Barnacles! VC17 is less effective every year !

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Steve B.
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu 02 Nov 06, 1:58
Your Country: USA, Whidbey Island WA

Barnacles! VC17 is less effective every year !

Post by Steve B. »

I've been faithfully applying 5 or 6 liters of VC17M every year.
The last few years, I've been getting barnacles.
Today, I must have a million of the little buggers, some of them are about 6 mm in diameter.

I'm in a salt water canal, and this will be the last time I use this paint.
It might as well be house paint!

GRRRR !!
Next year, the boat's getting stripped, barrier coated and painted with something that actually WORKS !
Our neighbors don't have this problem.

Suggestions for a multi year solution would be appreciated.
tpaliwoda
Posts: 215
Joined: Fri 03 Nov 06, 3:05
Your Country: USA, Raritan YC, Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Post by tpaliwoda »

Steve:
I haven given up on a "multi" season paint years ago.
Back in the day, I used to use VC - Offshore. Was a very hard and fast paint.
But that was 20 years ago.....
Fast forward to today - I use Pettit SSA, single season alblative. My diver also cleans the hull every two or three weeks.
I gave up long ago spending big dollars on paint. In my opinion, where we sail, it is a losing battle.

Even on the best paint, the slime builds up so quickly, over powering the copper in the paint.

The money I save on paint, will pay for almost 3 times with the diver.

The alblative paint does not build up either.

Only problem with the VC paint, it has a teflon base, and you will have to aggresively sand the hull.

Would be interesting to see what works, and doesn't work where!

Ted
Ted Paliwoda
D'Fly 1000 ; HN #1
Nice Tri
Raritan YC, Perth Amboy, NJ, USA
Double Horizon
Posts: 440
Joined: Wed 09 May 07, 0:18
Your Country: USA

Post by Double Horizon »

I removed VC17 Offshore once. It is an awful job. It clogged the sandpaper immediately, and didn't respond to chemical strippers (I tried several). The best way to do it is to hire someone to do abrasive blasting.
Larry - Former Owner DF-1200
gminkovsky
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed 01 Nov 06, 19:58
Your Country: USA, Long Island Sound

Post by gminkovsky »

My experience with paint has been mixed. My boat used to be moored in a high growth harbor in Western Long Island Sound. Originally, the boat came with Micron Extra from the factory. I switched to Micron 66 after the first season. Nothing has grown on Micron 66. No slime, no barnacles, no grass - nothing! However, Micron 66 did not stick well to the hull and has been cracking and peeling ever since. That is all subsequent layers stick to each other, but the first layer is peeling from the original paint. Don't know if I did something wrong (it was my first paint job) or the problem is with the paint.

I had moved to a very clean harbor with low growth 5 years ago, and couple of years ago decided to fix my paint permanently. I stripped the paint with Peel Away on the amas, then washed and sanded and repainted with Micron 66. Did everything by the book! At the end of the season, the paint peeled away. Nothing stuck to it, but it did not stick to properly prepared factory barrier coat!

I called Interlux and after a lot of examinations and back-and-force they concluded that Micron 66 does not work in my harbor. Both harbors have a lot of fresh water. perhaps that's the reason.

Anyway, Interlux recommended going back to Micron Extra. Which is what I did this year on the amas. Will know the results in October!

A few years ago, on Larry's suggestion, I tried Hydrocoat which is infinitely better for my health during painting. It worked OK - no hard growth at all, but lots of slime.

One year I skipped painting all together due to visible buildup of paint. That season was awful. Although I had no hard growth, I had millions of little shrimp and bugs attached to the slime. In the middle of the season I went into the water and cleaned the hulls with a brush. It was very effective for the boat, but the shrimp migrated to my body. it took me a couple of hours to wash them away. that was beyond unpleasant.

So far this year after about 1 month in the water, there is a little bit of slime which seems to wash off while sailing. The water is unusually warm and we seem to have red tide in the harbor. yet the hulls look about right...

Micron Extra has a couple of positives in my view: you can go more than one season provided you powerwash before launch, and the only preparation for repainting is a thorough wash. No sanding required.
Steve B.
Posts: 235
Joined: Thu 02 Nov 06, 1:58
Your Country: USA, Whidbey Island WA

I decided to go with Micron 66

Post by Steve B. »

After a lot of research (and my neighbor likes it) I've decided to have the local yard sand off all the VC17 and repaint the boat with Micron Extra.

As an aside, check out the pic I've posted.
My boat, a DF 1000 is sitting on four jackstands with modified screw plates located at the cradle support positions .
The two stands below the amas aren't really doing anything, they were put there by the travel lift operator who said, "so I can sleep at night".
The marina is convinced four stands are ok and I believe them.

Steve

Image Please click on the photo to see it enlarged!
Last edited by Steve B. on Wed 16 Jan 13, 16:55, edited 1 time in total.
gminkovsky
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed 01 Nov 06, 19:58
Your Country: USA, Long Island Sound

Update on Micron Extra

Post by gminkovsky »

At the end of the season the boat did not have any hard growth but had a little bit of slime - just a thin layer. Also had some dirt at waterline. After powerwash the boat is completely clean. The paint looks to be in great shape - no cracking or peeling like it was with Micron 66. Also, I slapped a thin coat of Micron Extra on the main hull over Micron 66. It worked well.

So I am definitely staying with Micron Extra. The amas will be washed and painted with one coat without sanding. The main hull will be getting the same treatment as amas did last year: strip all old paint; sand well; paint with 2 coats of Primocon primer; then 2-3 coats of Micron Extra.
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