Why do bronze fittings collect barnacles ?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

JCopper strips: the copper strips used on ships of old kept the worms from eating into the wood, not so much by killing them as by creating a barrier.

Quite correct! If one reads the logs of Cook and his cohorts of the time, they were affected badly by fouling on top of their coppering. They speak of careening their ships in out of the way places in order to scrape off the growth. They would have been pretty happy to find a slipway somewhere in their travels!

Cheers,

Jim

[foggysail]

Yes! Lord Nelson's fleet is supposed to have had copper sheathed bottoms to prevent marine growth which made their ships faster than the French. Well I had my two propellers copper plated. And yes they did turn greenish and yes they had more marine growth on them than any other boat around me when the boat was hauled.

[Cheechako]

I had a prop teflon coated (like the frying pans) once. The shop I worked at did that coating on aerospace parts, the stuff would go out of date fast, so I had them coat it with the out of date stuff. Nothing seemed to stay on it, although I didnt have the boat that long after that. Easy process, someone ought to offer it. Spray it on and bake.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I had a prop teflon coated (like the frying pans) once. The shop I worked at did that coating on aerospace parts, the stuff would go out of date fast, so I had them coat it with the out of date stuff. Nothing seemed to stay on it, although I didnt have the boat that long after that. Easy process, someone ought to offer it. Spray it on and bake.

I'd like to see that as bottom paint, but the problem is, it needs to be baked on. If there were a way to cure the nonstick w/o heat it would be great!

[Cheechako]

"Teflon® One Coat

These solvent-based liquid coatings are formulated with special blends of fluoropolymers and other high-performance resins to improve toughness and abrasion resistance. Because the film components stratify during baking, most of the fluoropolymer properties (such as low friction and nonstick character) are retained. The resins provide adhesion and abrasion resistance. These products can sometimes be applied to smooth, clean metal. Bake requirements vary, depending on the specific coating."

Cured at 500 degrees+. maybe just pop it in your oven! There are several types, most are spray on powder, which then melt together during cure. This one is liquid.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

"Teflon® One Coat


Cured at 500 degrees+. maybe just pop it in your oven! There are several types, most are spray on powder, which then melt together during cure. This one is liquid.

I don't think I can get a 40' hull in my oven, especially with the keel and rudder attached.

[s/v Beth]

I wonder what would happen if you got fiberglass up to 500 degrees. I am assuming F. Wood burns at 450 F.

[Wotname]

It would be a bear to re-paint

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by foggysail

Yes! Lord Nelson's fleet is supposed to have had copper sheathed bottoms to prevent marine growth which made their ships faster than the French. Well I had my two propellers copper plated. And yes they did turn greenish and yes they had more marine growth on them than any other boat around me when the boat was hauled.

Interesting as I had a good experience with copper platting my (single) prop.

Perhaps a better test in your case would be just copper plate one of your two props and then check for differences - this would really be comparing apples with apples .

[CarinaPDX]

I put a sheet of roofing copper on the rudder as a counterpoise for the SSB radio. It works fine for that purpose, but definitely not good at stopping the barnacles. It is easy to knock them off if one doesn't mind leaving the adhesive behind for other things to attach to. Getting the adhesive off is a bit more work.

Eventually the copper does corrode and need replacing. I've replaced it once already.

Greg