Anti-Fouling and the Waterline

[sailorboy1]

I got kind of banged up yesterday scaping the growth and srubbing the boat stripe (been just over 1 month and the weed was 4" long already). The strip right at the water line when the anti-fouling was didn't really come clean. But I couldn't help but notice that just below the waterline when my pad hit the anti-fouling that it came clean with hardly any effort. So the question is: is there a reason not to extend anti-fouling farther up the hull? Seems anti-fouling up to the the top of the boot stripe would keep down a lot of growth. Is this a case of the "pretty" colored stripe over the "practical" anti-fouling paint?

[forsailbyowner]

I've been pondering the same thing. My water line is submerged due to our weight and was wondering how high to bring it above water next bottom job. Then do you use hard or ablative paint above waterline? I've read on some hard paints that your not supposed to let it dry out once splashed.

[neilpride]

Yes, i have my waterline hig up to a 1 inch over the boot stripe, just 2 importants things, if your boot stripe is made in gelcoat there is no problem, if your boot stripe is awlgrip be carefull , awlgrip and antifouling together is = small blisters, better to put 1 coat of primer and after the antifouling, never antifouling over awlgrip, Regards.

[barnakiel]

We have upped twice, by inch each time. Now the boot is red hard, the bottom blue soft.

Maybe because it is part time out of the water the hard antifoul is SO hard .... to clean. Next time I will be tempted to paint the soft bottom paint all the way like say 4 inches above her lines.

The issue on my boat is we have relatively low topsides and I am afraid we might look a bit off afterwards.

b.

[Cheechako]

Pretty common to up the bottom paint to the boot stripe. It will stain also though...

[Sandero]

The bottom paint should be above the actual waterline.

But bottom paint is not too effective. Ablative paint will cease to work if slime covers it. The you have to mechanically remove the growth. I wonder if this stuff was really meant for the weekend sailor.

[Hydra]

My boat is on a mooring exposed to the wake of passenger ferry boats. Then, waves are constantly slapping on the hull. I have found it necessary to up the bottom paint to about 4" above the waterline, to prevent weeds from growing. Without such a precaution, the boat closest to mine is green on the sides, up to about 8" above water.

I use the same paint as on the bottom ("semi-soft" dark blue) and it stays fairly clean (no noticeable stains).

Alain

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by neilpride

.... never antifouling over awlgrip, Regards.

Good Advice!

Don…. What your situation is telling me is that your boat has been getting loaded down over the years.

Fully loaded your actual water level should be just below the bottom line of your painted boot stripe. That paint is not meant to be immersed all the time

First decide if maybe some cleaning out is a good thing to lighten and balance the boat then failing that, make your marks and raise the boot strip for a fully loaded condition as I described.

Here is SG in a 75% load condition

[boden36]

There is a product called "Thirty Seconds" or something similar. It is designed for spraying on the exterior decking of houses to kill moss etc. If you spray it around the waterline on a calm day, it will kill the growth. You may need a couple of applications. I believe it is enviromentally safe at the correct concentrations, but still watch out for the greenshirts.
Regards, Richard.

[sailorboy1]

it may be that the boat didn't get new anti foul before last season, or that I waxed the water line real good before the boat went into the water, or that I moved the anti-foul paint up 1 inch to the boot stip, or that I'm moored a couple of rolls further from the ferry channel and am getting less waves rolling up the hull sides, but.........

as I drove around the boat the other in the dingy I was amazed at how little growth was along the water line. By this time last year the grow was floating and waving to me. Guess I will never know why, but am happy regardless.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Don,

Another useful approach is to put some diluted household bleach ("Clorox") into a garden sprayer and spray the waterline fouling area. Best done on a calm morning. After a couple of hours or so the fine grass will turn gray and begin to fall off... it's magic!

Cheers,

Jim

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Hydra

My boat is on a mooring exposed to the wake of passenger ferry boats. Then, waves are constantly slapping on the hull. I have found it necessary to up the bottom paint to about 4" above the waterline, to prevent weeds from growing. Without such a precaution, the boat closest to mine is green on the sides, up to about 8" above water.

I use the same paint as on the bottom ("semi-soft" dark blue) and it stays fairly clean (no noticeable stains). Alain

Like Alain, we have bottom paint 4" higher than the water line to cope with the wash in the marina. The boot topping is a series of thin plastic tapes which at 5" are clear enough to need only a quick wipe over once in a while. Not having to worry about painting the boot topping each year in a different colour speeds up the antifouling time so more sailing

Pete

[realem]

I have been using an ultrasonic Antifouling product for 5 months now. I have had no barnacles on the running gear and very limited growth at the water line. The growth is usually pretty heavy on the sunny side of the boat..
This weekend we used the boat and it only needed a light brush at the water line. I have re-scheduled the diver now twice as the bottom is clean.
Big deal on the running gear as it usually needs to be cleaned for the boat to move

Mike

[fstbttms]

[sailorboy1]

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