Trinidad SR

[colemj]

We have two boat friends in the southern Carib with Trinidad SR and both are having premature growth issues. Perhaps there was a bad batch, or a reformulation, or maybe it isn't the best paint for the Carib?

As for the gold standard, in the Carib it is Seahawk Island 44. I won't be drawn into a debate on that.

Mark

[CAELESTIS]

Seahawk Island 44 is a tin based paint and illegal in the USA.

[bobconnie]

If you don't like useing seahawk 44, just stay in US waters and don't go places that use it for your bottom paint !! But saying thats it's illegal don't help much LOL If ya cruise for a while in the southern waters of the world and need bottom paint what ya gonna do keep a few cans of the leglal stuff aboard or use what the other folks use where you are at !! Justa thought from folks who sometimes don't see the USA for for 3 or 4 yrs at atime !! I use the nastyest stuff I can find when Im out of the country as it just works better and longer !! just a thought

[MarkSF]

Something doesn't make sense. You had a quick bottom cleaning a month ago. What does quick mean? One that was so quick they didn't bother removing the barnacles? I'd be very surprised if barnacles grew in a month on Trinidad SR (or on anything) so that means they weren't removed at the clean.

I've personally had two years and 9 months out of this paint, could have got 3, and the only thing is that in the last year the rate of bottom cleaning needed goes up.

There's nothing wrong with the paint.

Have you looked at where the flaking is? In my case, the top 2 layers of Trinidad were very well adhered but the problem was 20 layers deeper, at the gelcoat, where there was loss of adhesion.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by colemj

We have two boat friends in the southern Carib with Trinidad SR and both are having premature growth issues. Perhaps there was a bad batch, or a reformulation, or maybe it isn't the best paint for the Carib?

In anticipation of copper reduction legislation, Trinidad has been reformulated from 70+% down to 60% in California. Is this the case in other areas? I don't know. I do know that so far, here in the Bay Area, I can't tell the difference between the two.

[Cheechako]

Frankly, I never met anyone who was satisfied with their paint in the carribean.... unless they had done it in the country of Trinidad and were headed north. It didnt really matter what paint it was. Barnacles grow... a LOT. This was 10 years ago too. The only ones that seemed to do better were those who moved on constantly. When you sit , they grow. It may kill them eventually, but they are already large lumps fastened to the hull at that point.

OTOH- Jotun paint put on in Trinidad lasted 3-4 months returning to Florida. Sat 1.5 years in a back canal with growth all over the sea wall and pilings while the boat was for sale. When I visited my boat I had a diver down.. after a couple of minutes he came up and told me it was a waste of time... there was nothing on the boat!
Us makers should just concentrate on making paint that cleans easy (maybe that old teflon bottom paint WAS a good idea!) as their hands are tied when it comes to making bottom paint that actually works....

[Cavalier MK2]

This is a tough debate, hopefully not won when life in the oceans ceases to exist....A easy to scrub paint makes up for many adhesions. ....Perhaps in this day of biotechnology and cloning we will start to see living cultures for paint alternatives. "Say nice shark skin, does it come striped? " Or how about salmon slime barnacle repellent? Of course if your boat grows fins it might be cheating during a light air race........

[sailandfish]

We can debate application issues, etc but at the end of the day we are online and you cant see what I did, have done for a living etc. I'm reporting facts on a forum for reviewing products.

I have a hard time believing that this is the best product out there, and eagerly look forward to hearing from others in warm climes who have had better luck with paints, and I am disappointed I hadn't found a better product prior to applying. At the current growth rate I would have been far better off not painting, or painting with the cheapest paint I could have found.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Us makers should just concentrate on making paint that cleans easy (maybe that old teflon bottom paint WAS a good idea!) as their hands are tied when it comes to making bottom paint that actually works....

That's the whole point behind hard anti-foulings like Trinidad SR - they have anti-fouling properties AND clean easily.

[Cheechako]

"That's the whole point behind hard anti-foulings like Trinidad SR - they dont have anti-fouling properties AND clean easily."

I think you left a word out! ha ha. :>)

[onestepcsy37]

i've been using trinidad since the 70's in florida. comparing it to what sailing friends have used i would say trinidad is the best paint around. in the key's i went four years between repaints, although towards the end i had to dive and scrub the bottom. my latest trinidad paint job was just two years ago. unfortunately i had to haul for other reasons and when the boat came out of the water there were maybe a dozen little barnacles on the entire hull (37' cutter). probably could have gone another two years.

otoh, i've heard - but haven't checked this yet - that the latest trinidad paints have significantly less copper in them, and that might be the reason that newer paint jobs are having problems. my feeling about bottom paint is that you buy it for the copper content.

[CAELESTIS]

FWIW, Trinidad is consistently a top performer in Practical Sailor Magazine.

I get three years out of it, but also think most of the copper has leached out after two years. Any tin paint would easily outperform it (Seahawk 44) but I cannot buy it, and no yard would put it on in the US.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by sailandfish

I have a hard time believing that this is the best product out there, and eagerly look forward to hearing from others in warm climes who have had better luck with paints, and I am disappointed I hadn't found a better product prior to applying. At the current growth rate I would have been far better off not painting, or painting with the cheapest paint I could have found.

If you plan to stay in the Carib and not go to the US, then Seahawk Island 44 or Blue Water Marine Caribbean Gold will work better than any other paint.

Mark

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by colemj

If you plan to stay in the Carib and not go to the US...

Or any of the other 50+ countries that have banned TBT paints.

[Cpt Pat]

3+ years in the Pacific south of San Francisco, with about 200 voyages along the California coast before my diver said: "it's time to repaint."


My boat was in the water that entire time.


I'm staying with the Trinidad SR.