Antifouling and paints
Treat your hull and topsides to the latest paint technology, or go for a wrap. Sam Fortescue reports
G
etting the boat painted for the spring is just one of those jobs you have to get on with. Whether it’s you or the local boatyard ducking into overalls, gloves, masks and goggles, it is often tempting to simply use the same stuff as last year. After all, if the hull came out clean in the autumn, why change? Well, legislation doesn’t stand still, and neither do the R&D departments of the world’s paint manufacturers, which means products are always evolving. Here we highlight some of the latest hull and topside treatments, as well as offering a quick guide to the other coatings are available. As with everything in boating, you can pay bottom dollar for a simple rosin-based paint which quickly rubs off and provides less protection. The next step up is a longer-lasting resin-based paint which doesn’t wear away so fast, and the pinnacle is a jazzy self-polishing paint, which generates a constant amount of biocide through a chemical reaction with the water by the hull. “I always say, the first thing a boatowner should do is sit down and work out how often they’re going to use their boat,” says Jamie Smith of Marine Ware, UK distributor of Nautix and International paints, among others. “If you use the boat often, go for an ablative, but it’ll wear fast. If you only use the boat for a couple of weeks, then you need something with more biocide in it.” For faster boats and multihulls, you can look at a hard antifoul. While it generates less friction with the water for a fraction of a knot more speed, you’ll need to spray down the hull during the season to remove slime and buff the finish for optimum performance.
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APRIL 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
Foul language And of course, there is a growing range of super-slippery hull treatments that prevent marine fouling getting any purchase, rather than killing it. These socalled fouling release coatings are less toxic and generally last two years or more between coatings. Also in this category is ultrasonic antifouling, which uses inaudible sound waves to create vibrations that prevent fouling from taking hold. Here’s what’s new for 2022...
Seajet 034a
In a year that has seen a number of ‘hybrid’ products emerge, Japanese manufacturer Seajet is no exception. It is replacing its existing 034 Emperor and 035 Hard Racing paints with a new formulation which sits halfway between the two. By reducing the amount of zinc pyrithione contained in the paint, Seajet technicians have made the paint less toxic without apparently affecting its performance. It sits between a self-polishing co-polymer paint and a hard racing antifoul. “Tweaking and evolving formulations is an inevitable process for a manufacturer such as Seajet, which is committed to maintaining high product performance, with products that continue to meet public demand,” said a spokesperson. The new paint is available in large 2.5lt tins and is approved for
application by boatowners. It also comes in 250ml cans for applying to propellers, shafts and other stern gear. Colours are limited to black, white or dark grey at the moment, and the product costs £29.43 for a small pack or £153.01 for the large. seajetpaint.com
Hempaspeed TF
Global coatings manufactuer Hempel has added another product to its non-biocidal range for sailing boats. Its slippery SilicOne fouling release coating has been a staple for some years, finding increasing favour among eco-aware sailors. Like all fouling release coatings, it works because slime, polyps and larvae cannot get a good enough purchase to create a fouling problem. Its new Hempaspeed TF is a slightly lower performance hybrid alternative designed for sailing boats. Hempel says it combines traditional tough thin-film coatings with Hydrogel fouling release technology. Hydrogel is a proprietary polymer that absorbs seawater to form a barrier around the hull. Being mostly water, fouling organisms don’t recognise it as a place to attach themselves. Incredibly clever as all this sounds, the result is a Hempel’s cheaper product, pitched more at trailer-sailers, regularly-scrubbed raceboats and freshwater cruisers.
