Independent Forum Article

“Purchased my current boat in Jan 2009, ashore in Plymouth. 14 years old, had been ashore every winter and for the previous two years. June 2009 had old antifoul removed by soda blasting, then sanded off remains of original epoxy. Tented the hull with tarpaulins and applied three coats of high build epoxy by roller (slight orange skin finish) then Coppercoat® as per instructions.

Since then I ebb out and pressure wash at end of season (Sept or Oct) and again at start of season. Mostly slime that on one occasion was washed off with a hose and wipe down with stainless steel pan scrubber as no pressure washer available. We do get some green weed around waterline where the sun catches it as the water is generally very clear. Winter growth is probably due to brackish water and agricultural run off into the bay. Did get a few small barnacles last year after cruising east Denmark, but they came off with the pressure washer and the water in the Belts has a low salt content.

Coppercoat® works well for me, despite my amateur application, and was worth the initial cost and effort to apply it. I do not have to pay for lift outs, simply dry against the harbour wall on a concrete pad, connect up to water and electricity, and put £1 in the meter. Also, the weather is unpredictable for repainting in the spring but I don’t even notice the rain while dressed for the pressure washer. All I do is wash off and rub down with stainless pan scrubber between tides. No paint, no mess, just wash off my old PVC oilskins afterwards.

Previous boat was a catamaran with another, far less effective, brand of copper epoxy. With her I just parked on a beach and scrubbed the hull with the stainless pan scourers as the tide went down, but that was necessary every 3 or 4 months. Perhaps some of the Coppercoat® horror stories should be attributed to other brands?? I also suspect that the amount or lack of use, and water the boat spends most time in will effect the results.”