UPDATE: Our Coppercoat Application…Disaster or Success?

Coppercoat antifouling…or even conventional antifouling…short term, should work at least to some extent to prevent marine growth on a sailboat hull, right? After 6 or 7 weeks, there should be no barnacles or build up of marine growth, no matter what kind of nutrient rich water your boat is sitting in, and no matter how little movement the boat makes, right? Well, we have been in the water for 7 weeks now…this should give us some idea if our Coppercoat application has failed or succeeded. 7 Years will tell us even more!

Patrick was feeling confident that although we strayed from the Coppercoat application instructions, that the hull would be in good shape, free from hard growth. I was a little concerned that we might have a failed Coppercoat application story for you. At the very least we would be able to tell you why the Coppercoat failed. Everything you read about Coppercoat says do NOT stray at all from the instructions. We certainly DID stray from the instructions, mostly out of necessity to get the results we knew were required to make the Coppercoat application successful in the end. Patrick isn’t one to follow directions blindly just because his wife tells him to…he uses sense and knowledge when he strays.

What brown water to go look at a hull in…what lurks below?

So despite being in very brown mucky water here in Richards Bay, South Africa, with bull sharks, crocodiles and hippos not too far away, Patrick decided that before we sail this boat around the Cape of Good Hope starting this weekend, he should take a look, or at least a feel of the bottom of our sailboat to make sure it’s not encrusted with barnacles or other serious marine growth. This which would make for a a slow and potentially dangerous rounding, not to mention, put a lot of strain on the engine if we had to motor. While he was down under the boat, he’d give it a wipe. Better to have crocodiles, hippos, a sinus infection, and a not so friendly bull shark, than a hull encrusted with barnacles for an already risky passage like this one!

Patrick going in to the water in SriLanka to do our monthly scrubbing of the hull

We were both nervous as he got in to the water to clean the bottom of Brick House. I kept thinking, what if the Coppercoat has failed!?! What a nightmare that would be! We would probably have to haul her out and choose another kind of antifouling paint to put on her hull. And what if a Bull shark visits Patrick…will he know who the boss is? I think Patrick’s main worry though, was the sinus infection.

As he slipped in to the water that was nearly as warm as the hot African air, I prayed, please…do NOT be a failed Coppercoat application. SV Britican’s hull was growing serious barnacles in less time that this. And this water grows barnacles in a week on many boats here.

So in he went. He did have scrapers, and wire brushes at the ready…just in case of bad news, ready for the typical disappointment that bottom paints usually present, even in this early stage.

After 15 or 20 minutes at the end of the Seabreathe hookah unit, he surfaced for the report. I was ready to hand him the scraper, and watch him dissapear back under the water for round 2 of many, per usual.

He handed me the sponge, and jumped out of the water with a giant smile on his face! First time ever…he didn’t need these harsh tools…the soft sponge was all he needed!

Here is his report for weeks 7, word for word:

“We have been sitting in this very nutrient rich estuary water for 7 weeks now. Part of the prep for departing in a few days for East London, then onto Cape Town, was to go into this mucky estuary water, with 4 inches of visibility, and give the hull a wipe with a large, flat, soft sponge. I worked more by feel. What little I could see and what I could feel, Coppercoat is appearing to be working as it should. There were 3 little barnacles on the hull, at the tight junction where the drive shaft enters the hull and I wasn’t able to really apply the Coppercoat very well. Actually I was happy to see and feel those barnacles as it shows what could have happened if the Coppercoat was a failure on the rest of the hull. The wipe with the sponge took a fraction of the time it would have taken to clean traditional antifouling free of sediments“.

What a relief that we possibly have a Coppercoat success, as opposed to the Coppercoat failure that I was a bit nervous about. The 3 barnacles on the area that he had a more difficult time treating, was a good comparison of what could have been a universal problem. He described to me under later questioning that from what he could see from 4 inches away, the hull looked to be in various shades of blue and green which indicates a successful Coppercoat application to me!

We could not be happier, to see that we are at least off to a good start. Perhaps the extra sanding will shorten its life span…but if it works for 2 years we will be thrilled. If it works for 5 or 10, we will be ecstatic!

Be sure to subscribe here to get updates on our Coppercoat Application Failure or Success as time goes by. We promise not to give a Coppercoat review every 6 weeks 😉 We are just excited to report all is well so far. Please feel free to write to us and ask us how it’s going if we forget to report the results over time!

Here is the Original Application Video in case you haven’t seen it yet. Only time will tell how the Coppercoat works longterm.

How we strayed from the Coppercoat Instructions

Gifts for Sailors on your Christmas List

Wondering what to buy for the Sailor on your shopping List?   Here are a twelve Ideas for the sailor on your list…click any of them for more information, to order, or for some other ideas!

Remember, if the sailors on your list may be full time cruisers, they only have so much room on their boat! Gifts should be practical. Best is to send cash so they can go on a safari, or take themselves out for a nice Christmas dinner. But if your sailor is close to home and you just don’t know what may be useful for them, here are some ideas!

If you don’t see something below, go to 

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 They have a lot of ideas and sales around this time of year too. Shipping is very quick and can even be sent overseas.

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

1.

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Most sailors these days would like to video what they are doing and where they are. This was Patrick’s Christmas gift this year after he lost his first one. He loves it, and the Hero 5, even though not the newest is really the best one in his opinion!

2.

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A good book, with good ideas for every sailor! We keep this onboard and get new ideas from it all the time.

3.

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We have one of these onboard so every device on or off the boat can have accurate positioning. Sometimes we even take it hiking with us to record how far we have walked 😉

4.

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Great on a boat…even

better in an anchorage!

Not only is this great for use on the boat, at night, but it’s great too for taking night walks on those dark islands we anchor at. Fun and purpose all in one!

5.

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We don’t have one of these. But given the option, it’s always what we feel about sailing!

6.

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We can not recommend this more highly. If your sailor will be anchoring a lot, this is a great stocking stuffer to make sure he keeps that anchor snubber in place!

7.

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Better hurry so they can engrave the boat name on it!

8.

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If your sailor is preparing to cross oceans, this book is something we not only have onboard but it has its own sewn cover for it to make sure nothing happens to it. One of the best books for a Sailor who makes a lot of Ocean passages.

9.

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Your sailor can keep this aboard and if there is a medical emergency,he or she won’t have to do it all by memory! Lots of great ideas in this book for both preparing to go offshore, and actually having something happen when away from the doctor!

10.

If you and your sailor are planning your world cruise and want to be sure not to skip some of the best spots, this is your book!

12.Or a gift card to West Marine…by clicking here:

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 They have a lot of ideas and sales around this time of year…and the sailor won’t be able to decide to go out to dinner instead! They will appreciate this later on when they have something nice for their boat!

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Cleaning a Sailboat Hull Underwater; How do the Pros do it so Fast?!?

Cleaning a sailboat Hull, underwater, and the tools that you need:

Cruisers around the world have different ways of cleaning their hull. Different tools, different process, and techniques. But how do the professionals do it? The ones who are paid to do it and want to do it quickly and thoroughly, with as little setup time as possible, so they can clean many boats in one day.

Guest speaker Hank Schmitt from Offshore Passage Opportunities, a professional diver and sailboat captain for decades, demonstrates how he cleans the bottom of his Swan Sailboat “Avocation”. He shows what kind of tools to use, and how abrasive they should be. He shows how he uses a scuba tank, but leaves it on deck and uses it more like a hookah, but without any time consuming setup. He shows how he freedives, in a simple methodical way to get the whole hull done quickly.

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Patrick Childress then shows a short excerpt from a video he did a year ago demonstrating how we use a Sea Breathe Hookah/underwater breathing Apparatus to clean our cruising sailboat as we sail around the world. To clean our bottom. It’s remarkably similar…but different too! Be sure to watch both videos. The link to Patrick’s older video is in the video below.

No matter what kind of antifouling paint you put on, including the most expensive antifouling paint, to Coppercoat epoxy, scrubbing the bottom of your sailboat is something you have to get used to doing, unless you want to be paying someone to clean your hull every month or so.  Boat owners, you can save money by cleaning your sailboats bottom yourself!

Learn some new tricks in the video below!

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