Cooper coat. Yes or No?

[Sputnik]

Jason at Coppercoat tells me that they had issues with a particular boat, and that the owners were doing as you propose, just scraping off in the water....the antifoul properties weren't working, until it was pressure washed......
Neil

[sailing_gal]

I have been told by people successful with the Copper Coat that you must go over it at least annually with something like a scratch pad, it must be roughed up to release the copper. This can easily be done in the water. Also, proper application is imperative. Don't let a yard do short cuts. Spraying it on is probably a bad idea because most of the copper will be left in the spraying assembly, roll it on. I intend to put it on the bottom of my boat in about 3 weeks. Four coats rolled on all in one day, with about 45 minutes of drying between coats. Absolutely no water on the hull for 2-3 days- including protecting it from dew dripping down onto it. Then, another 4 coats in one day, let it dry for a couple of days. Move the boat on the stands, and do the same thing with the remaining blank spots. So, I am looking at about 10 days on the hard to do the job. You must first sand off all the old paint- to the barrier coat. Prep is extremely important. Rough it up gently before splashing.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Sputnik

I have booked in to a scrubbing area next Wednesday for an approved coppercoat outfit to look at and advise me on what they think is wrong. Having just spoken with Coppercoat they advise me that rather than scrubbing off with a soft broom and lightly abrading with scotchbrite pad I should be pressure washing the hull to get any "roots" of fouling out, then scotchbrite.....I will keep you posted.
Neil

If that's the case, how in the world does this expensive treatment supposed to save you time, money and aggravation if you need to haul out every year for a proper pressure wash and scrub?

Friends of ours just had the treament done four months ago in a very proper and well-documented fashion; so far... they're underwhelmed. No difference between their previous bottom paint an what they have now. I've been asking lots of questions lately because I'm looking into it for next season.

[Sputnik]

Yes, prep' is a must....BUT. Read the destructions....if you let CC dry it will need to be thoroughly abraded before the next set of coats go on. CC say 4-5 coats, one on top of the other whilst the resin is still tacky. And yes, not in a damp environment.
Scrubbing off under water/abrading.....how do you get any purchase? what do you push against to stop you being pushed away from the boat? Sounds like v hard work to me.
We are fortunate in the SE UK, our tidal range allows drying out on posts or the hard if you have a bilge keeler.
The professional & approved CC applier at Levington spray it on....I don't know the process they use, but if you use a bottom feed spray gun with well mixed CC I don't see why it wouldn't work...I will ask them this week.
Neil

[davedindubai]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

If that's the case, how in the world does this expensive treatment supposed to save you time, money and aggravation if you need to haul out every year for a proper pressure wash and scrub?

Friends of ours just had the treament done four months ago in a very proper and well-documented fashion; so far... they're underwhelmed. No difference between their previous bottom paint an what they have now. I've been asking lots of questions lately because I'm looking into it for next season.

Ive gone for it as I'm happy to haul it once a year and think this is good practice anyway. As I understand it, cc isn't much different to any other antifoul on a weekly/monthly basis but it won't need applying every 1 year/ 2 years as standard antifoul would (in my region).

Scrubbing a boat while it's in the water isn't as hard as you'd think, barnacles come off easily with a scraper and the resistance required is easily applied from finning. I'm happy to continue doing this as I would any antifoul.

My cc quote is €5000 and antifoul €2500 so if I get 4 years before I need to reapply paint then I break even financially plus I won't have the work involved with applying.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by davedindubai

Ive gone for it as I'm happy to haul it once a year and think this is good practice anyway. As I understand it, cc isn't much different to any other antifoul on a weekly/monthly basis but it won't need applying every 1 year/ 2 years as standard antifoul would (in my region).

Scrubbing a boat while it's in the water isn't as hard as you'd think, barnacles come off easily with a scraper and the resistance required is easily applied from finning. I'm happy to continue doing this as I would any antifoul.

My cc quote is €5000 and antifoul €2500 so if I get 4 years before I need to reapply paint then I break even financially plus I won't have the work involved with applying.

Bottom paint is much cheaper here €500 for the good stuff when I do it myself which takes less than four hours.