antifoul paint.

I like the hell out of that idea!
Shame it is so heavy (bad for lightweight racer sailboats, etc.).

I'd like to try that one out on a working skiff hull. Can you repair the coating if it gets damaged?
...not that I have ever damaged any boat hulls.

--Chuck

 

Yes, it's repairable. It can be top coated for a different color, if you change your mind too. Color options are many and it has several formulations, from very pliable to quite rigid. It also has better abrasion resistance then just about anything.

 

what about tar? Wasn't it used on the square riggers as a fixing medium when re-corking with hemp?

Smoking rope and sniffing petroleum products. Wow what a high Jack Tar must have got! Right Popeye?, is that what sent Bludo mad?

On an earlier post that was for arses not boat bums & I think the oils of the middle east lubricated the performance for Pericles/copacoat item? eh eh eh.

The trouble is when perfectly good products are banned without offering an option or replacement. Sheet copper was used on many wooden hulls in the coastal fishing industry, is that banned too? I know where copper sulphate leaches out, would camping my boat there help? It turns blue shirts green if you swim wearing one.!?

 

I saw an interesting article in PBO a while back where a person mixed chili powder with his bottom paint to get some amazing results.He tried it on his tender first and as a test. He was planning to use it on his bigger boat after the results.

 

copperbot/coat

i had copperbot put on my cat when new 9 years ago and it has been the envy of everyone at liftout time , i spend 30 mins with a pressure washer then go home , whilst they are all scraping and cursing !. BUT its now past its best and will need re-coating as it does gradually erode when abraded each year prior to lift in . i have been really satisfied with it and have checked with the coppercoat guys and they recommended two more coats , supply costs were about£ 600 i will mix it and apply , the temperature and humidity level is very important , i once applied an extra strip along the waterline (because of a friend s over vigorous sanding )and it went on ok but it got too cold overnight and the copper powder ran down in streaks ,but not too badly another coat and it was good . so i heartily recommend the stuff and this year, to help pay for it i am going to invent an uderwater yacht paint that dissolves in water , think it will sell ???

 

The best thing I've discovered is the stuff the various governments paint their submarines with, it comes in one colour - black - and is nearly impossible to obtain but if you ever get the chance.......you'll never find out what's in it (you probably wouldn't want to know!!!) but hell it works! Look at all the phots you see of submarines - and remember they get fully submerged, it goes with the job!

 

This factory makes a variety of formulations, some with TBT, most without. All carry the same written guarantee. They have references from some respected yards, including Palmer Johnson, Burger, and Broward. I don't have any personal experience with them, but they might be worth a look. They will ship anywhere.

http://www.seahawkpaints.com/

 

Frosty,

I saw your earlier post about weird symptoms after diving to bottom clean. Be very careful, friend, as those pesticides can be absorbed through the skin. We want you around as a verbal jousting partner for many more years!

 

"Antifouling paints containing an active ingredient extracted from chile peppers is commercially available. The active ingredient is based on capsaicin, the natural oil which gives chile peppers their heat. Capsaicin creates an unpleasant environment that deters attaching organisms. The product contains cuprous oxide (up to 33 percent), but in smaller quantities than is found in conventional antifouling paints"

Reasonably good discussion of antifoulants and shipyard/boatworks issues here: http://www.pprc.org/pubs/shipyard/portland/rt_rept.html