Has Anyone Used Copper Coat Antifouling ?

[robert sailor]

The copper coat has been on our hull for 5 years. I rejuvenated it by wet sanding it this last year as it was fowling quite quickly and the first 2 months in the Med it was doing OK but as time went on we found we needed to give it a manual scrub almost monthly, some areas took a little more work while other areas were cleaner. If your used to Micron 66 then you won't be happy with CC but if your willing to scrub (not that hard) then you may get the long life they talk about . We decided that we would go back to conventional bottom paints as we are wintering in a marina and I don't feel like scrubbing in this environment plus we are heading to the Caribbean this year and felt it may be a higher fowling than the Med?? Anyways we applied Micron 77 and after several months in a high fowling marina its still pretty clean.

[edboat]

If you want to apply another anti-fouling over it all you need to do is pressure wash, sand with 80-120 and apply new anti-fouling. You don't need to apply a barrier coat.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

For my 31ft boat, a strip to gelcoat followed by re-paint will run you $5000, and that's with normal paint that responds to chemical stripper. To get epoxy off, I don't even know how you'd start.

The word nightmare springs to mind.

$5000 for a 31ft boat? Where do I apply for the job?

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

We cleaned a Hallberg Rassey 43 berthed in the Berkeley Marina earlier this summer. Coppercoat bottom was several years old. The hull was so foul and difficult to clean that I had to charge the owner almost double my usual rate. This poor anti fouling performance is typical for copper-loaded epoxies, in my experience. While YMMV in a different locale, here in the Bay Area I warn my customers to stay very far away from this kind of anti fouling product.

But wasn't this due to the owner not using the boat much and/or not doing regular light cleanings?

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

We cleaned a Hallberg Rassey 43 berthed in the Berkeley Marina earlier this summer. Coppercoat bottom was several years old. The hull was so foul and difficult to clean that I had to charge the owner almost double my usual rate. This poor anti fouling performance is typical for copper-loaded epoxies, in my experience. While YMMV in a different locale, here in the Bay Area I warn my customers to stay very far away from this kind of anti fouling product.

That was my experience on a 36' Cape George we sailed for many years. After a couple of years, we have to start applying bottom paint per usual, so based on my experience, this product is just a super expensive bottom paint that lasts as long as any other. Perhaps the product is better now, but as I understand it, it is still just copper dust in an epoxy slurry sprayed on. Never again.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

But wasn't this due to the owner not using the boat much and/or not doing regular light cleanings?

I have no idea how often the boat was used. But my past experience is that even with regular cleanings, here in the Bay Area copper-loaded epoxies just do not perform well.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

I have no idea how often the boat was used. But my past experience is that even with regular cleanings, here in the Bay Area copper-loaded epoxies just do not perform well.

Besides, wouldn't that just leave a bunch of micro holes in the epoxy as the copper decomposes away, defeating the purpose of using epoxy in the first place.

At least with a barrier coat under a good bottom paint you wouldn't lose the sealing factor of the hull. Just a light sanding and another coat of bottom paint and you're on your way.

With Copper-Coat one would have to sand it all off, or start building up a layers of porous epoxy. And if epoxy get too thick it starts to crack, in relation to the flex in the hull.

[edboat]

delmarrey, No you don't have a bottom full of micro holes. The epoxy erodes at about a 1/4 of a mil per year which is enough to keep exposing new copper. We recommend a good barrier coat under the Coppercoat on polyester resin hulls. If the boat was built with epoxy or vinylester resin then you generally don't need a barrier coat.

[NZGrant]

Does anyone out there have experience of copper coat in New Zealand waters ?


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