Microwave Antifouling on Boats

Goolgle this Ultrasonic Antifouling Ltd

barnacle larvae do not attach well to moving boats. They are all over the place in the water, so when the boat stops, they attach and once glued down, they stay and grow.

Some air bubblers have been used to create a moving water curtain to hinder larvae attachment. I do not know how good they are. You run the bubblers at all times when stopped and they create a blanket of moving water from air holes along the keel on each side.

This will only delay anitfouling needs, not prevent it, as the larvaue can still attach, but at a lower rate with bubblers. I suppose you could sling a plastic from below over the hull and pump in a poison like cyanide into the trapped 1/2 inch of water and then neutralize it, but the barnacle shells would still remain with a dead barnacle inside, so drag is ther os scraping will be needed.

The tin based antifoulers are inded banned.

Hi all,

There are several ultrasonic antifouling systems available. They have transducers attached to the inside of the hull at regular intervals and make a chirping sound. They do reduce barnacle growth but the boat will still need to be scrubbed to clear the weed growth. I didn't use it on my own boat but I've seen it on many clients boats and they all say it works.

Regards

Chas

check out www.maxiglide.com. they have a anti-fouling additive for marine paint that is derived from sea plant extracts that actually repels the motile bacteria in water that attracts the barnacles etc.

they also have marine paint that contains no copper or dangerous biocides. a new product but worked well for me this summer in the murky gulf of mexico.

I checked their website (and voted you a GA, thanks!) and from what I see, this could be a good product. You say it worked for you, was there any evidence of deterioration? I'm wondering how often it would need to be reapplied.

No evidence of deterioration as the paint is very hard I am anticipating a 4 to 5 year life before any need to re-paint or scaping. And the price is right. Thanks for the GA!

Something you may want to try is just car wax, a few coats of it. I have seen a 20 years old sailboat that only had such wax applied every year since new and the underwater gelcoat was still as new ! I believe this is only an option if the boat is hauled out of the water every fall but who knows, with more coats of wax, it could possibly last longer. Advantages are presumed as follow :

You save money

You protect the environnement

You preserve the look of your hull and make it available for a much better appreciation of its condition should you ever want to sell it.

You gain in performances !!!

Oh, and I almost forgot, you become the center of the discussions as other witness your audacity, boldly going were few have been before.