Copper Coat Antifoul

[Craic]

I read with interest under one BayCruiser20-in-build photo that Swallowboats today favour Copper antifouling.
Which product is that in particular? Is it really good for several years?

[Julian Swindell]

Hi Claus,
I hope Coppercoat is all it is cracked up to be as I am the one paying for it. It is a proprietary antifouling, URL
http://www.coppercoat.com/

It is an epoxy resin impregnated with copper filings. The theory is that the epoxy gradually erodes and exposes new copper. Practical Boat Owner have tested it over 14 years and say it is still good, so I hope it is. Can't be worse than the XM I used last year which seemed to disappear after about three weeks!

[Craic]

Hi Claus,
I hope Coppercoat is all it is cracked up to be as I am the one paying for it. It is a proprietary antifouling, URL
http://www.coppercoat.com/

It is an epoxy resin impregnated with copper filings. The theory is that the epoxy gradually erodes and exposes new copper. Practical Boat Owner have tested it over 14 years and say it is still good, so I hope it is. Can't be worse than the XM I used last year which seemed to disappear after about three weeks!

Julian,
thanks for the link. Sounds to me too good to be true. Maybe they did have a longlasting formula in the past, but that may have been due to their using strong biocides in addition to the copper particles. Some years ago the ban on strong biocides kicked in, and ever since most antifouls are no longer what they used to be.

However, I would like to try it out, but there does not seem to be a single stockist in all of Germany.

The good thing is that it is Epoxy based, which should give good adhesion to the epoxy hull (on Llafurio), and that it very likely can be painted over no prob if it should fail the high expectations.

So far, I had been quite happy with International VC Offshore, no growth on the hull in brackish water, just a sort of slime cover build-up which can be hard-sponged off once in a while on a sandbank. But I still must renew the coats every two years.

Recently I was looking at 'Hempel Water Glide', which is available here and also has a copper finish look. Downside is the new hull needs to be sanded first.

Anyone with a patent solution for an antifoul for a trailer sailer, please come forward.

[Julian Swindell]

Hi Claus,
I can't really believe the Copper Coat claims, but everything I have heard about it seems to say it does work. There is a Copper Coated catamaran moored outside of Matt's workshop which I think he said has been there about eight years with no major fouling. I shall keep fingers crossed. When I kept my old boat on a trailer, it wasn't a problem, but as soon as she was on a mooring I grew a forest. The poor quality photo below shows the amount of growth on her last September, after 6 months, even with 2 coats of XM antifoul. I think part of the problem was that I did not get her into the water quickly enough after applying the anti fouling. I think there is an ideal time limit.

[Tony]

Nice ecosystem you've got there, Julian. Amazing how quickly it all grows.
I daysail on fresh water mostly, so fouling isn't a problem. The use of  antifouling is banned by Severn Trent Water anyhow. However, I soon get problems on trips to saltwater moorings. Even a few weeks will grow enough of a garden to slow me up by a knot or so. With paint costing about £30 a litre I have no wish to be sanding off barnacles every year so I'm going to experiment a little. I noticed  that careless maintenance of the trailer rollers had left a greasy patch on the hull which remained a "clean" zone all summer. The little darlings couldn't get a foothold! Not wanting to grease up Four Sisters like a channel swimmer I gave it little thought until I discovered Spray on Lanolin. This stuff forms a waterproof coat, is eco-friendly and available cheaply from a sheep near you. Well, not quite but it comes in various jars, sprays and bottles. It probably wont work for long, if at all, but I'm going to treat most of the hull and bilge boards with it, leaving a couple of bare patches as a control. I'll let you know how I get on.

[Julian Swindell]

I don't know if copper actually counts as a biocide. How could Severn Trent object to a copper bottomed boat in its rivers when they ship water to me through copper pipes?

PS not so much an ecosystem, I think it had evolved to a low level civilization by the time I tried to scrape it off.

[Tony]

Copper pipes! COPPER pipes! By eck, tha were lucky! We d ave thowt usen KINGS wi copper pipes! Nobut lead round ere when I were a lad. Aye, LEAD, an reet glad to ave it, an all!

Er...Frightfully sorry...its me Yorkshire upbringing leaking out.

Come to think of it, they used white lead in paint until quite recently but not, I think, so much for its properties as a Biocide. I am pinning my hopes  on Lanoguard http://www.lanoguard.co.nz/marine.html. Seems useful for everything else. If it does work perhaps all new Swallow boats could be rubbed down with a passing sheep before delivery?

[Graham W]

The photo below shows all that had attached to my hull after three weeks moored in the Ionian.  As you can see from my finger mark, the growth will come off with a quick rub.  I don't know if UK seas produce more growth, but my conclusion so far is that trailer sailers do not need to bother with anti fouling.