Which antifouling for limited mooring use?

[Pascal]

Hi all,

I'm going to have my rib on a mooring for two months in South Britanny this summer.

Do you think I need antifouling? If so, which kind/brand?

Other question: there a few baby limpets between the tubes and the hull, so I intend to take the tubes off and scrub the hull. After that I thinking off putting antifouling there as well. Should I put the same as under the hull?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Pascal

Hi all,

I'm going to have my rib on a mooring for two months in South Britanny this summer.

Do you think I need antifouling? If so, which kind/brand?

Other question: there a few baby limpets between the tubes and the hull, so I intend to take the tubes off and scrub the hull. After that I thinking off putting antifouling there as well. Should I put the same as under the hull?

I wouldn't antifoul for the sake of 2 months. If you can get the boat out after a month & pressure wash it before putting it back in the water, even better.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Pascal

Hi all,

I'm going to have my rib on a mooring for two months in South Britanny this summer.

Do you think I need antifouling? If so, which kind/brand?

Other question: there a few baby limpets between the tubes and the hull, so I intend to take the tubes off and scrub the hull. After that I thinking off putting antifouling there as well. Should I put the same as under the hull?

As much as I dislike antifoul on ribs after 2 months you will have significant growth & reasonable size barnicals. At least thats been our experience on the Scottish west coast we found anything over 2-3weeks & you have tiny dots on the hull which are baby barnicals forming & a bugger to get off. Presumably the warmer waters further south will be worse. Usually fast planing boats would have a hard antifoul, we use hemple hard racing on our hard boat but for your use I think I'd probably be tempted to use a softer self eroding antifoul with only a light scuff with scotchbright for a key then its shouldnt be too difficult to jet wash off & polish back if you want it off later on.

[Dry Run]

Just a thought, but I hear that "surf board wax" can be highly efficient as a short term protection from marine growth. No where near cool enough to know what it might be called, but I guess GIYF.

[Pascal]

Originally Posted by beamishken

As much as I dislike antifoul on ribs after 2 months you will have significant growth & reasonable size barnicals. At least thats been our experience on the Scottish west coast we found anything over 2-3weeks & you have tiny dots on the hull which are baby barnicals forming & a bugger to get off. Presumably the warmer waters further south will be worse. Usually fast planing boats would have a hard antifoul, we use hemple hard racing on our hard boat but for your use I think I'd probably be tempted to use a softer self eroding antifoul with only a light scuff with scotchbright for a key then its shouldnt be too difficult to jet wash off & polish back if you want it off later on.

What cleaning product do you use to eliminate barnacles? How about vinegar?

[Fatalbert]

I can only tell you my experience on the South West coast, but the last 3 years we’ve had the boat in the water for extended periods over the summer and never had any need to anti-foul her. I think the longest she’s been in water without extraction was 4-weeks, and we had a tiny bit of greenery around the swim-steps/dive platform (which sit in and out of the waterline) but absolutely nothing else on the hull.

I didn’t even need to wash the hull down after dragging her out (although of course took the chance for rinsing the salt off). She was in the water from late June to early Sep with just a couple of drag outs over the time.

I don’t know whether I’m lucky or our site is unusual, but other boats seem similarly unaffected for short (ish) moorings.

I’m planning for longer time ‘on mooring’ this year, so expect it to go spectacularly wrong.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Pascal

What cleaning product do you use to eliminate barnacles? How about vinegar?

A jet wash while their still fresh usually gets them off but after a few days its usually a scraper job then an acid based cleaner, brick acid is my usual thing for stubborn barnicals but oxcalic acid is a good hull cleaner & is the base ingredient for several off the shelf hull cleaners. Not tried vinegar but probably worth a go as its another acid product.