Antifouling
Smart Sensors
YachtsThe Ideal Antifouling
Let’s start afresh, if you designed the ideal antifouling what would its features be?
Underwater boat surfaces, hulls, propellers, rudders included, should be smooth, clean, and free of biofouling so the boat slides through the water efficiently with minimal drag and minimal fuel consumption.
An ideal antifouling system would be:
Effective consistently & reliably for all seasons
Works all year and for many years without having to repeat it.
Cost effective
It should be a moderate cost because it’s a simple problem
easy & safe
Not require boat lifting; no days of preparation; no need for protective clothing
environmentally friendly
i.e. to us, our oceans, and the food chains we are part of
There’s antifouling that achieves all four requirements!
How Well Does Antifouling Paint Work?
biofouling is a really small problem
Biofouling starts in the first few days with the attachment of easily removed organisms. You could, and some boat owners do, wipe them off with a soft cloth each month. Leave it a few weeks and the problem escalates.
Boat owners hope that an antifouling paint will help avoid this hardening problem during the year.Many pleasure boat/ yacht owners are still using toxic biocidal antifouling paints as manufactured by companies such as Hempel, International, and Jotun and available in any boat yard or chandlery. These antifouling paints are expensive, and these companies, and the boat yards that recommend them, have our fortunes as a result.Whether soft ‘self polishing’ or hard biocide paints, all antifouling paint degrades and eventually leaves the underwater boat surfaces subject to easier attack and damage; therefore need reapplying.Concepts such as ‘self polishing’ antifouling paint is marketing hype for ‘slowing leaching and degrading’.Often the underlaying coats of protective paint have been damaged and require to be removed also. The annual maintenance is not just repainting, it’s often a repeat of the same thing that was done the prior year: jet wash, blast away, sand the layers, repair the parts where the antifouling paint failed, repair, sand, renew, pay the bill.
Effective consistently & reliably for all seasons, NOT
Antifouling paint is effective for one or two seasons only, (unless it is very toxic, yet still degrades and leaches away.)
easy & safe, NOT
Protective clothing is required to remove the old antifouling paint. The effulent of cleaning fluids mixed with waste paint must be disposed of safely, sometimes with a charge for safe environmental disposal.
It can be hard work to wash, sand blast, scrap, and sanding is required to prepare the boat surfaces. In application, protective clothing and even respirators must be worn.
Cost effective, NOT
It’s an annual cost of many 100’s – 1,000’s of GBP/ USD/ EUR for the antifouling paint, labour, maintenance, and disposal of the waste. Antifouling paint is a major operating expense for boat ownership not to mention the down-time.
environmentally friendly, NOT
Antifouling paints are toxic to handle, apply, and certainly to remove and dispose of the waste created. Sea life (including that which is part of our food chain also) has been digesting biocidal antifouling paints for decades.
We take so much care to research the best antifouling; sailors discuss recommendations on online forums and in the yachting magazines all the time. The manufacturers of such antifouling paints attempt to persuade us their latest expensive concoction is ‘bigger and better’ than their previous unsatisfactory version.
Let’s be honest
Antifouling paints do not work. By the end of the season there is already some hardening growth and damage to the hull and surfaces which has gone unseen by the boat owner.
Actually ‘antifouling paint’ is a contradiction since these paints do foul the environment either continuously or eventually.
These paints are an archaic option that worked when they were far more toxic, but now they have been diluted because of their environmental impact, they no longer work adequately unless re-applied frequently.
The best antifouling is not a paint.
Want A Better, Modern Option for Antifouling?
Easy Problem, Subtle Solution
Bio-fouling is not a difficult problem, if dealt with early. So anti-fouling can be simple likewise. Inhibit the microscopic layer of fouling from forming and the entire upper layer of biofouling is stopped.
Ultrasonic (marine) antifouling is a subtle and effective antifouling technique; it creates an uninhabital microscopic vibration at a boat’s hull surface (and other underwater surfaces).
Already Adopted by Commercial Vessels
The commercial marime industry has, for years, been fitting these modern antifouling systems on their ships. Commercial shipping obviously cares very much about efficient passage, and low maintenance.
Available to Pleasure Craft & Yachts
As this modern option has become lower cost combined with advances in research, development of low power electronics, so they have come within the grasp of pleasure craft boat owners.
See our blog for much more detail about ultrasonics (ultrasound) and especially Modern Antifouling ~ Everything You Need to Know, or just ask us.
That’s it! Two components for the best antifouling.
Solution for All Boats
Whatever size your boat, there’s an option available. It’s scalable too, and customised to your specific needs. If you need a little more antifouling, it’s easy to add extra attention to parts of the boat and all underwater surfaces whether hull, keel, rudder, propeller, or other.
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Antifouling for Pleasure Craft & Tenders
From: $1,249.00 only -
Antifouling for up to 10m (33 ft) yachts & tenders
$1,248.00 only
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Antifouling for up to 20m (66 ft) yachts & tenders
$1,788.00 only
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Professional Antifouling for Tugs, Ferries, & Large Yachts
From: $2,258.00 only
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Professional Antifouling for Freighters & Military vessels
From: $3,618.00 only
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Yep, that’s the sad thing about Ultrasonic antifouling. It works on homogeneous materials (materials with no voids). So wood, and concrete are not suitable. But plastic, GRP, metals, and carbon fibre are all good. Basically, ultrasonic antifouling is vibrating a surface just like when a drummer hits a drum with a drum stick, the surface is rigid/ taught/ highly elastic. Wood and concrete just dissipate the ultrasound in all directions; more like a thud rather than a ping that is needed.
Boat rental Italy with crew for anti fouling on gullet Alissa is difficult because wood always works and therefore bio anti fouling does not work.
We have Gulet Victoria a wooden Turkish Schooner which is we do anti fouling every season or other season. Even our tender each season as it grows a lot. We wish we could use Other methods and more efficient and longer lasting. But maybe in future they can do some for wood
Actually you make some good points I had no considered before, especially I didn’t know that USAF was such a viable option. It seemed like one of those quirky products. Thanks again. Look forward to more!