BOTTOM PAINT - IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE ECO...

[helloam]

...and still look after your boat?

I have a ferro cement ketch; it is my second year of bottom painting, and I would love if at all possible to use something more eco-friendly.

Previously, I have used Interlux' Micron CSC...

I was looking at Micron 66 or Pacifica - also looked at ePaint, but says can't be applied atop a soft ablative so I think that's out?

Is there anywhere else in the world (ie outside north america) that has cared enough to come up with an eco antifouling paint that works?? THERE MUST BE...

Help please!

[GreatKetch]

Maybe somebody, someday will come up with a bottom paint that nothing will stick to, but so far there isn't anything like that remotely effective enough to use in heavy fouling areas. Basically, bottom paints have to keep stuff from growing. The only way you keep stuff from growing is to kill it. That said, the eco effects of bottom paint are pretty limited in scope. If you want to be have minimal impact on the planet, I would argue you would be better off having a very clean bottom and saving fuel instead of having "green" paint and wasting the dinosaur juice.

[fstbttms]

There are quite a few non-toxic anti fouling coatings available. They do work but their performance is generally based on making sure they never have a chance to become foul, which means very frequent hull cleaning. Further, they tend to be more expensive and difficult to apply than their more traditional, copper-based counterparts.

Here is a good place to start:

http://seagrant.ucdavis.edu/AntifoulingBrochure1.pdf

[Talbot]

There is a thread on here somewhere about an ultrasonic system, but it is expensive, uses a significant amount of power, and is not as proven as I would want to use at that price.