tompkin
New Member
Hey guys,
I keep my boat in a slip for 6 months a year (freshwater) and keeping the hull clean has been quite the task for me. At the start of a season I usually apply a coat of Collinite Fleetwax to the entire boat. Topside, I am having no issues but I notice after a month or two the wax on the hull has worn off and the algae stain battle begins. It gets into the gelcoat pores and is VERY hard to scrub off. At the end of the season I find myself scrubbing the hull for way too many hours using about every type of hull cleaner and acid on the market to get the hull back to white. Exhausting.
So, I have been researching anti fouling paints for this season, and was about to pull the trigger on some standard Interlux CSC paint when a professional boat painter recommended I look into "fouling release coatings." After a long talk with a manufacturer I have come to understand these are a type of epoxy with silicone, (at least that's what this specific brand used) that when applied to the hull, provide a surface that is very difficult for marine growth to stick to. They do not contain biocides like most anti fouling paints so they are not bad for the environment, and apparently when you get the boat up over 15 knots the accumulated growth just sloughs right off. They supposedly last much longer than typical antifouling paints and it is relatively easy to touch up with more down the road. (this one boat painter told me he has seen a boat with one of these coatings last over 5 seasons...impressive.)
So just to reiterate, unlike a copper based antifouling paint, the bacteria WILL certainly accumulate on the boat when its sitting around..its just that they will have very little hold and with some speed they should just easily slide right off.
Sorry for the length of this, and just to be clear; I'm not promoting any such product currently as I have not used one yet.
Does anyone here have this on their boat or know of anyone that has used a fouling release coating? Or any opinions on this topic at all.
many thanks!
I keep my boat in a slip for 6 months a year (freshwater) and keeping the hull clean has been quite the task for me. At the start of a season I usually apply a coat of Collinite Fleetwax to the entire boat. Topside, I am having no issues but I notice after a month or two the wax on the hull has worn off and the algae stain battle begins. It gets into the gelcoat pores and is VERY hard to scrub off. At the end of the season I find myself scrubbing the hull for way too many hours using about every type of hull cleaner and acid on the market to get the hull back to white. Exhausting.
So, I have been researching anti fouling paints for this season, and was about to pull the trigger on some standard Interlux CSC paint when a professional boat painter recommended I look into "fouling release coatings." After a long talk with a manufacturer I have come to understand these are a type of epoxy with silicone, (at least that's what this specific brand used) that when applied to the hull, provide a surface that is very difficult for marine growth to stick to. They do not contain biocides like most anti fouling paints so they are not bad for the environment, and apparently when you get the boat up over 15 knots the accumulated growth just sloughs right off. They supposedly last much longer than typical antifouling paints and it is relatively easy to touch up with more down the road. (this one boat painter told me he has seen a boat with one of these coatings last over 5 seasons...impressive.)
So just to reiterate, unlike a copper based antifouling paint, the bacteria WILL certainly accumulate on the boat when its sitting around..its just that they will have very little hold and with some speed they should just easily slide right off.
Sorry for the length of this, and just to be clear; I'm not promoting any such product currently as I have not used one yet.
Does anyone here have this on their boat or know of anyone that has used a fouling release coating? Or any opinions on this topic at all.
many thanks!