid of antifoul and its impact on speed. What is the smoothest antifoul any of you guys have used, and have you any pictures of the smoothness please, the sample cards tell me nothing.

We used Trilux 33 and it went on quite smooth. Looks like the moon now that a lot of it has flaked off though!

The advantage with Trilux (in white at least) is that it is very white and stays white above and below the waterline. It's not unsightly.

I'd prefer not to have an antifouled hull but can't quite stomach the cost of putting the boat on a drystack berth.

[jambo]

Exactly the point I made earlier. It's your choice


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[Zippy]

Originally Posted by Searider

Depends how much time you have to dick about doing this stuff.

We wasted most of last Saturday putting the boat on its trailer and pressure washing the bottom. We should have been out playing, not cleaning.

yup, took ours out a few weeks back to clean and antifoul, was a beautiful weekend lost to boring work!

Will lift ours and pressure wash in the slings in the next few months or so and be done with it.

dry stack is the answer!!!

[Searider]

Originally Posted by gtflash

Seen someone on here used copper coat and gained speed.

I remember reading that thread too and thinking "but was the hull pressure washed off when the "before" slower speeds were recorded.

I think the situation was that a dirty antifouled hull was slower than a clean copper coated hull!

If it was faster than an antifoul finish all the manufacturers of power boats / cruisers would be offering it as an add on at build.

Or am I getting cynical in my old age?

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Searider

Depends how much time you have to dick about doing this stuff.

We wasted most of last Saturday putting the boat on its trailer and pressure washing the bottom. .

Really, I'd call it a 20min job excluding driving to and fro the slip. You need a better pressure washer.