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Bottom Paint!


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So I've been getting by by diving and scraping for past 3 years, but boat's on the hard now and I'm sanding back to the bare hull, to do things right from scratch.

Any recommendations for me? Boat is GRP, some osmosis but not terrible, and I'll grind all that out and repair. I'd thought interprotect epoxy 2 part for barrier coat, but it seems pricey, and I had no idea for most (cost- and growth-) effective antifouling for northcote point area? All I know is that the mussels there seem to happily ignore whatever was on there, before!

 

TIA

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the cost of interprotect is cheaper than the cost of your time reapplying after a failed coating.

If you are goi9ng back to  a bare hull, two/three coats of inter followed by three coats of whatever antifoul you choose, hotcoating as you go ie recoat when the previous layer is tacky, not dry.

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The best bottom paint is a frought subject. It is very difficult to get a clear picture as to what is best for you by asking on a forum. The variables of location, how the boat is used, and personal bias regards certain brands is significant, oh, and maintenance regimes. Location is a biggee.

I have just been through the process, and spent a lot of time looking for a Unicorn antifoul. One that both works and is cheap. Apparently Unicorns don't exist, and neither does Unicorn antifoul...

Here is a trick I learnt though. Phone the reps for each brand, and ask them what they recommend for your boat / location, and why. To get hold of the reps, you can start with the technical support phone numbers. There are two reasons for phoning the reps. 1) they have reasonable knowledge of their products and what will work best, 2) they are highly likely to offer you a big discount to buy their brand...

One rep talked me out of the latest fancy high tech moonbeams expensive AF they supply - as it simply would not work in my situation. He went on to recommend the most budget one they offer, as the best for my situation. Further, he offered the trade version, and a 30% discount. I'm thinking this is to get me onto their brand, but I wasn't complaining.

I managed to get trade pricing on my regular stuff, I didn't actually ask for a discount, but did ask plenty of questions on the performance, and said I was considering alternatives... So it pays to speak to the reps ;-)

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Unfortunately everything which really works has been made illegal. Some antifouling still works for some types of fouling but nothing works for all types any more. It might keep the barnacles off but the mussels and the slime are another matter...

A quick light scrub every few weeks in summer and every few months in winter, take the fouling off before it gets bad is the most effective solution. Being based at Northcote point you can nip round into little shoal bay and dry out on the tide there to clean the bottom. Nobody seems to mind there as it's full of drying moorings anyway (it has been 6 years since I was there, things may have changed). Very firm, level mud bottom with no obstructions.

boatpaint.co.nz sell quality Hempel paint, it's as good as anything else and their pricing is MUCH less than what you pay in a chandlery. They are based up in whangaparoa.

I used to get very good results with Hempel Olympic antifoul. Not sure it's working so well this year, maybe they had to take another of the ingredients out...

 

 

 

 

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