Changing the colour of our antifouling

[GILow]

Hello Cruisers,

We are currently using Altex AF5 blue antifouling. My wife would like us to change to black AF5 at the next slipping. (it's an aesthetic thing, and she's usually right about those sort of things.)

According to the manufacturer there are no compatibility problems, but I am wondering if there are any gotchas when changing colours that people have run into over time.

I suppose cutting in at the top of the antifouling will be a lot harder, but aside from that, anything else that might bite me? On that point, it does seem odd that the PO chose blue in the first place, given that black would certainly suit the rest of the boat's colour scheme better, so is there an advantage to blue that I should be aware of?

Matt

[CaptTom]

No problem. I'm not familiar with that brand, but if it's ablative paint, then you'll have a good way to know when it's wearing thin - repaint when and where the blue shows through. That will help avoid building up too think a layer.

I'm planning the same thing, the blue doesn't go with the rest of the hull colors, so I'm switching to black in the spring.

[tamicatana]

CaptTom is right and that holds for not only ablative but hard paints, to know when you're wearing thin

[atoll]

Originally Posted by GILow

Hello Cruisers,

We are currently using Altex AF5 blue antifouling. My wife would like us to change to black AF5 at the next slipping. (it's an aesthetic thing, and she's usually right about those sort of things.)

According to the manufacturer there are no compatibility problems, but I am wondering if there are any gotchas when changing colours that people have run into over time.

I suppose cutting in at the top of the antifouling will be a lot harder, but aside from that, anything else that might bite me? On that point, it does seem odd that the PO chose blue in the first place, given that black would certainly suit the rest of the boat's colour scheme better, so is there an advantage to blue that I should be aware of?

Matt

if doing multiple coats it might be an idea to alternate colours,with the last coat black,as with dark colours it can be difficult to see what has been allready painted and what not.

otherwise if using the same product,the fish don't care about the colour

[barnakiel]

We went from light blue to maroon. Now I want our light blue back (we have black topsides).

No issues going from light to dark here.

b.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Matt,

There are no technical problems with your proposed switch, and the tell-tale of blue showing through as the black wears away does work. We used to alternate red and black coats for that purpose.

The real issue is aesthetics and maintenance. I happen to think that black looks better than any other color, so you are cool there! But for maintenance... slime and other growth does not show up on black so well. This is a good thing: you don't get embarrased when you heel over with an observer to windward of your boat. This is a bad thing: you can't see when you need to dive the bottom!

Ain't no free lunches on yachts, so take your choice and grin a lot!

Cheers,

Jim

[Cheechako]

no problem. easy to see where you've got good coverage too. The Admiral is always right!

[jkindredpdx]

Ditto here... I covered blue with red and will paint blue next time she's out.

[GILow]

Wow, from these responses it seems there will be multiple advantages, aside from the most important, being the happy admiral.

Thank you for the responses... and the idea of alternating colours is something I will look into, if I can do it without adding too much to the costs. Comes down to whether I can buy the more economical larger cans without ending up with gallons of spare paint on hand.

Matt

[hellosailor]

Matt, buy two rolls of the blue paint masking tape. Spend 1/2 hour masking the edge of the stripe, and cutting in will be a fast piece of cake.

The PO might have used blue last time around simply because that was the paint he wanted, and the only can on the shelf was blue. Sometimes it is that simple. Most of us don't spend a lot of time looking at the bottom of the boat.<G>

[MarkSF]

I went from black anti-fouling, to blue. Now I can see the rudder from the dock, and can see if there is a build up of marine growth that indicates the boat needs diving. With the black paint, I couldn't tell at all.

From now on, it's blue or red for me.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

I went from black anti-fouling, to blue. Now I can see the rudder from the dock, and can see if there is a build up of marine growth that indicates the boat needs diving. With the black paint, I couldn't tell at all.

From now on, it's blue or red for me.

This is a very good point, and you had me worried for a moment, then I realised that I can't see any of my keel or rudder anyway, due to the shape of the boat. (she's rather... er... full bodied, if you know what I mean.)

Matt

[GILow]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Matt, buy two rolls of the blue paint masking tape. Spend 1/2 hour masking the edge of the stripe, and cutting in will be a fast piece of cake.

The PO might have used blue last time around simply because that was the paint he wanted, and the only can on the shelf was blue. Sometimes it is that simple. Most of us don't spend a lot of time looking at the bottom of the boat.<G>

Hellosailor, if you can mask 42 feet of boat in half an hour you are a LOT better at it than me. But yes, very good point, and if you'll give me at least an hour (maybe two), that's the way to go. Of course, if you happen to be in Adelaide I'd love to see your technique in action, I have just the boat to demonstrate it on too.

Matt