Anti-foul

[Matt13]

My boat has already been antifouled this Spring, obviously now it is drystacked ive no need to antifoul so what should I do, just leave the antifoul to naturally wear away or will I now have to antifoul every year. Idealy id like to bring it back to the gelcoat.

Any thoughts?

[jokaboat]

Getting back to get coat would be a messy job. When you do please make sure you sweep it all up so I don't tread it all over my boat

Seriously though you might be better off getting it blasted off rather than trying to scrape it. It depends then on the state of the original gel coat as to whether you can just polish up or have to get it re gelled (if that's a valid term). No idea of cost for that job though, I just know that removing anti foul and re applying it is a horrible job.

[Matt13]

Getting back to get coat would be a messy job. When you do please make sure you sweep it all up so I don't tread it all over my boat

Seriously though you might be better off getting it blasted off rather than trying to scrape it. It depends then on the state of the original gel coat as to whether you can just polish up or have to get it re gelled (if that's a valid term). No idea of cost for that job though, I just know that removing anti foul and re applying it is a horrible job.

so should i just let it naturally wear away?

[jokaboat]

Personally I would just leave it for a season and see how it looks. It's not going to have a massive effect of the performance, unless you're trying to squeeze every ounce out of it racing.

But that's just my opinion.

[Matt13]

Personally I would just leave it for a season and see how it looks. It's not going to have a massive effect of the performance, unless you're trying to squeeze every ounce out of it racing.

But that's just my opinion.

and your opinion is valued sir , as you say i'll leave it and see how it looks, plus that is the cheaper option!

[Gazjen]

Its not a fun job

I removed all my anti foul from my Maxum with a product called Peel Away its a sort of paint stripper that you apply then cover with a special paper and leave for 24 hours. The problem you may find is that your hull would have been sanded to provide a key for the anti foul to stick too. so probably won't look that great when its back to gel coat. I spent hours and hours wet sanding and polishing to bring the gel coat back to the original finish. In the end I had a white anti-foul applied as I wasn't happy with the finish. I spent about three weeks in total removing and polishing.

A few photo's

When I first got the boat




Stripped off and polished



White anti-foul applied

[Noddy]

My anti-foul is now 2 seasons old, having switched to trailer boating. Still looks fine; I guess in a year or 2 I'll consider re-doing it or try to get back to gelcoat.

[ian h]

I too have the same issue, FT was antifouled prior to my purchase, Its been 2 seasons now and the antifoul is slowly starting to come off bit by bit.
I have looked at having it all removed and then having the hull painted.
Not sure what is the best way to go.
Have been told that i should expect another knot top end if antifoul is removed

[Centaur]

Matt13,

I'd be inclined to leave the antifoul on as long as it's in reasonable condition and not flakey. If nothing else, it will keep the hull clean if you choose to go away for a couple of weeks in the summer!


Gazjen,

That picture of your boat antifouled looks like clean, shiny gelcoat! Most antifouls have a very matt appearance and many white ones don't go properly white until they have been left in the water for a while (a distinct disadvantage if the antifouling is applied a few inches above the waterline). What antifoul did you use? I'm interested as a lot of the boats I'm interested in are already antifouled and a nice shiny white antifoul would be just the job!

[Matt13]

Matt13,

I'd be inclined to leave the antifoul on as long as it's in reasonable condition and not flakey. If nothing else, it will keep the hull clean if you choose to go away for a couple of weeks in the summer!

Cheers Centaur I think that's the way I will go. I agree Gaz that anti foul looks great. Mine is currently blue but my boat is White and black so a White or black anti foul would be the way to go when I have to do it again.

[Gazjen]

It was a fairly Matt finish but it did look really good once applied. Sportique boats did it for me in Lincolnshire I'm sure they would be able to supply it or at least give you the details there're a friendly bunch.

[markanddawn]

Matt

Don't go to the trouble of removing antifoul. The hull will have been keyed for the antifoul to stick in the first place, so the original gel coat is no more in any case.

Also, paint the hull in black performance antifoul, it does not show up all the green crud, even after a long time and it will match your topsides. It is simple to recoat antifoul by just rubbing down (keep it wet though, antifoul dust is very toxic) the existing antifoul just enough to remove any high spots or flakey bits and recoat. Note how long the antifoul has to be out of the water before getting wet and also it's maximum time without getting in the water, some have sort of an out of the water shelf life.

My old yacht had black antifoul and it looked almost new after 2 years, so I flatted down and recoated in black again.

[Matt13]

Matt

Don't go to the trouble of removing antifoul. The hull will have been keyed for the antifoul to stick in the first place, so the original gel coat is no more in any case.

Also, paint the hull in black performance antifoul, it does not show up all the green crud, even after a long time and it will match your topsides. It is simple to recoat antifoul by just rubbing down (keep it wet though, antifoul dust is very toxic) the existing antifoul just enough to remove any high spots or flakey bits and recoat. Note how long the antifoul has to be out of the water before getting wet and also it's maximum time without getting in the water, some have sort of an out of the water shelf life.

My old yacht had black antifoul and it looked almost new after 2 years, so I flatted down and recoated in black again.

Excellent looks good! Looks like sticking to antifouling would be the best option for me, the black looks good

[JORIDAPILOT]

Matt
Jorida was antifouled by her first owners as she lived in the water, Northney Marina. Only one bill so I presume that it was done when she was new.
We bought her at 3 years old and haven't touched the hull since, on the outside, she is now 7 years old. Still looks good enough for me. So with drystacking the antifoul does not get eroded very quickly and could last for years.
If you look at Jorida's hull next time you are down, the most conspicuous marks are from the drystack beams and the forklift arms. We have white antifoul so the marks show up strongly. If you ever intend to recoat then consider a colour that will lose these marks. Black might not be best.
A highly polished hull may give you an extra knot or two on your top end but how often do you actually use it. I would save your money and leave well alone.

[Capn Jack]

Matt as Gazjen says they have to key the gel coat for the anti foul, consequently if you take it back the finish will be rough.

There are different types of anti foul. They go from works like a dream to it's ok, i.e. the better ones are rough and great for yachts etc, then there are anti fouls for high speed hulls, smoother but require more maintenance.

Best solution is to get her scrubbed off, scrape off the old stuff and replace with a smoother high speed anti foul.

Something like this one................

Blakes High Speed Anti Foul