Maintenance

Antifouling 101, A Comprehensive Guide from Interlux®

Everything you wanted to know, and most likely more, about bottom paint.

By Capt. Ken Kreisler

Some of my most cherished memories of boat ownership took place many years ago when I owned a 42-foot, Maine-built lobster boat made of wood. She was an East Blue Hill, Webber’s Cove boat with the kind of lines that, well made you see what a boat was supposed to look like. She was seaworthy, dependable, and possessed quite the salty, nautical soul. My boat saw me through college life by six packing her during my undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate studies.

For me, keeping my boat looking good was as important as making sure my single flat head, 90-hp, 6 cylinder Ford Lehman diesel was always running clean oil. To that end, my spring weekends, prior to getting her ready for the charter season, were spent with sander, caulking, and of course, paint brush. And, accepting my hubris on this particular subject, I became quite proficient with preparing the hull and applying bottom paint.

A lot has changed since those halcyon days in the yard and to help you understand the often-complex decisions that go into this most important maintenance item, my friends at Interlux have prepared quite the comprehensive guide to antifouling paint.

Called Antifouling 101, it’s a free PDF download in the company’s Ask The Experts Series. Even if you’re not a DIYer, the information you’ll get will make it worth the read. You can download the guide at www.yachtpaint.com/LiteratureCentre/antifouling_101_usa_eng.pdf as well as visiting the company Website at http://www.yachtpaint.com

If you have any other boat maintenance items you would like us to cover, please let us know by tabbing the COMMENT button on the bottom right side of this page. We’ll do everything we can to get you the right information.