Prop Paint

[crieders]

having moved from LI Sound to northern Chesapeake, I have had no luck with the Petite Spray on paint. Worthless. What have people had success with?

[glennd3]

I used the same paint and had about 10 barnacles on the prop when I pulled the boat after one season. Where do you keep the boat?

having moved from LI Sound to northern Chesapeake, I have had no luck with the Petite Spray on paint. Worthless. What have people had success with?

[ewengstrom]

When we bought Ohana in August 2019 she was on the Magothy and hadn't been used at all in two years. From what I could get out of the PO he'd had the boat hauled and peeled and a new barrier coat put on. Other than a huge amount of growth on the bottom it was in good shape when cleaned.
When he did this work he also had the prop and shaft painted with Prop Speed.....and both were virtually clear of barnacles and growth after two years of just sitting in a slip....needless to say I was quite impressed.
Due to it's high cost I didn't reapply this product when we pulled the boat last year, I used Rustoleum's cold galvanized paint and it works pretty well on the Potomac where Ohana resides now, I've used Petite's prop paint in the past with no better results that we get from Rustoleum's much cheaper paint.

[Roc]

I've been on the Chesapeake for over 20 years and the biggest problem is growth and slime rather than barnacles.  I've used Pettit Barnacle Barrier coat and after haul out, noticed remains of just a few barnacles (I'm not present when the marina hauls, but you can see the spot where a barnacle lived).  The best way to keep growth down is to use the boat, plain and simple.  I notice if I can move the boat at least once in a two week period, I am able to maintain a reasonable hull speed at 2500 RPM.  That would be about 6.2 to 6.5 kts.  If things don't allow me to do that, what i do at least is to run the engine in the slip and let the prop spin in both forward in reverse, at a much lower RPM of course.  Basically move the boat, it's the best anti-fouling measure.

[ChrisOB]

Moving is good, reverse in the slip I see people do and it looks like a waste but if you are in a cold weather/winter slip its good to run the motor anyways. I find a good way is take a weekend sail and anchor, throw some lines out to hold and just scrub off with a hand brush. Now that I am in Louisiana I am more hesitant than the bahamas/keys. At least I can see the sharks from a distance as opposed to gators with zero vis. *I use the petit zinc paint on my prop and shaft and have not had a significant barnacle on either since i starter using this paint (5+ years).  I have had a couple little ones that look like a pimple but brush off. Maybe the extreme current in the sound mimic'd you "moving" especially if you were on a mooring vs the more stagnant water in the chesse.

[ewengstrom]

I mentioned Propspeed above and that I was quite impressed with it's performance especially since the boat sat in its slip unused for 2 years. It's very  high cost is definitely a deterrent...especially since I like to swim and can hold my breath underwater long enough to make my wife worry.
BUT...I just ran across this same type product from an outfit in Florida, it's called PropGlide and appears to be a similar product to Propspeed (someone was bound to go after that market share). It is advertised as costing %30 less than Propspeed, Propshield or Propgold.
Has anyone had any experience with this product? I can't justify spending well over $200 for Propspeed, but $119.00 is getting attractive....if it works as advertized.

[PaulJacobs]

I have a slightly different five-step approach that has worked extremely well on Pleiades for the past ten years.

One cannot simply paint one's prop & shaft with bottom paint as the copper in bottom paint will enable electrolysis of the prop & shaft metal, which will damage them.  HOWEVER, if you: (1) first sand the prop & shaft with 220 grit paper to get all surfaces smooth and free of any prior debris, then (2) mask the shaft locations where you will attach your zincs (I always use two - zincs are inexpensive, props and shafts are not), (3) spray the prop & shaft with two coats of Pettit transducer paint (worthless as a bottom paint, but terrific as an electrical insulator!), waiting at least 15 minutes between coats for the first coat to dry, then (4) paint your prop & shaft with whatever bottom paint you use, (I use Interlux ACT), and finally (5) remove the masking tape from the shaft and secure two zincs ... voila, no barnacles, and no electrolysis, at least in Narragansett Bay.

Paul Jacobs
Pleiades
1990 MK 1.5 #1068
Wickford, RI

[Holger Dieske]

I have had really good experiences with Trilux Prop-o-dev from the company International .
Sea area Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

But I don't know if the material is available in the US.

https://dreimaster-bootszubehoer.de/bootsfarbe-pflege-reparatur/antifoulings/2542/international-antifouling-trilux-prop-o-drev?number=YBA768-500AZ&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl7Lnlo7y9QIVavx3Ch0SoQgbEAAYASAAEgLohPD_BwE

Holger

[chuck53]

having moved from LI Sound to northern Chesapeake, I have had no luck with the Petite Spray on paint. Worthless. What have people had success with?

I've been using it for some years now and have had decent results from it.  First time I ever heard of it was from the guy I bought my C34 from in Rock hall, some 11-12 years ago.  He swore by it and I've continued using it further down the bay on the Potomac.