Copper clad hull

[CaptJamesCook]

I ran across a 1993 monohull fiberglass sail boat for sale that has a hull that was copper clad. Not copper coated but copper clad. Any one have any info on this maintenance, longevity anything?

Thanks in advance.

[Snowpetrel]

At one stage there was a company marketing self adhesive copper sheeting to glue onto fibreglass hulls. Not sure how well it worked out long term, but copper sheet does have reasonable antifouling properties as long as its not galvanic protected.

Long term adhesion of the plates would be my worry.

[CaptJamesCook]

Thanks for info.
Has anyone ever seen a Cooper clad hull?

[denverd0n]

Saw one just last week. I was in Boston, and took a tour of the USS Constitution. It is currently in dry-dock, so the copper-clad hull was visible and interesting to see.

Copper cladding was very common many decades ago, on wooden-hulled ships. On modern fiberglass boats, though, not so much. I have never seen, nor even been aware of, a fiberglass boat with copper cladding. Seems to me like a heavy, expensive, and unnecessary degree of protection.

[CaptJamesCook]

My understanding of the copper clad was it was for the anti fouling protection.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Yes.

As SNOWPETREL has mentioned, there was a company selling self-adhesive copper "stick on" pieces. I seem to recall seeing a fiberglass boat had that affixed and was shown in a photo promoting the product. I also recall reading it was expensive, but supposed to last for years. As I recall the boat showed a minor piece missing and marine growth was shown on that missing area. Google if you want to learn more.

There is a bottom paint that claims "45% copper" in it.
https://www.ipaint.us/products/coppe...170622143734:s

Here is a FAQ Page that helps explain some typical questions about bottom paints (from this manufacturer's perspective).
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/15...23053423372952

There was a flat bottom boat built in the PNW that was clad in copper plate (thin sheets of copper affixed to a plywood hull). I recall seeing it described (the entire building project) on Woodenboatforum. The boat type has a strange name I can't recall at the moment, but it is something like "Trylobyte" boats. The boat design is like a box, looks like a "houseboat" or barge, and is built using marine plywood and simple design (box like).

[hellosailor]

I vaguely recall 3M had tried a product for that. They manufacture all sorts of adhesives and self-adhesive copper "tape" is used in the electronics industry, so wider panels for marine use wouldn't seem like a stretch. But the idea never took off. The material probably fails to adhere in long use, leaving another typical big boat job to be done. You'd have to try finding out what product or process they used.

Copper cladding on Old Ironsides and such was not so much to stop fouling as it was to stop teredo worms and other borers from attacking wood hulls. Totally effective at that.

[Snowpetrel]

http://triloboats.blogspot.com.au/search?q=Copper

It does have a resonable antifouling effect. Not as good as modern antifouling paints full of Biocides and copper oxides.

Copper sheathing does slowly wear away over time, eventually needing to be replaced when it gets too thin.

The ideal sounds like a cuprornickel hull. $$$

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

TriloBoat Talk: Search results for Copper

It does have a resonable antifouling effect. Not as good as modern antifouling paints full of Biocides and copper oxides.

Copper sheathing does slowly wear away over time, eventually needing to be replaced when it gets too thin.

The ideal sounds like a cuprornickel hull. $$$

That's it.

A very interesting builders site. I enjoyed reading a few years ago. Very detailed descriptions of everything. And an "out of the box" approach to living on those unusual boats.

[Snowpetrel]

Ha, literally out of the box, with those cool barges! They seem to sail very well. He has some great youtube videos.

[Jim Cate]

As mentioned upthread, the copper on old timber ships was for worm protection. Metallic copper is only a poor general anti fouling cover. Perhaps you will remember Cook having to careen and scrape the fouling from the Endeavor's hull at times, and the Royal Navy's ships engaged in blockading French ports in the various interminable wars became slow and unresponsive in time, all due to biofouling on the copper.

Such historical data flies in the face of some modern claims, so you can take your choice in which to believe.

Jim

[Steadman Uhlich]

I noticed on the Triloboat site, the builder mentioned that his copper clad boat still gets green slime growing on it. And that he scrubs the hull 3-4 times per year. And he transitions from fresh to salt water to kill off marine growth too.

Also, he mentioned the issue of water penetrating his plywood hull, through the many screws he used to affix the copper to the wood hull. He describes how his wood hull is apparently absorbing water (an unknown amount, and to an unknown negative effect on the wood) and the boat has settled noticeably.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by CaptJamesCook

Thanks for info.
Has anyone ever seen a Cooper clad hull?

Here are a few "Cooper" hulls.

Ready for a voyage on the Niagra.

[CaptJamesCook]

I just ran across this
Ferro Copper Clad treatment on the fiberglass bottom. It's 14 mils thick, adds 126 pounds to the hull, and costs $3,500. Woods, as well as some other builders such as Tom Morris, believe that Copper Clad is very cost effective, even if it doesn't last as many years as the Ferro Corp. claims (15 years- plus). It also looks great.

[hellosailor]

Yeah. James, I am sure that all the products are not the same. Perhaps one of them is a miracle break through.

But after experience with one about 15 years ago (great first years, worthless in second) and hearing the ongoing testimonials BUT total lack of objective test results showing any real performance?

I'm quite certain it can be passed off as total BS, worth no more than any conventional bottom paint IF it is worth that much, until and unless I see at least one objective test,from one objective source, tracing it over a five-year life.

If any of these folks had a product that really worked, they would have had to be incredibly inept at marketing [read: stupid] not to have supplied a couple of gallons and paid for an authorized installer. Say, to put on a boat owned by Practical Sailor, or BOATUS, or one or two of the leading magazines.

A cynic might say "The stuff is crap, the makers know that, so they make real damn sure NOT to supply it to anyone whom might prove that and publish the results."

Stupid, naive, unlearned...sure, you can pick a nicer word. But at the FTC will tell you, when the ONLY results are from testimonials from unknown parties...the product inevitably does not work.