Change of antifouling
Q
I am joint owner of an X-79 which is kept in a harbour on the Swiss side of Lake Constance.
The regulations regarding antifouling are very strict as the lake supplies drinking water to a large population in Switzerland, Germany and Austria and the choice of systems is hence very limited. Since owning the boat we have used a Plastimo product which was initially applied directly onto VC17m applied by the previous owner. This has been fine for 10 years but now Plastimo antifouling is no longer available to us and our stocks are used up so we are looking for an alternative.
Could we go back to VC17m without any more surface preparation than the usual high pressure wash followed by a light rub down? We don’t have any problems with osmosis so there is no need for us to do any more significant work on the hull.
At the beginning of the season the water temperature is typically 5°C, rising to 22-25°C in the late summer. Most of our sailing is at relatively low speed due to the usually light winds in the summer. Normally we only have to cope with slime on the hull but occasionally get patches of small, razor sharp, triangular mussels. We certainly don’t suffer from the curtains of weed I have seen in other parts of the world.
Any suggestions or advice on choosing and applying a new anti-fouling system would be gratefully received. Brian Crabb by email
RICHARD JERRAM REPLIES:
Assuming the Plastimo product you are overcoating is a Teflon-based product I’d not expect there to be a problem.
However I would strongly suggest you apply a test patch first. If there is any incompatibility this will become evident within about 15 minutes. Prior to any application thoroughly pressure wash with freshwater and abrade with a 120/180 grade wet and dry abrasive used wet. Apply a minimum two coats.