Eco-Antifouling Results Q&A - Failure or Success????
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.พ. 2025
- Eco-friendly antifouling Q&A with Capt. Brian and Senor Brady. We sit down and discuss the results of our eco-friendly antifouling experiment. Brian starts off with a little recap of what we did during our haul out in Grenada, and why we made the decision to try and find a paint that did not rely on traditional antifouling agents. We show the results of Delos sitting at 3 weeks, 5 weeks, and 7 weeks without moving, and compare those results to boats around us with hard copper, ablative copper, homemade copper-epoxy, and copper coat. Finally we scrub the bottom clean and start sailing regularly again and show how the effects of water over the hull make a difference in the growth on Delos’s hull. This was a really interesting video to research and put together, we hope you learned as much as we did!
Links to papers about effects of copper on the environment:
www.ushydrotech...
www.chemet.com...
Products used on Delos:
Ultrasonic Antifouling
Https://www.nrgmarine.com
(Use code svdelos25 at checkout for a Delos Discount)
SeaSpeed VX q0 Paint
www.seacoat.com...
Underwater Drill (Nemo Power Tools)
nemopowertools...
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![TIMETHAI - ไม่อยากให้เป็นเขา (Why tho?) [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o2qYlGVVtOw/mqdefault.jpg)
Super interesting video guys! I run a marine paint testing field site for a living and your introduction to the topic was spot on and well researched! Those "sand dollar" organisms are called encrusting bryozoans, they are a hard fouling organism and are kind of a red flag organism when looking at marine paint performance. The reason the keel is having barnacle problems is that barnacles (specifically in ports and marinas) have developed a copper tolerance which allows them to adhere to most copper based antifouling paints (so that's not actually an effect of the ultrasonic signal system). Fouling release is definitely the future of marine paint! There are fouling release coatings that perform better than Sea Speed in static and dynamic conditions. Great job again on the video! Let me know if you have any questions.
Would love to know if an ablative paint without a biocide could be developed. If the paint sloughs off, it doesn’t really need a biocide, right?
@@alexoulton6239 Not really. Ryan, myself, and a great team of scientists and engineers have been working together to develop such a solution but what we learned is that there's no 'one size fits all' solution since these organisms are so adaptive and find their way to stick and survive. Therefore we had to combine what you are saying (slippery and smooth surface to slough off) and some new chemical functions (that are non-toxic and non-biocidal) all into one paint system. We are getting pretty amazing results as Ryan said!
While copper tolerance certainly explains the barnacle presence on the keel area painted with copper paint, it doesn't explain the change in barnacle distribution on the hull. The presence of hard barnacles on the hull before ultrasonic system and absence after seems to suggest that the ultrasonic system is a factor. Right? And could you elaborate on the bryozoans being a red flag?
What are some other options that you referenced?
Has anyone thought about ablative tape you peel off? Layer upon layer, like one of those lint removal rollers. It would create land fill or maybe be compostable. Peeling off barnacles could be even more gratifying than peeling off skin after a sunburn or popping tension sheet bubbles.
Thanks, guys...I had asked as well..but you not moving in waters..slowed your knowledge of the product...but
life goes on.
Thank you for an in-depth video..as always. You sail and you teach and sailers all over the world... learning to do things without making mistakes, because Delos...mayhave made them so ..WE do not have to. Love you, Rob
Hi Brian/Brady, The technical vids are great. Keep them coming! On the topic of the keel-bottom experiment - The shellfish farming industry has done a lot of work on getting barnacles and bivalves (clams, mussels) to settle from their pelagic (free swimming phase) to their sessile (on rocks) phase on to PVC plates. One of the keys to successful colonization on to the PVC plates is that they have to roughen up the plates by sanding, sand blasting, or otherwise scoring the surface. That may explain why you are seeing barnacles on the bottom of the keel and not on the slippery paint - the barnacles are just more susceptible to the slippery paint than the soft growth.
Super cool guys. For this techno-nerd, this is they type of video that makes the Delos project so attractive. For those of us that can only "chill" with the ocean for so long, making sure the mother ship is "ship shape" makes the trip all the worthwhile. I'd do this all freakin day long.
That was an awesome episode. I think the key is to be diligent about washing your bottom... for a dirty bottom brings grief to all! At least when you do clean, you’re not sloughing off heavy metals into the environment. There’s no substitute for manual cleaning regardless of your bottom paint and your video just proved that in an extremely high growth environment. Great video.
Thank you for the clarity. As a new buyer of an old boat, one thing on my pre-splashing project list is to repaint its hull with the most eco-friendly alternative. Cheers!
Hiya to you all. I can't see that I'll ever sail let alone own but your videos are the best, I love that you care about the ocean and are willing to pay good money not to mention all the hard work cleaning your bum to find a fix that works but does not kill or even maim them next door but below the waves... More power to you and keep on trucking...
I don't know who would watch your videos and not subscribe. Hands down the best sailing channel I've seen! Been following for years and hope there are years more to come. Keep it up guys!
I was just watching the video made while you were sailing in the Indian Ocean gale when you left the cockpit camera on. Wow, It was scary but you handled the 50 knot gale with battened hatches and everyone else was in the cabin. What a ride!! The fact you sailed at 6 knots with storm jib with headway! No hove to for you! How valuable that experience is. To know you can survive a cat 9 gail and look back on it knowing you went through it making headway!
This is an example of the tenaciousness of living things to survive and thrive. I enjoy all of your videos! Thank You!! I like the technical videos for expanding my knowledge. Peace...
Thanks for all the research and sharing. We boat owners tend to not know what we're doing with bottom paint/antifouling. I ask around a lot and most colleague s pull up their shoulders "i always use this" or "not sure, i asked the guy at the counter of the shop" .
So this is Highly educational about an aspect of sailing that most boat owners should know more about. It is so easy to let the shipyard do with your boat what they advise you to let them do which can be bad for the environment and your boat. Or, just put something on yourself .
We all should know about the toxines!
Lotta Good Info! In the past you've discussed sails. I remember the time you had to replace all the rigging. Argh! You show how to work on generators, pumps, you replaced the internet reception cabling...you replaced the lead-based batteries with lithium-ion. Now with the discussion of eco-friendly anti-fouling paints. This is all good stuff!! Keep up the good work!
Brian, I like the idea of the waterproof drill. I didn't know that there was such a thing. I understand that using it is exhausting because when you push on the drill with the brush against the hull, you are pushing yourself away from the hull and have to kick vigorously to stay close to the hull. That's exhausting! Try this: Run a rope from one side of the boat underneath to the other side of the boat railing. Make the rope taught. Now you can hold onto the rope with one hand while cleaning the boat with the drill with the other hand. Your pulling on the rope while pushing the drill brush with the other hand. Someone on deck can move the rope locations as necessary. You can use your fins to keep your body orientation as necessary. This should speed things up also without wearing yourself out. Have fun!
I still dont understand why you guys dont have more subscribers!! You are definitely the number one sailing channel on TH-cam. Both of you would be excellent teachers. I've learned so much from you. I have watched all your seasons now. I feel lost that I dont have another Delos video to watch. I'm going through your channel to see if I have missed any of your videos. 🌞👍🕶🌊⛵🏝
So interesting and helpful- hopefully you find a good solution so the rest of the sailing community can benefit. - Nick & Terysa
Thanks for all the effort and the information. ❤️⚓️ We have coppercoat, 8 years old one. What we do is keep cleaning it.
Was going to dive on my monohull one time and not looking forward to it. Notice a guy on a 40 something catamaran, cleaning his hulls. He did both hulls just floating and didn't put his head under. I was impressed as it looked easy enough that you could do it often
Guys the technical information is hugely useful. We've watched Delos change with the seasons and some of the reasoning behind your changes will doubtless help the rest of us. I hate the solvents and the chemicals, so anything non-toxic is a boon.
You guys are the bomb. Way to go, taking the lead on environmental practices. Your scuba videos, and early honest experiences, are what I drew me in to your channel originally. I am now very exited to see how many people have taken this route, and are following the dream of sailboat cruising. You guys will always be the industry leaders in the TH-cam Cruising genera.
Hi Delos!
Many thanks for such exhaustive video and informations about AF (antifouling).
20 years ago I did an comparative study about performances of AF in still water. This was related to the shipbuilding of several liquified natural gas carriers (LNG carrier) which after being launched from the building dry dock into the water remains there for about a year or more until completion, followed by sea trials. Once the ship is ready for sea trials, it goes back to the dry dock for final application of the antifouling.
Different AF from several worldwide known and reputable paint manufacturers were tested: sample plates were coated with a paint system as recommended by each manufacturer, immersed in a quite bay North of Nagasaki (Japan) and observed and measured aver a period of just over 12 months. All but one were “self polishing” and “hydrolysable” (dissolvable” paints.
Antifoulings can be non-depleting and depleting. The first keep their thickness while at the same time leaches the biocide. The inconvenience is that the skeleton of the AF becomes poorer in biocide and the Marine growth increases.
The self polishing , notably the hydrolysable, maintains the rich concentration of biocides in contact with water and as it leaches the skeleton is dissolved and washed away by the movement of the ship through the water. The inconvenience of this type of AF is the most of them are ineffective when there is no movement through the water!
From all AF tested, only one was efficient and showed very, very little marine growth. This was the one who lost the most of its thickness.
As all of the tested AF was not so ecco friendly, I wouldn’t recommend them to be used on a sailing vessel.
As there is miracle AF yet on the market, your option seem the best compromise!
Last week got a message from a friend: his 51ft vessel has no AF, the underwater hull is cleaned on a regular basis, every two weeks (or less, before going to sail). He can do so as labour cost is insignificant to him.
Wish you calm seas and fine sailing!
This was a fabulous look at an ever-vexxing problem. I can't tell you how many hours I spent as a kid working on the wet portions of racing boat hulls dealing with this.
Thanks Brian and Brady for testing an earth-friendly solution and putting together a super-informative video.
Fair winds.
Gents, I've followed for a couple of years but not subscribed. You called me out there. Subscribed. Thanks for what you share each week and for seeking to protect our space! These tech vids are good. Keep them coming!
I use Hempel's Silic One and have been using it for 6 years now on my X-35 that i use mostly for regattas both also for summer vacation. I just applied my second refresher layer (third layer in all), so every three years. Silic One is also, as the name would suggest, a silicon based antifouling and has no biocides in it. I think it's softer than yours though and I feel I have to be a bit careful so I totally avoid scraping it.
I am situated in Norway so definitely colder water and less growth. I keep the boat in the water all year so that's comparable. The reason I keep it in even in the harsh Norwegian winters when there's no sailing is that the Silic One coat then doesn't dry out (3 months max on land according to Hempel before a new layer should be added). It's quite common in Norway to have air bubble installations that keep the harbours ice free and my home harbour has it installed (so lucky me ;-)).
Definitely your findings about keeping moving is transferrable. When not on summer vacation (spring and fall) the boat is moving once or twice a week for regattas.
Just wanted to share my techniques for keeping the boat clean. I am a diver, like you, so I keep it clean most of the time by cleaning it in the water. Sometimes, before a big regatta when I need the boat superfast, I haul out and deep clean it adding some Hempel Shampoo to the water and using spunges. Takes me and the crew half an hour to get a bottom that looks pristine and as new.
But when I "dive-clean" it I use a window cleaning squeegee to remove the soft growth and a suction cup, the ones that you can lift glass with, to hold myself in place. Makes it way less tiresome cause you don't have to swim to keep in position. That gives me, with a half hour dive, a competitive bottom up to 95%. The missing 5% is caused by the reduced visibility from all the bubbles from my scuba gear that affects visibility so I might miss out on details.
Thanks so much for doing this. So much info on subjects like this is biased, ether manufacturers trying to sell stuff or unintentionally "this is what we did and we think we were right" stuff. You guys went beyond that and provided actual comparable results. Well done. and for the greater boating community thank you!
Thank you I was lucky enough to retire at 35 the sea has allways been calling me I can't explain why but you guys have given me the inspiration and push to chase a childhood dream. Thank you!!!
Super review. My grandkids are going to be really impressed with my knowledge...it is so much fun being a smart Granny. Thanks, this is a great science lesson!
Yes, the technical videos are great. Please keep them coming. Love the channel. I know there is a lot of work involved with what you guys do. To maintain anything requires hard work, including love. Working at what you love is the kind of work many a dreamer has held only in their heart.
Perfection exists only in the moment. If each perfect moment cast a pearl. Delos would now have no room fro her crew.
Really love the eco-advocate direction this channel has gone in. I feel like it's been a gradual growth over the years towards where you guys are today, making an entire episode solely based on how you're trying to help(and showing how others can too).
I love the fact that you backed up everything that you said with a video/ visual aide. You guys do everything top notch!
Love the technical stuff. Union Painter for 15 years. And have never even stepped foot on a sail boat but follow every step so when I can nerd out over painting industry topics makes it that much better. Keep it up.
Great stuff. Brian you are an engineer and it is great when you talk about the important specific information need with sailing. (aka technical side). Thank you.
Great review - this was exactly our experience with a similar product on a catamaran - as long as we cleaned every week and hit in excess of 10 to 12 knots it was great - if we sat in the marina for any period it was not so great......thanks for taking the time to produce this - it is a fantastic resource for the sailing community!!
Chubba! Finally, now at least I can sleep at night. Thanks for the in depth analysis especially the comparisons. One thing that could be interesting would be to leave some growth on (or clean half the boat 🤔) before a sail when you know the winds will be up and take some before and after shots, which might show how much stuff 'slips' off during a sail.
Thanks for sharing your results. Pity you didn't find the silver bullet solution. I think I saw "Slippery and Hard" open for Boy George at Red Rocks. Brian, I remain amazed at your mechanical aptitude. Wish I could have you bottle that. Put me down for a case of it.
Excellent effort to resolve these burning issues so positively. Thanks for sharing.
Good on you guys for not just explaining the environmental impacts associated with TBT as well as copper based anti fouling but as well being out there in recognising that there could be and are alternatives, but ultimately perhaps there is no absolute solution. A friend of mine has just installed a ultrasonic anti fouling system on his boat. The only downside with this system as I am aware is that it won’t work on wooden hulls.
Great experiment and encouraging results. What occurred to me was if I were to sail I would always want SCUBA on board which would allow easier cleaning of the hull vs a snorkel. Perhaps newer products will improve on the slippery method.
great video and discussion. I recently soda blasted the bottom of my power boat. After applying the barrier coat, I was totally confused about what to apply for anti-fouling paint, so defaulted to the hard copper from Petit. In these cold New England waters I don't get a chance to scrub the bottom as much as you guys. So we'll see what happens. Of course, what I do get is 22-28 knots of speed at cruise to naturally wisk away growth, but as we get deeper into the season, the growth wins. Only once, after all these years of boating (26 years) did I have to haul the boat and power wash it from growth because it sat for a prolonged time without use (bad weather). Love these "techy" vids much more than the others. Keep it up!
Thanks for sharing. That was great to know. I had heard of the silicone paint but have only seen it once freshly painted on a work boat in Campbell River, BC. Glad to hear it is a better option to anti foul. Bravo to Washington for trying to remedy this problem of toxins in the bottom paint. Here is hoping legislation will pass in all states and provinces before too much longer. I look forward to more of these very helpful vids. You guys are an inspiration! And I’m looking forward to the arrival of your new crew mate in the near future. Best wishes!!
It’s valuable to get into the details so we can all learn from your experience
Interesting video. I come from the commercial ship world and there is a bigger concern about preserving biodiversity (not dragging organisms from port to port) than local toxicity. I think the optimum solutions will vary for every application.
Since it’s no worse than other barrier coats and has the added benefit of being eco friendly I’d say you’ve got a winner!
and it adds up to three quarters of a knot of speed.. which is great over long distances.
I’m soooo impressed that you guys are addressing this issue, it is one of the few things that keeps me up at night as a professional sailor and live aboard. THANK YOU brian and crew for tackling this head on!
Great information, you never disappoint. Your adventures are brilliant showing us are world 🌎 places we can only dream of visiting. Then all of your how to videos of maintenance, upgrades and the like not what you all should be doing but just how the Delos crew do things. Big thumbs up 👍👍 to you all.
We're getting ready to do the bottom paint on our Amel SM. Your insight, testing and opinions are very useful to us. Thanks for taking the time to produce this useful tech edition video.
Awesome study guys. My parents used a non toxic paint but mixed it with chilli powder, this seemed to make a huge difference, particularly against barnacles:) However, I certainly agree that a 10-14 days cleaning regime whilst at anchor is most beneficial, then what ever anti-fouling one uses become less of an issue. So, use an environmentally friendly one:)
Outstanding report, I have been waiting for your results...
I have used cayenne pepper added to copper paint, and it seems to work pretty good, originally saw it used in Mexico...
At the end of the day, stuff just keeps growing and corroding, a full time job.
Fair Winds!!
Great analytical look at ship bottoms and how fast growth builds. You've all done an amazing job and this would be an eye-opener for a lot of boaties. The best bit is that you're totally independent which makes this vid valuable. Cheers Delos crew :)
They've addressed that in a previous video and the short answer is, it's not a problem.
@@germainekefw ??? They've addressed what specifically?
@@2Qwk2C Apologies replied to the wrong thread.
@@germainekefw No worries. Have a great day :)
Great doco on VX10 guys, loved it. I bought VX10 Clear a few months back and had it shipped to Australia to put on my 40ft power cat “Class Action”. It goes on next week. I’ll do a video on speed and fuel consumption before and after VX10, and also how the growth looks on a 5 month cruise covering 2500nm of the east coast. Most of that time will be in the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef. I currently cruise at 18kts using a total 6.4gph (24lph), which is already extremely economical, so will very interesting to see if I get the same speed improvement you guys got. The SEACOAT guys in TX tell I’m the first non-trailer boat to use it in Australia. Hopefully our videos will give more people the confidence to try it, and see through the negative comments about silicon written by those who want to stick to toxic copper paints. Cheers, Terry.
I'm building a small boat this summer, and hopefully a 34 footer later on... This is all great info. I really appreciate the technical videos. Lots of good information
Love your Tech videos, from this one on Bottom Paint, to the MacGyver repairs, to repair and replacement of parts. As a racer of a 1984 Santana 30/30 I can appreciate both the maintenance and sailing aspect of your video's/channel. Thanks to all of you for providing good content all the time. Dave Vaughan, SV Two Pot Screamer, NW Florida
That was excellent! I don't recall, is the cost of the X10 more or less than the copper coat? I got two takeaways from this video; 1) it doesn't matter what paint you use if you sit around you need to scrub the bottom, 2) the X10 looks very promising in terms of limiting growth as long as you keep moving and it's better for the environment. Thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍👍👍👍😊⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵
The technical videos are awesome. Obviously I’ve watched 220 episodes for more than just the technical videos. But I really enjoyed the battery swap video and this bottom test. I also pay sharp attention when a pump breaks, seals blow, haul outs, sail swaps, anchor talk, instrumentation, etc.. Love it.
Funny you mentioned the subscribers at the end. I’ve been religiously watching y’all for 6 years and haven’t subscribed yet... til now. I stop for months so I can binge watch for a month or so. I know you’re too cool to ask for subs in your non-technical vids, but maybe consider it. I’ve never watched 220 episodes of ANYTHING before Delos, and the fact that I hadn’t subscribed seems stupid now. Drop a mention of that every 10 episodes or so. The stat that less than 50% of your viewers subscribed was shocking...then I remembered that included me.
Super helpful video. Sounds like the bottom paint is a winner especially for a performance Cruiser
Excellent and informative video on bottom paint and ultrasonic tests with all of the examinations of others and types they had used. I did get the Pettit hydrocoat Eco bottom paint from West Marine. But glad you talked about the barrier coat. Was going to skimp on it, but will also add it to the list of TODO's. I'd just repaired a lot of blisters and gel coat loss from my boat hull. I should have already finished it by now , but we're experiencing a historic 46ft flood and the entire harbor and ship yard is deep under water and will have to wait until normal conditions to get my boat out to mark the water line and finish it then.
I am late on this but ... Foul or no foul, that's the question. I have tried on my and other boats different types. Like you said, different types for different uses. Spot on. An anecdote that will make you laugh, ... i finished a good VC speed under coat, and i left my sailboat on the lawn before a race bottom down, the dry lawn had a very little slope (2ich-100), went to eat, and no boat showing coming back, i really thought it was a prank from my friends, it behaved like a catfish and found it's way into the beach, there the sand stopped it, it traveled a good 100 feet ! We were awed for sure ... i tested it again and gave it a slight push, it went back with more motivation into the beach and even reached the water ... I used the clear one, kept the copper color powder for another use. I did a little experiment , tarped a board and let rainwater into the "bag" , worked perfectly ! nothing beside some slime and then added w. 5% vinegar, 3% bleach , tiny chlorine, all 3 no nothing ! This coming summer i will wrap the entire bottom and test. I will use "slick" cheap polyethylene 0,004" and leave it even at slow 6 knots speed and see how it behaves . If the "tarp" is fouled, i will "bowsprit" it up (should last a season). I will pipe out thru hulls , wrap the swing keel and i have an outboard ... I keep the swing keel up in shallows and at the marina so the wrap should work for sure for that. I will not need to remove the 3 y old ablative . The key i understand is food for these critters, alike your water maker is susceptible too ! My friend tried ultrasonic in an Amel in St-Lucia, in combo with another antifouling it is hard to conclude. Try wifi ! it makes people sick apparently ... no opinion yet...those antifouling , real quid pro quos ...
I find the technical stuff like this quite interesting and you guys do a great job presenting it. It nicely balances out the travelogue aspect of your channel and gives folks a good sense of the challenges that go along with fun part of your cruising lifestyle.
Thanks for all the analysis & the work involved in doing this report, great job. The coating you used appears to hold a lot of promise as an alternative to more traditional bottom paints, especially with more regular cleaning. Good stuff guys, look forward to more reports on this as you continue your travels.
Guys, we also use a silicone based paint, Hemple´s SilicOne. Last summer we cruised from England to Costa del Sol, Spain. When we hauled for the winter, our bottom was clean as the proverbial baby´s butt, aside from areas around the rudder with low water flow. Our boat is the same size as Delos, so 9 kts is common for us. Unlike you, we were on a constant move, which would skew our results. I know the Caribbean is different than the North Atlantic and the Med in terms of marine growth, but I was surprised to see the amount of growth after only one month. We sat for 2 months in an English estuary before heading off and I noticed a bit of a beard but that was about it. By the time we arrived at Guernsey Island, about 250nm later, the beard was gone. Anyway, I´m a firm believer in silicone paints and applaud your willingness to try something different. I for one will never revert back to anti-fouling.
I'v watched for years....and you...all are so informative and normal and agreeable. Makes you easy to watch.
Thanks for an honest video about antifouling. To draw a conclucion about this video and my experiense as an marinecoatingsexpert the only true enviromentaly friendly antifouling solution is waterflow. So keep Delos Sailing!!!
This is why I love you guys!! awesome info and the PDF files of Copper's affect on the marine life we love so much!
Really enjoyed this " bottom refinish" series!!!
Hello DelosTribe!
At the moment I am without a boat, but on my last boat I had a similar paint that you now are testing. It's called Scrubbis, a swedish silicon based paint. But with the paint they also sold a special brush/scraper with a long shaft and a floater, so you could actually scrape the bottom without dive into the water - but I know you like diving... the tool was of course not so acurate but for a week to week simple scrape job, it was good for the job.
This is very interesting and I love learning new things. Thank you. If someone can come up with an eco friendly paint that resists growth they will be rich!! 👍🌊⛵
This may be one of my favorite video formats - LOVE the technical details with Q+A.
Keep going with those experiments. Very useful for all sailors. Thanks a lot!
So what your trying to say is no matter what, growth is gonna happen. And I did notice it's like owning a home with grass and not mowing but keep watering. You gotta mow your lawn regularly. (Clean the hull)
Have been wondering how this went for a while... While it's cool to see everyone having fun in vids, these vids provide some real value that can be taken out to our boats (and hopefully make the waters a better place). Keep up the good work!
Really was digging the people that made their own paint
very interesting, please continue to share your findings.
Brian, you are a great teacher! Your voice and wording keeps me wanting to learn. You should definitely make more technical videos, they are a great source of information and inspiration.
My biggest questions are about planning. How do you know what marina to go to, radio channel to be on and the whole custom process. You have mentioned it in the past but never in details. It would be great to have a Q&A on that subject.
Thank you and the whole crew on making one of the best channels on TH-cam. Inspiring, educational and fun positive vibes are what makes me wanting always more. What a ride the last few years have been.
Those technical videos you guys produce are so useful for boat owners. I do really appreciate them, this was particularly interesting and really well explained. And the timing is so good, since I’m in the process, like many boaters at spring, to choose a new bottom paint. ⛵️⛵️
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Love your educational/tech videos. I am planning to buy a boat soon, so very useful as a prep for my future endeavors.
It did look like wayless growth while the ship was moving versus sitting. I think you're right I think if you had moved delos periodically and maybe scrubbed once a week you would have better results. But even sitting it does look a lot better then the copper paint. I appreciate the scientific study of you done. I will definitely be watching out for TBT I was unaware of this I am a new Sailor so any information regarding the best bottom paint it's much appreciated. Thanks again for conducting this study.🤙🤘👍😎
I’m a dealer in Scotland for both Sonihull and SeaSpeed. It’s great to see you put both products to test. I would say you have had favourable results compared to your friends’ boats which used traditional products. Sitting still in tropical waters is probably the hardest test SeaSpeed will get and I don’t think it faired bad? Certainly seemed better than the traditional coatings on the keel bottom.
In regards to the keel bottom and Sonihull. The joint between the weighted section and the hull/keel is probably acting as a barrier to the ultrasonic pulses reducing its effectiveness.
How many Sonihull transducers do you have fitted?
Here in the UK we’re seeing some excellent results from Sonihull in the commercial sector with many vessels now switching to using the system to protect sea water coolers and pipe work over the traditional copper anode systems.
I see a few people asking about Sonihull’s effect on marine mammals etc. We have boats here that see just as many dolphins playing around the bow waves or near the vessel as they did before fitting the ultrasonic system. Which suggests it has no effect on them. A boat’s depth sounder will have more effect on marine mammals than Sonihull.
I'm pleased you are doing this research to find how to maintain the bottom without harming the environment. Maybe there's a natural nontoxic repellent that will be discovered. If you are fortunate enough to be near a navagable fresh water river, going up the river regularly would make a big difference it seems. I wonder if you had waxed the bottom if that would have helped.
That was great. So thank you! I did think it would be a better result, but you have explained well why you did not stick to the regime to account for it. Compared to the other boat bottoms I think your method Faired pretty well.
It would be good to know what yours cost compared to the others to evaluate cost per result. I look look forward to the future of different sections of Delos treated different Ways. Can’t thank you enough for doing this and showing us the results. Was really looking forward to this one. Thanks so much !S k in the UK
That was some of the best research and information on antifouling, and why we use it. Thanx very much for your work. Subscribed!!
Super interesting. No magic bullet but at least the stuff you are using isn’t harming the environment. Think we will check it out next time our bum is due for repaint. 👍🏻😊
I love the technical videos, especially electrical and electronics. Keep up the great work guys.
Great video guys thanks! We will be boarding our cat full time after the first of the year so these videos from time to time are greatly appreciated. Cheers!
this is such a great video, and very approachable for new people like me. thank you
Great video and good to know you're aware and concern for our seas.
I truly learned something worth doing.
Thank you you guys.
Nature can survive most environments!! Wow!!
I really enjoy nuts and bolts stuff on what makes the boat world go round! Keep up the good work shipmates!
Setup for bronze floor installation - Acorn to Arabella th-cam.com/video/1qdicDWl_ZE/w-d-xo.html Old school boat building doing it right.
Nice work. For other viewers, keep in mind the only reason gel coat is on the bottom of the boat is to help pop the new hull out of the mold. Many builders actually add additional wax to the mix for this reason. I mention this because if you’re going to spend the money for a sand blast, go ahead and knock off the gel coat as well. The barrier coat will be much more effective when it’s not trying to stick to waxy gel coat. Blister problems gone.
Sabre Tom ... I used a blaster and a couple spots went all the way down to the glass... are you saying to forget gel coat and just add barrier coat to those spots ?
Lando Leaves Land ...Depends on the money situation. What I’m saying is get rid of all the gelcoat below the waterline, barrier coat, bottom paint. You can barrier coat the exposed glass now and put the better solution on the list for next haul out.
Great test y'all have done. I watched the application video and was waiting for the test results. If all your removing is soft growth, try cleaning the bottom with a squeegy. I had one used on car windows in the winter, so it was pretty stiff. But it never removed much paint at all. Good luck.
Thank you for this! Super important! If one is going to enjoy the sea they MUST protect it. If I ever own a boat - will definitely use ocean friendly materials only
I don't have a boat yet I still found your video very informative. It took a lot of work to put all the comparative videos together. As always you did a great job!!!
Kia ora from NZ. Looking at buying my first yaught to go cruising. I find your Tec and adventure videos very informative in my search for the right ocean going tiny home. I look forward to seeing your videos every week.😀
Thanks for the benefit of your experience.
I see there is a new vinyl wrap anti foul that has amazing claims.
i've been watching you guys basically since the start, but can't remember if you have done any follow ups on this? would be very interesting to share what you've learned since. LOVE your work!
Have you guys looked into one of those hull scrubbing robots? Work by electric and vacuum attach to the hull, scrub the whole length and beam. Quite a few have great reviews and they are not super expensive. Best part is it's automatic so you turn it on and when it's done it's done, no babysitting
Good job on this report! Our mooring is in a harbor at the mouth of a small river with a migratory fish run (alewives). Shellfishing clams and mussels is prohibited there because of pollution. Lobstering is OK tho. The next river over has a much more robust alewife run. It's a bigger river, but it has no harbors, and numerous oyster farms. I wonder how much the copper pollution from bottom paint impedes the fish run going on in Maine's rivers right now?
So glad you are conscientious about our oceans ,thanks so much
My compliments for your excellent research and objective test i value your no nonsense hands-on approach
Last year I did some research myself but have not tested the products I posted myself.
Great Video . I really like the general boat life in general and also the things you visit. In my opinion and not everyone may agree I have seen to many diving videos of late. As great as they are , I started watching for the cruiser life in general. Seeing all it includes.
I have been subscribed since june 2017 allways leave a thumbs up super happy with the antifowl report keep the updates coming
It definitely sounds like the silicone paint combined with the ultrasonics is about as close to ideal as is possible right now. And honestly, it's not a massive deal to jump in once a week or so to maintain it when anchored or moored. Great info! I am slightly curious about the miranti antifouling, but that seems to be more heavily marketed at large commercial vessels.
So really the guy who made his own come out the best , Millions in R & D = ? Been waiting for this , thanks, great run down . Iv tried hot chili , Paprika, Backing soda even Garlic - no difference , back to two coats of ablative.