This summer I'm renovating a Pearson Ensign daysailer and will be
going with CopperCoat for antifouling. CopperCoat is non-leeching,
consisting of copper spheres in epoxy, can handle trailering, and
lasts up to 12 years. From reviews I've read, it either works
really well or not at all. Since I can always paint over it with
regular paint, I'm going to give it a shot. Perhaps my home waters
will agree with it.
I'm also building a 26' plywood power dory, and will doing the
cheap-man's equivalent, adding powdered copper copper from
epoxyusa.com to their basic non-blushing epoxy.
Assuming I get the boats in the water this summer, I'll post
results in the fall. I can't be an advocate for either solution,
but they're intriguing enough to warrant an experiment (though not a
cheap one).
- Mike
Paul Wilson wrote:
Interesting idea. Antifouling paint is quite heavy so the difference in weight may be negligible. I would think adhesion would be the issue. Getting anything to stick to copper is tricky and the expansion and contraction with temperature changes would be a worry.
Paul
On 1/05/2012 4:46 a.m., Gardner Pomper wrote:I was wondering if anyone had experience with making copper foil a
part of the panel infusion. The underwater surface area of a Harry
(39' ish) is roughly 200 sq ft. I checked 5mil copper sheeting and
100sq weighs 25lbs, so the weight increase seems minimal. With the way
Rob is making the hulls now, it would seem relatively easy to just
make it part of the panel when you infuse it, except for the bows.
If this could be a relatively permanent corrosion preventative, it is
appealing to me. Without any thru-hulls below the waterline, galvanic
corrosion seems less of an issue.
For those (like me) who are not acquainted with 5mil copper, here is a
quote from a very useful woodworker veneering site
(http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/faq-copper.htm) :
"Technically speaking, the copper veneer is .005" or 36 gauge. To get
a real-world idea, the copper is almost twice as thick as the aluminum
used to make a soda can or 7 times the thickness of aluminum foil."
- Gardner