Coppercoat after 6 months away

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

One of these days there is going to be a CopperCoat thread that has posts from ONLY people who have used it and which stays on topic of CopperCoat.

Meanwhile I have never used CopperCoat. But I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once many years ago

Well done Sailorboy, this one should be moved to the joke thread.

I am leaning towards Coppercoat and my expectation is that it is not a miracle paint, it works just like every other paint and you need to scrape every so often.
It is twice the cost of a "regular" AF application from scratch (4 coats), BUT I will not need to haul and apply paint every two years. This is simple math.

[Madehn]

ok after ten pages of this i still dont have a clue what i am going to put on my boats bottom as i have not learned a lot of facts but certainly have a plenty of opinions- i am tending to lean towards copper coat works but the initial application is crucial and must be gotten right,,,,, on the other hand i now have a perfect idea of how to play all sides of an issue in a way that disparages others views and ways of thinking- when we attack personally we all lose.. rational thinking and facts just get lost in the name calling -- hopefully most of you on both sides of this issue would not be that rude in person but the internet seems to loosen inhibitions of common politeness- i would like to believe it is possible to disagree with someones viewpoints and still be respectful of their person-- that being said i am going to exercise my discretion and sign out of a thread that did not in my humble opinion show many of the posters in a good light- just my opinion and exercising my option. thanks everyone for playing.

[Q Xopa]

Yeh, that's pretty much my experience with Coppercoat.

I have had it on my boat 4 years in Panama now. I think its a pretty safe comment to call Panama a pretty high growth area.

I put it on myself and reckon I did a pretty good job. Its certainly not a wonder product and I have to scrub often. I would say 6 weeks is about a comfortabe interval to keep everything in check. I guess that sounds like a lot but of all of the different products (many and varied) I see, and talking to owners in the yards and marinas around here I would say I cant really say any seem any better. If there is a difference I would have to say its marginal. Some are definately worse.

To me, not having to repaint every year or two is the biggest upside.

I like the fact I took everything back on the hull, did good epoxy barrier coats. It isnt cheap. But I saw the hull bare bones, know everything is sound and know I have no osmosis etc now. I am confident in my hull now.

On balance, I am happy with my decision to use it.

Just my 2c.

[David B]

Originally Posted by ditechspain

Talking to the Company boss at a boat show he was recommending a brown scotchbrite pad. Gave me one too. No mention of abrasive papers.

Yes, those are the pads (they come in disc form too - much easier on a machine). Interestingly, their website mentions abrasive paper too. But for me, the pads make a lot of sense, and although a bit more work, I can live with that once every 7 years or so. In the meantime every year I see the sanding and scraping of antifouling paint going on in yards and am thankful we stuck to our guns in insisting on Coppercoat (I nearly gave in to the resistance we met - nearly .....)

[chasfgr]

Despite the hysteria to which this gives rise, Copper-impregnated gel coats are unsatisfactory for keeping stationary boats clean.
My boat came with the original Scott-Bader copper-impregnated gel coat.
Perfectly satisfactory, providing you rubbed it down every couple of weeks during the UK summer. However it was far easier to put a couple of coats of self-eroding antifouling on - no need for any attention for a season.
My impression is that, in the Med, fouling is generally slower.
By far the best way of keeping a boat clean, appears to be to keep moving.
My impression is of most marina waters being lifeless - biocides of any sort are bad if you live in the water.
Anyway TBT antifouling are banned in Europe for all but commercial shipping, and that's confined to commercial ports.

[SalingSue]

Originally Posted by ditechspain

False logic.
Just because the law allows you to do something it doesn’t follow you’re compelled to exercise that right.

False logic

Laws don’t “allow” you to exercise a RIGHT, anymore than hamsters “allow” the sun to rise.

[Bycrick]

Madehn— I feel your pain. But I’m not sure that you should have expected much different. Anti-fouling bottom paints work differently in different places, under different conditions. So even in a perfect world, the question of "How well does X work?" is going to produce, at best, a series of unsupported anecdotes: "It’s lousy; don’t use it!" or "I love it! Everybody should use it."

And that leaves out all of the religious zealots who are sure that they’ve got the right answer.

Unfortunately, you’re going to have to make a decision, based largely on your comparison of the various pluses and minuses, as they relate to your peculiar conditions. And you have inadequate data (don’t we all), to be able to defend that decision against all the people who are anxious to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do.

[Rob_P]

Originally Posted by Madehn

ok after ten pages of this i still dont have a clue what i am going to put on my boats bottom as i have not learned a lot of facts but certainly have a plenty of opinions...

This is because you didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

[Icarus]

If coppercoat is so good why isn't commercial shipping using it?
I use Altex 5 ablative type antyfouling on my boat.
I work away and the boat is stationary for month.
The protection last for about 2 years.

[blazing928]

Talking to mate with two boats moored next to each other in Sydney harbour.

1 with soft ablative, other with Jotun hard ablative? I think.

Anyway the harder Jotun on the sail boat works very well compared to soft on power boat.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Icarus

If coppercoat is so good why isn't commercial shipping using it?

If it's so good, why isn't everybody using it? If my experience is anything to go by (26 years in the hull cleaning biz and 35,000+ hull cleanings performed), boats with Coppercoat on their hulls are quite rare. In all that time I have only ever seen a handful of boats that use it.

[blazing928]

Re commercial use, Coppercoat, they do have a commercial side and it’s used on everything from oil platforms, wind farms, ships etc. There seems to be more acceptance for it commercially than cruisers.

I know when I started to try and find someone to spray it in here in Melbourne, no one wanted to, citing old reasons and usually getting product confused with other brands.

I think also thru know you’re not coming back every year for a new coat, so it’s a loss of business they’re not interested in supporting.

At my marina, when I haul out they comment each year about not getting the hill painted. Easy money gone.

As a world cruiser, it’s often hard I’m told to get hauled out also. You can change anodes on shafts underwater if needed.

[bbalan]

Hi All,
I think the main problem here is that the efficacy of anti-fouling treatments changes drastically by location, water temperature, salinity, and factors we don't even know.



We have had Coppercoat on our 46' Cross trimaran since we applied it in Japan in 2016, and we have had incredibly mixed results. We've documented the entire saga: https://coppercoat.brucebalan.com/


As well as this summer's updates: https://coppercoat.brucebalan.com/updates.html



We are still undecided about Coppercoat. The real test for us will be when we get back to the South Pacific.



Cheers,
Bruce
s/v Migration
near La Paz, BCS, Mexico

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by bbalan

Hi All,

We have had Coppercoat on our 46' Cross trimaran since we applied it in Japan in 2016, and we have had incredibly mixed results. We've documented the entire saga: https://coppercoat.brucebalan.com/

The fact that you have had "incredibly mixed" results means it doesn't work the advertising will have you believe it is a 10 year solution not only in some places.


Love the detailed analysis by the way.


My advise having been there and got the t-shirt is to anti-foul over it before it starts to erode too badly.

[nepal]

The observations of Bbalan are similar to my previous post. It is not black or white. Make a list with pros and cons, your cruising program, etc and decide.