To antifoul or not

[Annabel]

We have a Hanse 455 new launched in April 2019. We sailed it from Slovenia to Preveza, Ionian Greece, taking out of the water to hard standing in September, so a little over 5 months in the water. The sprayed on antifoul was in outstanding condition, hardly even any slime, certainly nothing sticking to it, and the gold paint on the prop didn't have a single thing stuck to it. My husband seems fairly adamant that we should get it antifouled before launching again in June 2020, but I can't see it is necessary, and in fact just puts another layer on the boat unnecessarily. We will have it in the water from June until October 2020, so about 4 months. Is the antifoul breaking down as it is sitting out of the water? As I am aware that when we anti fouled our other boats it was apparently important to get it into the water as soon as it was done and dried. I look forward to hearing the advice of others, thank you

[CFS Klopas]

Originally Posted by Annabel

Is the antifoul breaking down as it is sitting out of the water?

We would need to know what kind of anti foul paint is there. Some do, some don't.

[Annabel]

All I know is it is a soft not hard paint. Is that what you need to know?

[CFS Klopas]

No. We won't be able to answer that question. Some soft (ablative) paints can dry out, some lose effectiveness after only a few days dry

[slug]

Originally Posted by Annabel

We have a Hanse 455 new launched in April 2019. We sailed it from Slovenia to Preveza, Ionian Greece, taking out of the water to hard standing in September, so a little over 5 months in the water. The sprayed on antifoul was in outstanding condition, hardly even any slime, certainly nothing sticking to it, and the gold paint on the prop didn't have a single thing stuck to it. My husband seems fairly adamant that we should get it antifouled before launching again in June 2020, but I can't see it is necessary, and in fact just puts another layer on the boat unnecessarily. We will have it in the water from June until October 2020, so about 4 months. Is the antifoul breaking down as it is sitting out of the water? As I am aware that when we anti fouled our other boats it was apparently important to get it into the water as soon as it was done and dried. I look forward to hearing the advice of others, thank you

Give the bottom a good sandpapering , wash off with fresh water then apply fresh antifoul

I’ve never gotten two summer seasons from a coat of antifoul

[Annabel]

Ok, thank you for your answers. I will find out what it is, but also take on board your advice Slug, Cheers

[meirriba]

You should find out the exact product used.
Then, here or on the web, you will be able to find how this particular product behaves out of the water.
Some products die in few days, some can spend months in the air without damage to usefulness.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Annabel

Ok, thank you for your answers. I will find out what it is, but also take on board your advice Slug, Cheers

Yes, it is essential to know what the paint is. Most anti-fouling paints will fail prematurely if too many coats are applied.

It is blasphemy to put excessive costs on properly applied ablative paints.

Other paints will lose effectiveness when on the hard for even a few weeks.

[kas_1611]

Originally Posted by Annabel

We have a Hanse 455 new launched in April 2019. We sailed it from Slovenia to Preveza, Ionian Greece, taking out of the water to hard standing in September, so a little over 5 months in the water. The sprayed on antifoul was in outstanding condition, hardly even any slime, certainly nothing sticking to it, and the gold paint on the prop didn't have a single thing stuck to it. My husband seems fairly adamant that we should get it antifouled before launching again in June 2020, but I can't see it is necessary, and in fact just puts another layer on the boat unnecessarily. We will have it in the water from June until October 2020, so about 4 months. Is the antifoul breaking down as it is sitting out of the water? As I am aware that when we anti fouled our other boats it was apparently important to get it into the water as soon as it was done and dried. I look forward to hearing the advice of others, thank you

We too are in Preveza and have thought about the subject of antifouling on our Bavaria. We use Hempel self polishing stuff and whilst in Croatia, where the boat was always in the water, we'd get 2 years easily out of two coats. 2nd year there was always a little growth around the water line but never anything really heavy.

Now we are in Preveza we reckon we can get 3 or maybe even 4 years out of the two coats depending on how much we sail. We hose the boat down each time she's lifted to remove salt and and slime plus the annual jetwash at the end of the season lift out. This keeps the antifouling clean and in good condition for the next season. As we have self polishing it keeps itself clean as long as we are moving through the water which is the point of a sailing boat after all. Overall growth around the Ionian does seem to be less than in the Adriatic but that could be because we haul out when not in use.

Antifouling doesn't just stop growth and keep your bum slippery but it also helps protect the hull so is worth putting on for that. You could go for a hard, scrubbable paint and add an UltraSonic antifouling system as an option as this would keep the hull cleaner longer and less scrubbing or jetwashing.

A clean, smooth bum results in faster sailing, less fuel used when on motoring and more fun so I'd say at least one coat is desirable, two would be better.

Keiron

[Siberian Sea]

I would love to know what you put on your prop, was it some sort of paint or other ?

[Dsanduril]

I’m guessing the “gold paint on the prop” is PropSpeed.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

Antifouling doesn't just stop growth... it also helps protect the hull.

Please elaborate.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by CFS Klopas

Some soft (ablative) paints can dry out, some lose effectiveness after only a few days dry

Please name one.

[Ferrari]

Just be aware that at least 90% of the hundreds of thousand off litres of Antifouling produced every year will finish up on the bottom of the Oceans and Lakes of the world.
Don’t add any more than you absolutely NEED to.

[boat driver]

Soft antifouling is more commonly an ablative type which is wearing off as the water moves around the boat. hard antifouling, used on higher speed vessels and racing boats (polished smooth surface) does not wear off as much as rely on a biocide.
Most important is know what kind/manufacture paint you have presently. many are incompatible overcoats that will simply peal off in time.
Active biocide type paints can dry out on land which prevents the bocide from "leaching" out- there by the effective anti foul.

Scrape the paint you have and see the thickness. If enough is left push another year. If showing thin spots then may not make it another year.

To much bottom paint is generally a blame factor for improperly applied paint that flakes off in big patches.

Bottom paint expectations are often sold as one type fits all waters. Grossly incorrect.If moving constantly growth would be expected to be less attachment, but what works in the med may not work in the caribbean, a southern latitude may not work in the colder high latitudes, and what works in the ocean may not work in fresh water lakes.

Last, bottom paint protects the environment particularly on long distance cruising vessels by discouraging hitchhiking microbes.
The Ferrari comment about bad for the environment is example of very shallow knowledge of the importance of bottom paint. Some paints may have some environmentally sensitive ingredients but they can be avoided.