Antifouling

Firkin Diver · 18 July 2006, 08:47

Hi All,
I'm about to start keeping my boat on a permanent mooring. I've been offered different advice, with regards to anitfouling by 2 respected RIB owners. One saying; you'll loose about 5knts off top speed & it'll effect resale values, intead just wax the hull, then pressure wash it monthly. The other saying; get it done, it won't make any real difference to resale & negligable speed difference, not doing it will lead to hull staining etc.

I'm confused, HELP!

Mike

PS: I was going to use Interspeed Ultra paint, if that helps....

Andy Gee · 18 July 2006, 08:50

Why not just suit up and give it a scrub with a sponge on its mooring

. Any satining that you "may" get will polish out easily at the end of each year.
Andy

Matt · 18 July 2006, 09:12

If you can, avoid antifouling it.

Pete7 · 18 July 2006, 09:30

Mike, you haven't said were you are going to keep your rib but before you start using waxes you might want to have a read of of this thread.

http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread....safe+boat+skin

The lads in Dublin like Safe Boat Skin but the water is cool and clear (ish). However down Sarf I wonder if the shallow warmer water of the Solent complete with lots of nutrients means we have ideal conditions for Barnacles and weed to grow on a hull. I have just lifted Old Spice out after 2.5 months and there are 3mm barnacles growing on the stern drive which was painted with Trilux. The hull however is painted with VC Offshore and this is fine.

Does antifouling reduce speed? well it might, but a thick layer of weed will be even worse. Yachts and gin palaces are antifouled why not a rib.

http://www.internationalpaint.com/

Pete

nick wood · 18 July 2006, 09:53

There is no harm antifouling ribs if you are keeping it in a marina or drying berth. Infact it could be a good thing to do as you could have more work on your hand if the weed etches in to the gel. If you go ahead with it do it properly i.e. rub it down to create a good keyed surface, apply primer with a roller to reduce ripples ( they reduce speed) then 2 coats of antifoul again with a roller (non foam roller). There a few Ribs here in the marina's and drying berths some antifoued and some not the ones that are will keep there speed (if done properly) If you dont the idea of cleaning the hull each month will soon lose its appeal.

Nick

Jelly · 18 July 2006, 10:32

Mike,
Mine lives permantly on a mooring and as such is anti fouled. I did the calculations and over a 2-3 year period it was cheaper to go with Copper Bott or one of the epoxy copper variants.
The only issues so far are the annodes get eaten quickly which is why I put some large extra ones on and having to scrape back the copper 'x' inches from the stern drive as thats also alloy and the anodes.
This has been on 2 years and not a hint of weed etc.
The leg and prop were painted with Trilux or what ever internationals outdrive antifoul is and that is nicely weedy and the barnicals are 5mm ish after 4-5 months.
The wax options seem to work best if you are out and about on the boat alot so the weed etc gets washed off as it can't get a desent hold.
If you have a clean hull and intend to keep the boat a few years and on a mooring I would recomend the copper epoxies as the way forward.
RGds
James

Firkin Diver · 18 July 2006, 17:12

Do you think "Copper Bott" is better than "Interspeed Ultra" paint?

Mike

Chris Murray · 18 July 2006, 23:20

I used to use Interspeed Ultra on the bottom of my last boat - a sports cruiser which I kept for 14 years. I also used MPX, rebranded as "Trilux" on the bits that showed.

IMHO, Interspeed Ultra might be stronger but it pitted (and changed colour) easily. Trilux, on the other hand was relatively smooth and had better colour retention.

On speaking to the techies at International, I was advised that VC Offshore was the way to go. In my case, this needed to be coupled with VC Tar2, as I wanted to epoxy the boat at the same time. I was assured that both of these produces are smoother than the other International offerings, when viewed under a microscope.

I am having 4 coats of VC Tar2 and 3 coats of VC OFfshore SPRAYED onto the hull. I shall let you know my experience (in terms of performance) over time.

Regards,

Chris.

Pete7 · 19 July 2006, 08:28

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Pete7 · 19 July 2006, 08:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Murray

I am having 4 coats of VC Tar2 and 3 coats of VC OFfshore SPRAYED onto the hull. I shall let you know my experience (in terms of performance) over time.Chris.

Chris, yes please, sounds like there might be several of us following in your footsteps. The VC Offshore is a very thin paint btw, but goes on easily with a radiator roller and dries quickly. Its almost ready for a second coat by the time you have finished the first one. But not other antifoul wil stick to it, made that mistake last year and had to strip the lot off.

Pete