Anti fouling for running gear

[Bob Bradley]

I recall seeing a thread recently about a new antifouling paint that supposedly actually stays on the shafts and works. Anybody recall what it is, and if it actually works as advertised?

[Captcoop]

I am trying a product called Prop Speed on my running gear this season. It is not anti fouling but a slick coating. I don't know how well it works buy have heard good things about it. I got it through West Marine. You can check it out at www.propspeed.com. Good Luck

[Paul45c]

Yeah, PropSpeed is the one that was discussed at length. IMHO, if you apply it exactly as they stipulate, it works well on the running gear. It's pricey, though.

[Maynard Rupp]

What happens if you just use Interlux Tri-Lux. That is the bottom paint that they use for steel boats, lower units etc. It has no copper.

[solanderi]

I just painted with Prop Speed. I'll tell the forum about my experience over time. A quick heads up to your diver is recommended as only a gloved hand should be used over the treated surfaces so as not to scratch off the coating.

Greg
1985 45C
Hat Time
Miami Beach, FL

[67hat34c]

in november I had to change props, bent one. so I painted my spares at home, acid washed the freshly machined props, sprayed with 2 part epoxy zinc primer, Dupont. then sprayed several coats of regular non ablative anti fouling paint. since november the boat was used just for a few short trips, sat for long periods and then started to fish with it. so far have about 60 hrs on the prop paint and there has been no growth, rest of the underwater gear is coated with crap. only the tips of the blades have a paint warn down and is crusty but no barnicles. So far so good with this process. Plan on doing bottom job in fall and will change props again. will take photos.

boat is in FL, intercoastal and gets exposed to alot of crap

[Nonchalant1]

I can tell you what it's NOT and that's Petite Zinc Barnacle Barrier prop paint. It's supposed to work on all running gear and props. It's not anti-fouling, it's anti-barnacle. If you use your boat much, the props won't get too badly fouled, but barnacles can stay on them even with use and they keep growing. So I wanted to try this. I had newly tuned props, perfect finish. I scrubbed with rubbing alcohol, let dry and painted one blade of one prop perfectly, per ther directions in March 2006. I also did one big segment of my stainless steel shafts.

By January 2007, I dove the boat in Key West to see. The paint was about half gone on the prop blade I painted. We got to saltwater at the end of November 2006. In the 2 months we took to get from Mobile to Key West, numerous small barnacles had formed on the bottom, very little crud and a few barnacles on the Petite painted shaft, more crud and barnacles on the non-painted shafts and little crud but also numerous small barnacles on the painted prop blade, due to paint coming off. I hadn't touched bottom (yet) with those props. It's probably all gone now because I shined them up twice in the sand of the ICW bottom going from Florida into Georgia.

Anyhow, Petite Barnacle Barrier doesn't stay on props to my satisfaction.

Doug Shuman

[Capten]

We are firm believers in the PropSpeed system. Check out my report from last year here: http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/sho...ight=propspeed

I can add that the barnacle problem this spring was just as bad as last. The trip across the bay to the yard on Thursday displayed the signs of sever barnacle growth (black smoke, loss of 500 RPMs & 10-12 knots) after only 3-4 weeks of sitting in the slip. Sure enough - when she came out of the water there were loads of little barnacles on all of the running gear EXCEPT the shafts which had the PropSpeed from 2 years ago. Needless to say we reapplied PropSpeed to the shafts and added it to the struts, rudders and even the new Veem propellers.

[Brian Degulis]

I can't speak for prop speed as I never tried it. I've done just about everthing else under the sun epoxy barriers and hard antifouling or several coats of ablative. I'm in FL on a heavy growth canal I've had good results on shafts struts and rudders but props only partial success.

I think the first key to success is ABRASIVE BLASTING nothing creates a better profile for paint adhesion. Abrasive blast NO ETCH COATS epoxy or PS or whatever you have decided to use. The etch coat is a must when it's prepared by hand but is actually a bad idea if you can blast and then coat within a few hours (Standard Metal Boat Practice)

I think preventing growth on running gear is less about what you use and more a function of getting whatever you use to stay on. I think in warm water and rapid growth areas there may not be any way to get a coating to stay on the props your asking an awfull lot from a coating. And if it fails you have now created more of a problem you will have areas with coating and some without. On a prop a coating that has broken down is worse than no coating at all at least when un coated a diver can clean it to the original smooth surface when a coating has failed that can't be done as patches of paint will remain.

There is a company in south FL I think Barnacle Buster is the name. They have been powder coating props they say it's to slick to hold growth and tuff enough to stay on a prop but of course they are going to say that who knows?

On very large slow turning props I have had good results blasting then coating with an abrasion resistant epoxy followed by several coats of hard antifouling aplied within the re coat window. But the same procedure dosen't realy work on any prop turning over 500 shaft RPM.

Brian