Anti Foul

I got a good run out of SeaPro, but it was nearly ten years ago and in Port Phillip Bay, so probably irrelevant to your situation as you will be growing different beasties and weed. Last couple of AF's with Altex 5 have been pretty good.

Cheers, Graeme

Has anyone noted any distinct difference between Altex # 5 and # 5 plus. Does it last any better ?

I use Seapro 120 - it works okay but I do have to scrub it after 3 months. Don't go straight to Wattyl, buy it from Mr Antifoul - much cheaper

I think it's #5 that I've got on at Port Stephens. Last slipped May 2021 and the best antifoul I've used in years. Others have used the same thing with success and it's what The Boatyard (the good slipway at D'Alboras) use and recommend. We're at North Arm Cove which is probably similar in water clarity etc to the Hunter River.

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UncleBob said..
Has anyone noted any distinct difference between Altex # 5 and # 5 plus. Does it last any better ?

I haven't used the Altex 5+, but I did shell out for the very pricey fancy version of International Micron a couple of years ago, in the hope the extra bucks might buy me better sailing and/or an extra 6 - 12 months between slips.
It was a complete and utter waste of money, never again. Performance was far inferior to Seapro and Altex 5.

Cheers, Graeme

I've used Resene [abc1]and the same stuff in an Altex No5 tin quite a bit over the years and it has been consistent. I have just bought the plus version now from Mister Antifoul so will see how that goes when I can get a slips booking. The warm water in the river at the moment has made the shell in particular grow like crazy. There is only one yacht that I know that has Altex 5 plus on and I have been checking it's performance regularly and it always looks good. My mates yacht with Vivid has a fair bit of slime after only 3 months. Vivid is now owned by the same lot that make Altex and is a fair bit dearer than Altex5+ so that is a bit disappointing.

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UncleBob said..

Sydney88 said..

UncleBob said..
Has anyone noted any distinct difference between Altex # 5 and # 5 plus. Does it last any better ?

In the past I've had a good run with Altex no5 Plus, I did 3 roller coats and got almost 2 years at Parsley Bay Brooklyn.

October last year I had 3 coats of Altex no5 Plus sprayed at RPAYC and the performace has been shocking there was significant slime and small growth in less than three months. The yard lifted it so the Altex rep could inspect and he was very suprised with that level of growth with no5 plus in such a short period of time, they gave it a brush with a broom to activate it but it's just back to the same condition.

The Altex rep said "it's never the antifoul" which I took as they will never admit there's a problem with their product, nor are they interested in assisting a customer that's used their product for 10 years. Not sure I would trust Altex or Resene produts after that experience.

I find it interesting that you had previously rolled three coats on and had good performance, subsequently had three coats applied by a marine service provider using a spray applicator and experienced a poorer performance, perhaps the rep is correct, not the paint.

A lot of people forget that marine climates change and an AF that's good for a while can suddenly be useless and a change of AF is required. Port Hacking is a perfect example.

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UncleBob said..
I find it interesting that you had previously rolled three coats on and had good performance, subsequently had three coats applied by a marine service provider using a spray applicator and experienced a poorer performance, perhaps the rep is correct, not the paint.

Perhaps not but that's for Altex and the yard to sort out not the poor end user, that's the issue I have with their response. You would expect them to look into the issue and advise where they think it's gone wrong based on some actual facts not just shrug their shoulders, any business I've ever been part of would also be bending over backwards to make a goodwill gesture to keep the customer regardless of who is to blame especially when you're looking at a product where if satisfied that customer will keep coming back till they exit boating.

Altex makes a claim on their website
"No.5 PLUS is the solution to the ever-increasing fouling burden in nutrient-rich waters. No.5 PLUS will typically provide 22-26 months protection.*
(based on two spray-applied coats). "
and
"* Durability will be determined by film thickness applied, frequency of use, water conditions, tidal flow and many other variables"

There is no way a reasonable person would determine that 3 months of protection which is less than 15% of their lowest stated protection being 22 months is reasonable. From first hand experience in challenging these types of issues I'd say there's a less than 10% chance they'd get away with relying their disclaimer when it's been professionally applied and the conditions in which the vessel has been used are not an extreme outlier.

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saltiest1 said..
A lot of people forget that marine climates change and an AF that's good for a while can suddenly be useless and a change of AF is required. Port Hacking is a perfect example.

Understood but doesn't change the fact they are potentially misleading consumers.

If I had the time I'd follow it up but work is too busy at the moment. It's not overly hard or expensive to get an outcome e.g. after a few phone calls and emails I got settlement for $1,000 off a telco last week because their online agent made an offer they could not deliver. If people don't hold these companies to account there is no incentive to improve.

Airless spraying is the best way to apply antifoul by far. There should not be any over spray. Unfortunately airless spray guns are banned at our local slips because one local complained to the council about the noise! They do make an annoying noise but only for a short time. The local trawlers steam down to Eden from here just to get the antifoul sprayed on.

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UncleBob said..

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Has anyone noted any distinct difference between Altex # 5 and # 5 plus. Does it last any better ?

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I have been using Altex 5 however 18 months ago had Altex 5 plus. My boat is getting Re antifouling in a couple of weeks. Only

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done 30 hours in 18 months so it will be interesting.

Jotun seagardian is what I use. The active in all of the AF mentioned is copper. The % of copper and the film thickness are the main variables ie 3 thin coats could be equal to one good coating. With my boats both being 10t displacement, I apply with a roller a continuous coat of 15 litres & get 2 years protection, with some diving on the prop in the second summer

I have used Jotun a fair bit over the years and it varied a lot in quality. I used to use whatever the fish coop stocked and they changed brands a bit over the years. The Jotun that was meant to last 36 months was the best and we got a good 12 months from that. I visited the Jotun factory in West Sydney years ago and bought some over the counter there and was not impressed with the quality of the staff!
One of the better antifouls I used was from one of the multi nationals that had a factory in Brisbane, Resene Devoe ABC1. This paint was sold to amateurs as Altex No5, the tins had a label. The fish coop used to stock it but later went to the cheaper paint Jotun. At the coop when buying paint we would check the weight of the tins and take the heaviest we could find.
The 10 liter tin of Altex No5 + arrived a couple of days ago. It weighs 20 kilos.

Altex 5 plus after 18 months as per post above

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woko said..

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warwickl said..

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Altex 5 plus after 18 months as per post above

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Not too bad, shell on the hard edges and looks to be blown forward of midships, wear is as would be expected with a planing hull. If you want to do more hrs you might want to look at some thing harder, or put more on in the wear areas. prop looks good !

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Looks a bit better now

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Photos won't upload must look to good or not a sailing boat ?

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