Do i really need antifoul paint ?

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

This statement seems untrue.

Yeah, you're right. What do I know? After all I've only been doing this professionally for 27 years. I bow to your obviously greater knowledge of cleaning unpainted boat bottoms.

[lifeofreilly57]

Originally Posted by Sulaire

I have a hookah dive system, that I use to clean the hull and change anodes , i clean the hull every month or so and change anodes each year underwater.

I have not applied antifoul paint for two years now and I was getting round to paying for a lift out to do this when I got to thinking WHY!?

OK the antifoul on the hull now is more or less shot, but as i am cruising in warm waters, a quick trip over the side each month is no problem.

I think it is force of habit making me think of lifting her, afterall, all antifoul does is try to keep the beasts and weed away, its not as if it is a barrier coat, right?

We live aboard full time, so the saving if i do not bother painting her is not insignificant.

Am I mising something? Or does this sound like a good plan?

Charlie.

Yeah, we sailed to the Caribbean some years ago from the Northeast, with three layers of anti-foul, but more of a northern formulation. It eventually sloughed off and then the constant scraping started. The boat would grow a thick carpet of growth every two weeks, I'm talking shag carpet type growth, that got old quickly. It was getting plenty of hard growth too, which tended to damage the gelcoat when removed.
Long story short, upon hauling it required stripping, gel coat repair and then a barrier coat application before the new bottom paint could be applied, it was an expensive bit of work, but now with a bottom paint formulation better suited to tropical warm waters my scraping is much reduced and hard growth is pretty much non existent.
Its been on two years and is still working effectively, it was cheaper in the long run to do the process, now when I haul it will only require a coat or two of anti-foul, which is much cheaper and faster while paying boatyard fees.
I go for ease of maintenance and reduced cost.