An Antifouling PAINT Test 2008-2009 by Chris Doyle Ive been doing antifouling paint tests on my boat for nearly a decade. One of the conditions I make when testing paints is that before the test, the paint supplier must decide whether or not to let me publish the results. In other words, the supplier can- not decide to let me publish if the result is favorable but ask me to keep quiet if the test comes out bad. The last antifouling report I published in Caribbean Compass was in 2005. In the last couple of years I have tested more paints, but the paint suppliers opted not to publish. I don’t blame them, because looking back over my reports, I notice that paints that work and compare really well one year do not always do as well another year. There is a lot of variability and results are not always consistent. Last year, Echo Marine in Trinidad invited me to test Jotun Sea Quantum Ultra red on my cruising catamaran, Ti Kanot, and publish the results. I used Micron 66 red as the comparison test paint. I put my more detailed report at the bottom of this, but in brief, on the basis of this test, they both worked as I have found good self-polishing antifouling paints do these days. First, Some General Observations Iam going to take the opportunity to make some general observations about anti- fouling paints that I have noticed over the last few years, with paints that no longer contain TBT. These are impressions rather than a careful analysis of all the results, so may not be all that accurate. Every paint I have tested has stayed completely clean for a month. But between two and three months, good quality self-polishing products, like most of the paints I have tested and including those tested this time, have all managed to sprout a good number of barnacles, This is less true for the only other paint I have often used, the Jotun Sea Queen, which tends to stay cleaner longer in the initial phases. My tests only last six or seven months (my in-the-water time each year), and for that period an inexpensive paint like Jotun Sea Queen often works as well as anything, and would probably be my paint of choice. But towards the end of that time, the higher- end paints are often beginning to perform a little better than the Sea Queen, which is also very soft, so that by the end of six or seven months it is beginning to wear off _ 2INGA. Corrosion PROTECTION Corrosion PREVENTION HE E ib & CARIBBEAN LTD REACH ERGMERREED ARO OFS BEMNCES Against all Steel Liquid Anode Technology Cold Applied Galvanising System One Part System easy to apply Protects longer than hot-dip galvanising 96% pure Zinc Environmentally Friendly Touch dry in 10 Min. Resistant to mechanical abrasion Unlimited Pot life & Shelf life Certified for use with potable water _ Can be applied in extreme temperatures Non-flammable Can be applied to damp surfaces For more information Call our Caribbean Agent: REDS CARIBBEAN LTD (868) 634-2941 / 2943 or (868) 475-9081 Email: zinga@redscaribbean.com Web: www.zinga-uk.com in high-wear areas. For this reason, if you want paint for long-term protection, a remium self-polishing paint is probably the best choice. It is also my guess that all the paints I have tested would probably give better per- formance on a monohull than a multihull. I say this because the vast majority of the fouling my boat gets is usually on the insides of the hulls, where there is shade from the bridge deck. I think it is important to monitor the bottom during the second and third month after ainting, and remove any barnacles that grow as soon as possible — when they are very small and preferably before they leave a white mark. If they grow big, the white mark that is left has no protection against the growth of weed, which is a pain. Barnacle Counts I think almost no paint manufacturer still offers guarantees to yachts. But where aints are warranted on large ships it is usually guaranteed to be 90- or 95-percent effective. That means only between five and ten percent your hull will be covered with barnacles. That sounds, and is, quite good. But if a yacht’s hull had barnacles cover- ing five or ten percent of its total area, most of us would consider that a lot. Keep in mind that even if you have a heavy batch of barnacles in one area, there is still barnacle-free hull between each barnacle, so a horrible coverage might only be 50 ercent. In any of the tests I have done, if you actually measure square millimeters of barnacle versus square millimeters of bare hull, I doubt it would be as much as ive or ten percent. I mention this because I think with today’s paints you do have to expect to do some maintenance, and that does not mean the paint is no good. Every paint I have tested, with the exception of one (which you are most unlikely to buy as it is not on offer in most stores), has afforded excellent protection against weed. All eventually get some scum, which wipes off easily, and some get a bit of light weed that also wipes off fairly easily. The hard-to-scrub, heavy, long green weed, which is prevalent wherever there is no antifouling, seems to be completely pro- tected against. This means the main fouling we see today is barnacles. Where you choose to anchor makes a huge difference to your barnacle count. Clean, clear water, like in the Grenadines, is the best for avoiding barnacles. The worst fouling is in nutrient-rich lagoons like Rodney Bay Lagoon and Simpson Bay Lagoon, or pretty much any land-enclosed lagoon. Being anchored in the lee of big islands can also be quite fouling. I have even noticed that fouling in the same bay can vary significantly from the outer part to the inner part. After three months, the performance of high quality self-polishing paints often seems to improve. They continue to get a few barnacles but don’t show the hundreds that have arrived earlier. Often in the last couple of months they will outperform the less expensive paint, whereas in the first months it is often the other way round. Seeing Red In general I have noticed with all the paints I have tested, red antifouling seems to work better than other colors. I used to compare different color paints, but since noticing that red seems to work best, I switched to comparing the same color of two different paints in any one test. Now, comparing paints between years is dodgy. Nonetheless, having tried various colors over the years I have gained such a strong impression of this that I would always personally choose red. There is also a ratio- nale behind this. Copper is usually a major ingredient and it happens to be red. This means to overcome it and have a bright blue, or black or some other color, additives will have to be blended into the paint that are unlikely to be adding to its effective- ness and may detract somewhat. Some paints come in two parts, which you mix before application. This is an added complication to the painting process. If you just mix up two cans as they come, this is simple enough. If it has to be done in smaller proportionate batches due to shelf life, then it does leave room for error, especially if you are delegating the job. Some people offer additives to paint. It is something I tried way back in the past, with zero effect. It is my impression that paint formulation is complex, as is the action of the paint, and anything you add is unlikely to help. If what you add is TBT, not only is it unlikely to keep your hull clean, but it certainly will get out into the marine environment where it has been implicated in damaging dolphins and whales. In addition to the paints mentioned in this article, another paint that worked well on a past test was Seajet Red (single part). The Latest Test Results In Trinidad Jotun Sea Quantum Ultra red was painted on Ti Kanot’s port hull; Micron 66 red was painted on the starboard hull. We launched in early November 2008. December 10th 2008 - No barnacles or fouling, having sailed from Trinidad to St. Lucia. December 28th 2008 - Stuck in Rodney Bay for two weeks due to engine problem. Hundreds of small barnacles on both sides, particularly the bow and stern (the middle was much cleaner). Port hull (Jotun) had about 20 percent more barnacles than starboard hull. Scraped clean except for keels. January 14th 2009 - Sailed to St. Martin and spent a week inside the lagoon, which is generally a heavy barnacle area. Areas on both sides had hundreds of bar- nacles, particularly under the hulls from the keel to the stern and on the keels with other patches here and there. The rest of the boat was clean. No obvious barnacle- fouling difference between the sides. However the port side (Jotun) had some green scummy weed, mainly within a foot of the waterline, which was absent from the starboard side. This was not scrubbed at this time. All barnacles removed. January 23rd - A quick look after another week in the lagoon. A few dozen bar- nacles removed from each side. No real difference. (Notice here that I am not getting the massive influx of barnacles evident earlier, despite being in a bad fouling area, and this will continue to the end of the test.) February 28th - Sailing around Antigua and Barbuda, including being stuck for about ten days in English Harbour owing to an engine problem. A few barnacles, not many, removed from each hull; no difference. Some scummy weed build-up noticed more on the port side (Jotun). Still not removed. March 30th - Sailing around Guadeloupe and its islands, including a week in the Marina Bas-du-Fort (in a lagoon at Pointe-a-Pitre). Just a handful of barnacles on each side; no real difference with some slime and weed on both sides, a little more on port than starboard. Barnacles were removed and this time the hulls rubbed to remove weed. April 28th — Sailed to Dominica, St. Lucia and Bequia. Mainly anchored off. A few dozen barnacles on each side, no apparent difference between them, not much slime or weed. May 25th - Hauled boat in Trinidad after spending some time in Grenada. Only a handful of barnacles on each side. Conclusion There did not seem to be a significant difference between these paints. Both hada significant influx of barnacle growth between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half months. I find this typical for the high quality ablative paints, and it pays to do some maintenance at this time. After cleaning a couple of times, both paints performed well for the rest of the test, with very little subsequent barnacle growth. The Jotun did seem to grow a little more scummy weed at one point, which I left on for some time, but by the time I got round to scrubbing the hulls there was not much differ- ence between sides and it all came off easily and showed no signs of being a persis- tent problem. At the end of the period, both hulls looked very similar.