Boat Bottom Paint Antifouling Copper Teflon Quart on 2040-parts.com

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This copper coating relies first on the large polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) well known for its use in non-stick cookware. This molecule produces a drag coefficient smoother than ice. Also uses is copper. Smooth Sailing copper will change color over time when immersed. The true color will establish itself after the boat has been launched. Often the color will turn from copper to a dark gray tone. Because color change will occur over time, you should try to keep the Smooth Sailing Antifouling coating as close to the true waterline as possible. Wet sand and apply with roller and brush. One to two quarts covers most boat bottoms. Call 612-226-5200 www.boat-bottom-paint.com for more details.

Growth on your the bottom of you boat can reduce its efficiency by as much as 10% and that growth can be released from a properly coated bottom when speeds of 10 to 15 knots are reached.

Once fouling has established a hold on a boat hull it will rapidly spread or "colonize" the surface. Prevention is therefore better than the cure of having to remove the fouling by scraping.

• Have a faster boat
• Have less long run maintenance and better resale value on your boat.
• Be able to use pressure washing instead of grinding or scraping to remove bottom contaminants

Other reasons to keep your bottom free from fouling

Safety
Heavy fouling growth reduces responsiveness of the craft. The added weight of the fouling can make the boat sit lower in the water than intended. This can have obvious implications in heavy weather conditions.

Protection
Prolonged growth of certain types of fouling can damage the substrate of the hull. For example, the natural glues which organisms use to attach to the hull can damage wood and fiberglass. Fouling can also clog water intakes and cause damage to the engines.

Speed and Efficiency
Fouling causes drag. As drag is increased, fuel consumption increases and speed is reduced even to the point where a planing hull may not be able to get on plane. For racing boats, this can be the difference between winning and losing a race.

Because your boat bottom is so important to the boat performance the bottom should be re-coated as often as possible.

Antifouling performance factors

While tin and other biocides have been used on boat bottoms over the years. The proven standards still relates to the level of copper used. Yet Copper is not the only determining factor of how well an Antifouling paint will perform. The resin-binder system, the material that holds the paint together, is equally important. In addition to holding the paint together, the resin-binder system determines how fast the copper and other biocides are released. The resin-binder system should be carefully tailored for the amount and type of copper used to obtain maximum efficiency. The amount of copper affects the life of an Antifouling coating but the sophistication of the resin-binder system to hold and release copper is far more important to the effectiveness of the Antifouling effect. The best Antifouling boat bottoms will release biocide at a nearly constant rate throughout its life. If the resin-binder is correct, the highly efficient copper biocide is less dependent on large amounts of copper to deliver the best possible performance.

Fluorourethane was originated by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratories (NRL) in the early 1970.s. It was a combination of a fluorocarbon (Teflon) molecule with a urethane molecule. The material was unique in that it provided a surface with approximately the same coefficient of friction as the Teflon, was hydrophobic, UV resistant, and at the same time provided an abrasion resistance four times that of Teflon. The fluorourethane was originally tested on several ship hulls for the U.S. Navy. One boat tested was a harbor tugboat in Chesapeake Bay. The coating lasted 11-1/2 years compared to a conventional hull coating which lasted only 18-24 months. Of major interest was the fact that no rust or corrosion occurred under the coating. And biofouling, such as barnacles, could be removed with a high-pressure water jet instead of chipping or shot blasting.