antifouling

BogMonster · 06 August 2006, 21:37

I'll be leaving my RIB in the water more or less right through the late spring/summer/early autumn, from about October to about March probably.

Should I antifoul it or will it be ok? It'll be out of the water for about 2 weeks over Christmas when I go away on holiday (unless I take it with me - which I might) so I guess all the attached wildlife will get thirsty and start to fall off then, so it is more like 2 x 3 month stretches really. The boat has never been antifouled before, there are some little shell-like things a few mm across on the hull but it is really very clean, however I don't know how long it has spent in the water in one go before now.

The other thing that I wondered about is that my trailer doesn't have rollers, it has two big bunks that rub right up the side of the boat when launching and recovering. Will this take off all the antifouling, making the whole idea a waste of time if I do apply it?

Thoughts please? I need to think about it now because I don't suppose you can buy antifouling here anywhere so I'll need to order it soon to get it here by October...

Ta

gavin · 06 August 2006, 23:09

I would recommend antifouling, it will save you all the bother of constant hull washing, the more sunlight, the more the stuff will grow, we antifouled on the trailer, our last boat trailer was bunked.
The paint stayed on despite the bunks rubbing it, key the whole hull first, then use Primacon primer, and two coats of antifoul, recover the boat to the trailer, prehaps with a couple of blocks to raise it above the bunks to give you access to the hull, its a job thats well worth doing

Lostboy · 07 August 2006, 07:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

I'll be leaving my RIB in the water more or less right through the late spring/summer/early autumn, from about October to about March probably.

Should I antifoul it or will it be ok? It'll be out of the water for about 2 weeks over Christmas when I go away on holiday (unless I take it with me - which I might) so I guess all the attached wildlife will get thirsty and start to fall off then, so it is more like 2 x 3 month stretches really. The boat has never been antifouled before, there are some little shell-like things a few mm across on the hull but it is really very clean, however I don't know how long it has spent in the water in one go before now.

The other thing that I wondered about is that my trailer doesn't have rollers, it has two big bunks that rub right up the side of the boat when launching and recovering. Will this take off all the antifouling, making the whole idea a waste of time if I do apply it?

Thoughts please? I need to think about it now because I don't suppose you can buy antifouling here anywhere so I'll need to order it soon to get it here by October...

Ta

I went through the same dilemma. It's all covered here!
http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15442

Don't forget to mark your waterline BEFORE you clean it all right back to beautiful grp.............

BogMonster · 07 August 2006, 10:22

Thanks - I must have missed that, it was only the other day [slap self on head]

I hadn't thought of it before but I suppose water temperature is a factor which affects marine growth? The sea temp here is cold, from about 4 deg I think in the winter to ISTR somewhere in the 11-14 deg range in summer. I've seen pontoons with a lot of beasties growing on them but that is after a couple of years in the water and of course they never move - presumably 30+ knots on a regular basis (I'd be using it every weekend and probably some evenings too) dissuades a lot of things from building a house. I watched a Rigid Raider being craned out of the water onto a truck yesterday and it had a bit of stuff clinging to it, but not too much, and that hardly ever gets used but has been in the water for quite a long time.

The main reason for the question I suppose, is that I am a lazy b****r and I would rather be using it or doing something else than messing around painting it which due to the design of the home made trailer would probably require me getting somebody to crane the boat off on to blocks so I could get at the hull properly ... and it doesn't have lifting eyes ... which means the risk of tube damage ... and so on. So there would have to be a really convincing argument for doing it.

Pete7 · 07 August 2006, 16:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

So there would have to be a really convincing argument for doing it.

Having spent several hours removing barnacles with a piece of 4x2 from the club boat because they were too lazy to remove it from the water, there was no question of the committee authorising the expenditure on paint from then onwards.

To do it properly will take several days, cost a fortune and need doing again in a years time. Oh and the strongest antifoul can't be used on the outboard skeg. Your anodes will also need replacing more often. Finally what are you going to do about the tubes if they touch the water? all good news

Pete

BogMonster · 07 August 2006, 17:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7

Having spent several hours removing barnacles with a piece of 4x2 from the club boat because they were too lazy to remove it from the water, there was no question of the committee authorising the expenditure on paint from then onwards.

To do it properly will take several days, cost a fortune and need doing again in a years time. Oh and the strongest antifoul can't be used on the outboard skeg. Your anodes will also need replacing more often. Finally what are you going to do about the tubes if they touch the water? all good news

Pete

Well the outboard will be out of the water so that's one bit I don't have to worry about

As for the rest - several hours or several days ... I can see one summer of the "lazy option" being tested to see what happens

How big a fortune are we talking about anyway? I have no idea how much the stuff costs, nor how much would be required, nor in fact where I can even buy it from for export...

The tubes are a problem though ... they do sit in the water at rest and they are quite green already (got some tube cleaner on order) somebody suggested at one point that the hypalon actually doesn't like stuff growing on it.

I wonder if I could persuade somebody to dump toxic waste in the harbour periodically, to keep the wildlife under control

BogMonster · 07 August 2006, 17:34

I have just been doing some searching on antifouling... interesting

There seems to be a definite school of thought that you shouldn't (as well as the one that says you should) as once you start using it you are stuck with using it forever, and it doesn't like being left out of the water? Comments on these two observations?

I have a nice shiny orange hull at the moment and I'd hate to ruin it

Also another factor - apart from water temp - is that there is quite a lot of water movement where I will be keeping it, and from what I have just read that seems to be a factor which cuts down on the wildlife?

I also see it's £35 a litre

gavin · 07 August 2006, 19:10

I dont think you want to do it atall lol , we get growth winter and summer,and especially on the outboard bracket below the water line, cold or hot 40 knots or not, actone will remove antifoul , if used carefully, if you are not racing and you are leaving it afloat, then there is no argument but to do the job right

Lostboy · 08 August 2006, 08:18

The two schools of thought are always very vocal but you have to think of what suits you.

If your boat spends most of it's time on a trailer and then at 30 knots then you obviously don't need it. If the water where it is kept is cold and fast moving then you may not need it (although our yacht in the River Hamble gets a nice slime on it every winter when it's there for the Winter Series)

If your boat spends longer than a couple of weeks in the water several times a year then it is probably worth doing. The fuel costs, performance loss and associated problems with weed growth will offset the weight and cost of anti-fouling very quickly.

My boat works hard and spends a lot of time in warm, still marina waters. Despite frequent dives (which only ever remove top slime) and brushing from the pontoon (ditto) she got a dreadful growth and the subsequent performance drop was frightening, as was the increased fuel bill.

I'm not going into the process again (covered elsewhere) but for £100 my boat was primed (2 coats), undercoated, anti-fouled (2 coats) and burnished to a finish that looks good, has stopped growth and has had no discernible difference in performance from the bare hull. As the water is currently 23degC and it won't be out again for a few weeks I am safe in the knowledge that every time I get on it and turn the key I am getting the performance that the hull designer wanted and I paid for! With that in mind I MUST be stressing the engine less as well! So I am happy.

Take a look at most working ribs/ribs left in. They are generally anti-fouled!!! It's horses for courses and mine needed it.

Pete7 · 08 August 2006, 08:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Also another factor - apart from water temp - is that there is quite a lot of water movement where I will be keeping it, and from what I have just read that seems to be a factor which cuts down on the wildlife?

Are you sure ? barnacles and soft sponges feed from the water flowing past them, although temperature will have an effect. I agree with lostboy if its going in the water full time, then paint it.

Spend some time choosing your antifouling carefully so you don't have to mix them in future years.

You don't need a crane to get the boat off the trailer, a pulley block attached to the back of the trailer and a rope from the bow through the block and back to the trailer winch will pull the rib backwards onto wooden blocks under control.

Pete