This year I am thinking of switching for a better antifouling. Anyone have experience with silicone antifouling ?
Hempel have this one below named 'Silic One' but there are other brands as well offering this paint technology.
http://www.hempelyacht.com/en-GB/product-list/silic-one-page
I know that it is quite expensive when applied for the first time but I think if it does what it says it would be a good low maintenance / low drag, fuel efficient alternative, and on the long term it would be cost effective as well.
Looks interesting , you mentioned quite expensive (what kind of cost?). Having tried various anti-foulings over the years, and some pretty expensive ones, I pretty much came to the conclusion that using a cheap/cost effective but good antifouling that lasts 3-4 months and is easy to remove at the end of the season is more than enough.
For those of us that tend to leave their boat in the water for the summer season only go with a cost effective soft antifouling.
Hi Skip,
I am really curious regarding this paint. I own a fast boat and I noticed that when I switched from a hard anti-fouling to a soft self polishing one cursing speed dropped from 30 to 25 mph average. This paint makes even less friction than hard normal anti-fouling which would results in more speed and huge fuel savings.
As for costs I will check with the Hempel factory at Cordin but I found this website also as an indication of prices.
https://www.svb24.com/en/hempel-silic-one-fouling-release.html
50414 Primer TIECOAT 750 ml €28.95
50412 Fouling Release SILIC ONE red/black 750 ml €59.95