Bottom paint for Caribbean waters

[Knot Safety]

Do not use Jotun. Great for the first three months. By six months it requires weekly scrubbing and still had barnacles growing. Will never use that one again

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

Check out that clear bottom paint that Delos used. They sprayed it on themselves in Grenada (can't remember which yard) it's called Sea Tech or something and is so slick that it cleans itself if you're moving at 8 knots or faster - seems like a no brainer for a catamaran. It's a non ablative which is supposed to last for years and is non polluting.

There's wasn't great though in reality you are going be stationary a lot of the time especially just chilling in the Caribbean. Delos have to clean their bottom very regularly, and if you get a barnacle it's all over at least for that patch.

Whether it's true or not, there are some rumours about yards not liking silicone type paints, they worry about the travel lift, and when applying anything getting on other boats.

Originally Posted by Knot Safety

Do not use Jotun. Great for the first three months. By six months it requires weekly scrubbing and still had barnacles growing. Will never use that one again

I have Micron Extra, Jotun Noctura, and Hemple Mille NCT or something like that.

The Jotun was red and used on my Nacelle and the bottom of the keels. It was the worst. Micron was the best but lasted all of 2 months, before brackish water seemed to damage it. The Hempel is much harder but didn't seem to have the same antifoul properties.

[mcneilms]

There is a product called Magic Antifoul. Zatara hadn't applied in New Zealand. So far looks fairly impressive. Not sure about working in the Carib, but company is out of South Carolina, so might be worth a call.

[mcneilms]

https://www.magicantifoul.com

[gaucho]

Petit Trinidad SR. Brushing (if you are consistent, vs scrubbing) the bottom is something you have to do once a month, on any antifoul paint.

[sailon46]

Petit Trinidad I’m sold on it. Sea Hawk you may get two years.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by geekoman

I thought it was legal to use for commercial, military and large yachts.

Nope. Banned worldwide.

[Empty Pockets]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Nope. Banned worldwide.

Nope. Banned where it’s banned. Not where it’s not. Studies available that show copper is worse?

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Empty Pockets

Nope. Banned where it’s banned. Not where it’s not. Studies available that show copper is worse?

Sorry chief, it's been banned worldwide by the International Maritime Organization. Does every seafaring nation on the planet abide by that ban? Obviously not. But 92 of them do.

And by the way? There are no studies that indicate copper is a more damaging toxin than tributyl tin. But thanks for playing.

[jmschmidt]

You state, "we are more concerned with effectiveness, robustness, and longevity. " Unfortunately there is no such animal today thanks' to the EPA and other international environmental agencies.

You also said coast is no object. That's good because bottom paint is two or three times more expensive that what met your objectives back in the day when products mostly worked the way they were advertised.

Robert mentioned Pettit Trinidad which I have used in Hawaii since 1970 when it was 77% copper and weighed 20 pounds per gallon. Nothing grew on it for the first year, maybe a little moss by the end of the second year and still serviceable with a little scribing after the third year. No more. Today's 57% copper Trinidad is no better than any of the others.

I've given up on bottom paint. Having the bottom cleaned every month, or even every two weeks, is cheaper and more effective than hauling our every two years.

[Seriously Slow]

We had Seahawk Biocop TF applied in Early Oct. in Port Charlotte area. I was charged for 5 gallons of paint. Moved to Marathon Fl. Marina for a month and then left for the Bahamas.
We moved less than desired because of all the strong winds last winter and found ourselves trapped in Georgetown for a couple of months because of the virus panic. No moving at all except swinging on our anchor. I dove on the boat and only cleaned the prop and shaft and the speed log and depth sounder. Water temp in the 80's. Finally fled back to the Keys to be hauled as soon as legally possible. Not one barnacle, no grass and little slime. What was there could be brushed off with a glove. We probably motorsailed near half the time of our escape back to the states and never sailed above 7 knots even in the best conditions except a super beam reach across the Gulf stream in the 8's. We will see what next season holds as I will use it as is.

[sailcrazy]

We've been using Micron 66 for the last 6 years, both in the Medd and here in the Caribb. We get some slim near the waterline, and the occasional barnacle deeper....but other than that, the hull stays good. We scrub the slime every other month or so, but M-66 seems to work well for us.

[Empty Pockets]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Sorry chief, it's been banned worldwide by the International Maritime Organization. Does every seafaring nation on the planet abide by that ban? Obviously not. But 92 of them do.

And by the way? There are no studies that indicate copper is a more damaging toxin than tributyl tin. But thanks for playing.

So you kind of made my point, 95 (out of 195 currently) countries have banned TBT paint? The others have not.
The study I was referring to was concerning areas where toxic bottom paints were the most concentrated, marinas. What they found was that the leaching tin fell straight down to the bottom and stayed there, where the leaching copper remained in the water column and contaminated large areas. That’s why we’re seeing high percent copper paints being banned.
Anything that you paint on your boat that is effective against marine growth is poison.
I understand that making your living under boats makes you more sensitive to the issue. I was just try to answer the OP’s question.
Chief

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by mcneilms

There is a product called Magic Antifoul. Zatara hadn't applied in New Zealand. So far looks fairly impressive. Not sure about working in the Carib, but company is out of South Carolina, so might be worth a call.

Coverage is 1.6m a litre. 80ft2/gallon, at $250 a gallon. That is by far the lowest coverage I've seen from anything. Normally an antifoul will be 6m2/l for something like Biocorp TF Amercoat ABC3, or 9-10m2/l for things like Seahawk 44, Micron 66, Seajeat 032 etc..

They claim 8 years service but then say after two seasons you'll see increased growth. There's no back up or warranty for that 8 years statement.

There's also no technical data sheet or materials safety sheet available. Very strange.

[Palarran]

Seahawk Islands 44 for me. We had it put on in St. Maarten and in the Bahamas.