Revolutionary New Hull Coating ?

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

This is NOT a product endorsement - rather it is an inquiry to see if the product is all it's hyped up to be.

Last February we attended the Gigantic Nautical Flea Market in Islamadora, Florida. One of the vendors there was handing out small samples of hull coated with "Crystal Marine Pro"™. It looked really slick and according to their web site, Bottom Boat Paint - Bottom Boat Coating - Anti-Fouling, will prevent barnacle growth for 5 years, is bio friendly, and allows simply wiping off slime.

Does anyone know first or second hand if this is worth the expense and effort? An e-mail from the factory indicated that they are overwhelmed with inquiries. I would like to know before November so I can arrange for material shipment and yard "certification" to apply.

[osirissail]

There is another thread about this outfit and its product that ran in March:
Linlee bottom coatings - The Hull Truth
- - Since the website has absolutely no information about the contents, chemistry or hazmat for the product and the Bio-Coat UK reference is a company that does not exist according to an internet search - I would conclude like those in the cited thread that it is a scam.
- - The comparison photos of a test piece of fiberglass are also very suspicious and just not logical for pieces of fiberglass exposed to sea water in Florida or anywhere else. If somebody can get a hazmat document - which is required by US Law to be available if the paint contains any volatiles, which all paints do - then you can see what the real ingredients are - if any.

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

osirissail,

Thanks for the link to the post. It was in another forum so it didn't show up on my search for "Linlee" here on CF. Unfortunately, that thread on THT is now locked so the only information available is that the Luhrs 40 had blisters after only 4 weeks. I may have to join that forum to contact the poster to get more information.

[MacG]

There is something called "Coppercoat" - quite expensive but relieves you for a number of years applying antifouling.
It is a mixture of a viscous epoxy with a colorant and copperpowder. If you are familiar with mixing epoxies you can make it yourself. Copperpowder can be bought separately and clear epoxy is not difficult to find.
I will look up the specs and post them later. (if still required)

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

After nearly a month with no new posts, I am posting again to revive this thread so I can decide before too much longer whether to even try this new coating. The one data point provided so far does not sound good. Surely someone on CF has used this coating.

Seems that if it were as good as claimed on the manufacturer's web site, everyone would be proclaiming its wonders. The lack of a rousing endorsement has me concerned.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Dreaming Yachtsman

After nearly a month with no new posts, I am posting again to revive this thread so I can decide before too much longer whether to even try this new coating. The one data point provided so far does not sound good. Surely someone on CF has used this coating.

Seems that if it were as good as claimed on the manufacturer's web site, everyone would be proclaiming its wonders. The lack of a rousing endorsement has me concerned.

Well there you have it! The decision seems to be whether you want to be the test site, and to pay for the being such.

[rebel heart]

Sounds like the next big breakthrough in solar panels that will revolutionize everything.

Every year, someone keeps saying it.

[David M]

"Revolutionary new hull coatings" come out quite frequently. If they worked then people would stop using copper bottom...and they haven't.

[PAR]

I've been involved with a substantial number of these types of products and hands down, the vast majority turn out to be advertising hype and little more then a marketing ploy of some sort.

A classic example is the "Coppercoat" type of products. They don't work and any reasonably chemically inclined person can tell you why with a material data sheet in hand. The "ploy" is to use two well known and accepted base products (copper and epoxy) and incorporate them into a single product, backed with some self serving testing. Lets face it, if a bottom coating says "copper" in the name, it's got to be good, right? Simularly if a coating has the word "epoxy" in it, then everyone knows it's just got to stick like crazy, right? Well damn, lets put them together, like peanut butter and chocolate and see how many suckers we can net at full retail. Sure, someone will run comparative tests, but hell we'll sell a million units before they catch on!

This aside, my understanding (chem E, BA from U of Delaware) of the product mentioned above is it's one of the new strains of polyurethanes. These latest non-cyanoacrylate urethane s are showing promise and some are exceptional. I've been involved with one in particular and it's test results are nothing short of spectacular. Personally, I've never seen or used Linless's Crystal Marine Pro. Their web site, product presentation and market impact to date suggests less then game changing results or everyone would be talking about it.

In the end, if you want to take a shot with a product that's not being professionally endorsed by anyone that I can see, then you've got bigger balls then me. And no, the bonehead from "Ship Shape TV" isn't someone who's opinion is worth repeating, though he does appear to be a well meaning bonehead.

[gotitfigured]

I own a 23 ft powerboat and after much debate and consideration, I decided to try this Linlee Crystal Marine Pro product. It was a complete failure. To make matters worse, my experience with company while attempting to remedy the situation was not pleasant.

[PAR]

Sorry to hear about this Gotitfigured, but its' not surprising. I wish I had the lack of scruples to pull off these sort of things. I'd have retired ten years ago and would be sitting naked on my personal, private southern Caribbean beach.

[Springbok]

Marinas which use a crane to lift boats in and out of the water can aid in this breakthrough. When you have anti-fouled with the anti-foul paint of your choice, they rotate the boat through a full 360 degrees in the air before putting it back in the water. You can ask for more revolutions as this will aid the process but costs go up per revolution. The anti-fouling has now been "revolutionized" and will last longer and work better. The crane operator must apply Coriolis's Law ie rotation anti-clockwise in N.Hemisphere and clockwise in the S.Hemisphere.
Clyde