We had CopperCoat Antifouling applied to the hull of our Oyster 56′ in 2016. Since then we’ve had nothing but problems. To get the full story, watch the following video that highlights. If you want the lasted update, see the links below the videos:
- our first CopperCoat application in North Carolina
- a haul out in South Carolina for CopperCoat USA to inspect issues and instigate fixes from the original boatyard
- underwater footage of the hull after the fixes
- the hull after our haul out in Trinidad & Tobago
- another full application of CopperCoat (product paid for by CopperCoat UK)
- underwater footage a month after the last application
- the hull after our haul out in Antigua
- underwater footage of our hull after another sanding in Antigua
Watch the video below and to get into all the detail as to what happened at each major step see below for specific blog posts and videos regarding our CopperCoat antifouling issues.
CopperCoat Antifouling Nightmare Video – AUGUST 2019
CopperCoat Antifouling Nightmare UPDATE – SEPT 2019
Here are the links to all our CopperCoat Problems Videos:
To get an overview of all our CopperCoat videos and articles please visit: CopperCoatAntifouling Review Otherwise, get more in-depth information below.
- September 2016 – Our First Failed Application by Bennett Brothers in Wilmington, North Carolina. Watch here: CopperCoat Antifoul Failure
- September 2017 – An Update On Our CopperCoat Results One Year Later. It didn’t work! Get the full CopperCoat antifouling review story, up to this point, by reading Our CopperCoat Antifoul Problems
- October 2017 – CopperCoat USA & Bennet Brothers Work To Rectify Our Issues. To see our boat hauled out in Charleston and the USA representative from CopperCoat inspect the hull, watch our sailing Vlog episode that covers our CopperCoat antifouling review entitled: Liveaboard Life
- July 2018 – Haul Out In Trinidad & Tobago – All The Patches Were Barnacle Free But the Rest of the Boat was Full of Barnacles! To view our haul out in Trinidad and get more information about the second failed application, watch the second video on our Trinidad & Tobago Destinations section entitled Haul Out Trinidad & Tobago.
- August 2019 – Evidence of our Failed Peake’s Boatyard Application and Attempted Sanding Touch-up in Antigua. And September 2019 – Arrangements for CopperCoat UK To Come To Grenada. You can see both the August and September 2019 videos here: CopperCoat Antifouling Solution
- November 2019 – Our Third & Final CopperCoat Antifoul Application by Mr. CopperCoat Himself. Watch here: CopperCoat Application
- June 2020 – The Results Of Our Third Full CopperCoat Application Are…?!?!?! Find out here: CopperCoat Problems
Tips To Avoid CopperCoat Problems
And make sure to read our article entitled: 7 CopperCoat Tips For A Successful Application
Transcripts to the CoppperCoat Antifouling Video
So – quick background on our CopperCoat Antifouling experiences to date.
In 2016 we got lifted out at Bennett Brothers up the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. At the time of lift-out, we had a normal ablative blue antifoul that we personally applied while in Greece during the summer of 2015.
After seeing CopperCoat on the same boat as ours, an Oyster 56’, in the Mediterranean and Caribbean and seeing the hull completely rid of any growth we were excited about the product.
We were informed by the Manufacturer and Bennet Brothers that Coppercoat lasts 8 to 10 years. Considering that a circumnavigation was on the cards it would be much easier if we didn’t have to haul out every couple years to get our hull repainted.
At the time we had no idea that CopperCoat seems to work for some boats and not others and in some areas and not others. Furthermore, we didn’t realize that it was possible for the application to go wrong.
More about that as we progress…
While at Bennet Brothers our antifoul was taken off and the hull was stripped back to the fiberglass hull. The required amount of CopperCoat was applied and we were excited to get Britican back in the water.
Simon, my brother, and our friend, Ryan, sailed the boat down to Charleston, South Carolina where we planned to stay for six months over the hurricane season.
Simon, Sienna, and I then took a break from sailing but not the boat. We were liveaboards at the Charleston Harbor Marina while our daughter went to 1st grade for a year and I could spend time with my parents, my brother, and his family. It had been 20 years since I lived in America so I wanted to spend time with family while we were in their neck of the world.
Not too long after our arrival, Hurricane Matthew arrived.
We decided to take our boat out of the Marina and go up a river as far as we could to get away from the coast. And to provide Britcan with as much protection as we could. Right after we started up the river we overheated. Long story short, unbeknown to us our hull and intakes we filled with barnacles.
As you can imagine we were already stressed about a hurricane coming. But to then find out that our hull and intakes were full of barnacles we become very anxious. We managed to ride the tide up the river and keep low revs on the engine so as not to overheat.
After the hurricane, we went back to the marina and had a diver look at our hull. He told us that it was covered with millions of barnacles. After talking to various sources we discovered that the water in Charleston is super high growth and the reason for the barnacles came down to the fact that we weren’t moving. We then had to pay a diver every two months to clean the hull and through-hull fittings.
We complained to both Bennett Brothers and Coppercoat saying that we didn’t expect a hull full of barnacles.
Bennet Brothers said it was the manufacturer’s issue and CopperCoat blamed the boatyard. We felt like no one cared about the fact that we paid over $15k for something that clearly wasn’t working.
After several conversations and publishing a YouTube video about the treatment we were receiving, both companies miraculously agreed to pay for us to be hauled out to inspect the hull and fix any issues if there were any.
Upon inspection, the USA representative for Coppercoat went around our boat drawing areas where the copper coat was either not sanded down well enough or not applied correctly. He told us that the boatyard did not do a very good job with the application.
Bennett Brothers sent down representatives that followed Jim from CopperCoat’s instructions. And Simon and I hoped for the best.
We were put back in the water with our patch job and left America for the Caribbean in December 2017.
Unbelievably all our patch jobs seemed to have been working. They were clean and clear of barnacles but the rest of the hull was full of barnacles. We sent an email to Jim at Coppercoat USA who then made us feel like the whole issue was somehow our fault.
Something had clearly worked! We quested why the whole boat wasn’t redone and Jim told us we needed to scour the bottom of the boat with a scouring brush. So Simon got a brush and even tried sandpaper.
In the back of our mind, we kept thinking why Jim didn’t just instruct the boatyard to redo the whole boat? Trying to get and positive or helpful support from Jim ended. So we sent the footage of our hull to CopperCoatUK.
After CopperCoatUK saw the video footage, they said they’d send us enough CopperCoat to redo the entire boat but they wouldn’t cover our labor costs.
The told us we’d have to ask Jim to cover those.
We asked Jim at Coppercoat USA to cover our labor costs of $3,000 USD and were told ‘no’. Jim actually hung up the phone on Simon. From thereafter Simon had to call CopperCoatUK to communicate with Jim at CopperCoat USA. This had to be done to arrange for the CopperCoat to be sent down to Trinidad.
So, here’s what our hull looked like after sailing from Charleston down to Trinidad.
The boatyard, Peke’s, in Trinidad is a well-known boatyard and has many satisfied customers. Peke’s was very professional. They explained that they’ve done CopperCoat and they fully understood the manufacturer’s requirements for application.
So…we had another full application of CopperCoat over the entire hull and sanded to the specifications required.
Britican was put back in the water in September 2018. In November, a couple of months later, Simon went down to check out the hull.
Here’s so GoPro footage in January 2019…
In April 2019 we decided to do the Oyster Antigua Regatta. AND have our boat hauled out for a surveyor inspection. We’ve coded our boat to take paying guests and Antigua was a good place to get the inspection done.
While having the boat out in Antigua, we enquired if the boatyard had any experience with Coppercoat. The boatyard explained they had done several applications. Considering that Antigua is one of the largest boating islands in the chain, we thought that perhaps they might be able to get the product to work.
We didn’t have any more product applied…we had a team of guys sand the CopperCoat down, once again, abiding by the CopperCoat Recommended specifications.
Previous to the race Simon cleaned off as many barnacles as possible. But this is the footage I took when the boat was out of the water. All the white spots are the remnants of Barnacles.
Since we’ve been publishing all our issues with CopperCoat we’ve received loads of emails and comments on our blog as to people having the same or similar issues. We’ve also received notification from people that it’s working fine for them.
We know that the product works as we’ve seen it work. It’s been on the same boat that we have in the same water that we’ve been in. So – what’s the issue?
What do we want? We want someone or a team from CopperCoatUK to fly out to our boat. Have it hauled out. And for them to once and for all demonstrate that their product works by applying it themselves. Either that, or we want our money back that we paid for the product, the applications, and the haul outs.
We’ve struggled for three years and have paid out well over $20,000 for a product that doesn’t work.
Any questions or comments about our CopperCoat Antifouling situation?
Please leave them below.
Sorry to learn of your issues.. It’s a shame that the US Representative (Jim) treated you so unprofessionally.. I will not be buying their products. Best wishes, Dan Leone
I had copper coat applied to 46′ cat, by certified copper coat boat yard in Grenada (look for certificates to prove this). Outcome was very good to excellent. But copper coat is not magic. This is what i know from the experience:
1 hull surface must be very, very smooth, or product performance will be less, a lot less.
2 best to blast existing surface back to gell coat, if glass hull use glass particles to blast with (inert, no bacteria)
3 2 or 3 coats of epoxy resin (called pure epoxy) rolled on to hull
4 3 coats of epoxy primer
5 sand and re apply epoxy primer were needed during priming process
5 5 coats of thin copper coat, make sure of copper content and mixing suspension correct, must be done in strict time limits and humidity.
6 wait for correct curing time and sand hull with #300/400 wet/dry paper (use dry and by hand) to expose the first lot of copper oxide, its a fair bit of sanding needed..
7 put her in the water and wipe the slim off as required every 2/3/4 weeks or so and watch the hull turn green as the copper reacts with the salt water…
8 hall out every year and re sand the copper coat to expose a new layer of copper..
i’m not convinced your problem is copper coats problem. More the installers, supervision and not enough due diligence…
I strongly considered using it two months ago when we hauled our cat out in key largo. The product and labor costs were too much for me. After reading your article it seems like we lucked into a good decision
Dear Kim & Simon,
I am following your account of the problem with great interest as we have similar issues but for now could you please clarify when the patch repair was carried out by Coppercoat USA after sanding to the specified level were additional layers of Coppercoat reapplied?
Regards
Gary McKeown
Hey Gary, The patch repair was carried out by CC USA in Oct 2017. In some cases they just sanded and in other cases they added more CC. In the areas where they did the tough-ups it seemed to work (either sanding and/or adding more CC and sanding). Does this answer your question? Smiles, Kim
Hi Simon & KIm
I’m sorry to here about your issue with Coppercoat we have a Moody 425 which we applied Coppercoat to last year, we hauled out in June this year to attend to a propeller issue and found the Coppercoat working nicely, we are moored close to Barcelona in the Med which I believe is fairly high area for fouling. While applying Coppercoat we spoke a few times with Ewan Clark at Coppercoat to make sure we were following the instructions correctly, having now used the product I understand that the preparation, mixing and application are very very important and if not carried out correctly you’ll have the issues you’re experiencing. The hull must be cleaned and sanded right back to the original gelcoat and keyed with 120 or 80 grit sandpaper, the application should be carried out in one day or as we did as there’s was only two of us apply to one side of the boat one day the other side the following day we had 13 litres of Coppercoat so we managed to apply 5 x coats per side, applying each coat once the previous coat and dried sufficiently (tacky), the boat must then be left for at least 3 days to dry then move the stands and blocks apply to those areas and wait another 3 days then sand the Coppercoat with either Scotchbrite pads or light sandpaper till you can see the copper sparkle then back in the water.
If the above application process was not followed exactly then that may be why you are having issues if the Coppercoat is mixed correctly and stirred frequently while in the container or tray.and the above followed all should be well, I hope you can get this resolved ?
Regards
Richard
Hey Richard. I’m so pleased that you’ve had a good experience. And it’s great to hear you have a Moody! Our first boat was a Moody 34′ – We LOVED her! Anyhoo, the two boatyards that applied the coppercoat for us assured us that they followed the exact procedure you’ve outlined. Heck – even the head of CopperCoatUSA was unable to sort out our issues correctly. If the head of the USA company can’t get a solution for us what hope do we have? AND if it’s so complicated to get it right why is CopperCoat letting any boatyard offer the product? Shouldn’t there be ‘approved’ boatyard system? Thank you for commenting 🙂 Kim
kim this copper coat issue is very unusual , most have great results with coppercoat
I can think of a few reasons why this has not worked for you
firstly the amount of copper to resin is very important if you have to much resin the product becomes a protective coating and will not open up to allow sea water to react with the copper. this may because those who put it on for you were tight with the copper and remember copper is expensive so to keep some back on each job puts some dollars in there pockets
next the copper coat must be applied in very thin layers for the same reason as above you don’t want it to protect your boat you want it to poison the things that try to grow on it
last the copper supplied is recycled it is very brown because of the oxide in the product now depending from what the copper was recycled from will affect the standard of the copper
Alot of people who apply this themselves obtain virgin copper which has the bright copper colour we all like and mix this with the stuff from copper coat this gives a lighter more shinny copper colour when its put on and the richer virgin copper reacts with the seawater making copper oxide quicker and at a more concentrated rate.
on the application if you did not see them thin it down with the thinners supplied its probably on to thick and the resin is protecting the copper
I hope this helps
pete j black bear boating
Kim I thought the patches that the head of Coppercoat USA supervised were working fine for you. It was just the bits that were not redone that are the issue? Just sound like wrong application to me. Many, many very happy Coppercoat owners around the world would agree.
People around Charleston have been using Total Boat’s products with high copper content. Whether you are in the ablative camp or the hard paint camp, it has been working well in the area. I suspect that if you sand your hull every year it will continue to work until there is nothing left to sand. I suggest that you go over it with a high copper biocide spiked Total Boat Hard after you feel it is about to be worn out…..
Very interesting. I am hauling our boat and wanted to put Copper Coat on it because the Canadian Coast Guard likes it. My boat yard of choice did not have any experience with it so I am continuing with Interlux Micron. Glad I changed. I don’t think Copper Coat is. Seems like they are missing the long game.
We were considering Copper Coat for our 41′ Morgan in the Chesapeake. Now, we will be RECONSIDERING that decision. Hugely appreciate the video and article.
You know, it’s not the failure of the product I find so off-putting. It is that the company clearly has no intention of standing behind it. The way Jim treated you is disgraceful.
I have self-applied it on at least 3 boats in the UK (mine and 2 friends) and have been using it for over 5 years with much success. It does need a mid-season scrub (like most anti-fouls) but has required very little work over the winter.
A shame that your application has not gone very well, as the saying goes “if you want it done properly, do it yourself”
It is SO frustrating how the marine industry charges such high prices for products and labor and then, so often, the product fails. Disgraceful.
I will not be using Coppercoat on our catamaran.
Thank you for your videos warning the rest of us away from such a costly product.
08.27.2019
Hi all!
Before using any marine products or services be sure you have legal representation
in your hip pocket before sparing with the big boys other wise they’ll bounce you around like a pin ball.
If you don’t know your rights you simply don’t have any!
Always have your attorney review any contracts before having anything done this can
be beneficial in the long term.
Taking the time to do multiple product research for the varied waters being sailed upon
along with boat hull material & temperature differences doesn’t cost anything! The end product does!
Your copper coat posts are a classic example of a run a round at your expense!
Be watchful of those hitch hikers! Happy Sailing
I made my own ‘copper coat’ just purchasing copper powder from a pattern maker supply and mixing it with vinyl ester resin. I applied it over the hull which is also topped with vinyl ester resin in the final mat layer and it looked like a penny until I got to salt water where it turned a beautiful green as copper should. Its showing a bit of blistering here and there after five, no six years. And it grows green crud in my water which quickly coats everything no matter, but no marine life. No barnacles or mussels attached so far. Indeed the key in my understanding is to sand and expose the copper particles embedded in the vehicle paint to in effect have a copper bottom. In your application it seems they managed this in the patchwork areas but not in the main areas of your application. Applicator error in my opinion. And thats the deal when you pay large $$ for workers who may not be qualified and the cash is going to a middleman. IMO you are better off making your own mistakes in person rather than paying someone to make them for you. Then you learn and there is nobody to blame. And the lawyers would all be unemployed.
Boot klar für die nächste Reise .
Mast und Schotbruch.
Gute Reise Heinz Evers
Hi , 3 of us based in Dartmouth uk applied copper coat to the spec stated, after 2 months the fouling was horrendous! Complained to copper coat , after 3.5 seasons actually afloat they sent their rep out who told us it was not right, and to sand it to re activate it this we did, no joy! After discussions with copper coat they told us it was probably spent! As it was 5 years old! I reminded them. It was sold as a 10 year product! They offered me the chance to buy more product at a reduced price! Loads more excuses followed and an offer to lift and store the boat at my expense so they could put test patches on. Then nothing since from them one owner was so fed up he used international micron antifoul , this was also offered to me as a way over the poor copper coat. Roll on the boat show
I used coppercoat in Thailand on my 33″ plywood catamaran. The results somehow were mixed. After 3 years we added 3 more coats. It did NOT stop barnacles growing, but the regular monthly cleaning was relative easy. Considering the very high costs of coppercoat, I would NOT use it again. Cheers from SE-Asia.
I put it on my Oyster 56 last year (same boat as in the video). My boat already had CopperCoat on (it was over 11 years old) or I would have had second thoughts about stripping off paint and then applying CopperCoat. My thoughts on this video are as follows: 1) if the patched areas worked then the problem is not with the product, but with the application; and 2) if the problem is with the application and not the product, it was unfair to expect CopperCoat USA to pay for re-applying it. I wish the Briticain couple well but I think they were wrong to expect CopperCoat USA to pay. I think CopperCoat UK was more than generous in supplying new product. I also think you have to lower expectations on what this product will and will not do. A lot depends on the productivity of the water the boat is in and how much it’s being used. Slime will grow on CopperCoat. So far I have seen a few small barnacles on my bottom with the new CopperCoat. I expect to haul her once/year and pressure wash. I don’t have to re-paint so my expectations have been met.
Curious as to why the comments on this video on YouTube are disabled.
YouTube doesn’t allow video makers that have a child in the videos (or on the channel) to have comments. Our channel is completely banned of comments – even the comments I spent hours/days responding to in earlier videos. Kim
Source for 100 mesh (0.004″ diameter) copper powder for ~$25/lb
https://micronmetals.com/products/copper-metal-powder-3/
I am guessing the copper/resin mix was not agitated properly during application since the copper is so dense it will settle out quickly. The ratio of copper to resin may also have been too low since the copper is probably the more expensive part of the formulation.
Either way, if there is too little exposed copper on the surface it will not work, then the coating looks just like a coat of resin to marine growth.
As you can see, if you buy 2 part epoxy at $100/gal and copper at $25/lb you can make your own coating for much less than buying it from a speciality vendor. I would make half a gal with slow hardener and keep adding copper until it gets too thick to roll on then add back in a bit more resin to get it just to be workable.
Letting it cure fully before sanding is also essential and can be impacted by high humidity or low temperatures. Then sanding it enough to evenly expose the encapsulated copper in the resin. If the copper is buried in the resin it is never going to work….
Best of luck. Sounds like a rip off, why I will continue to do DIY….
All YT episodes are comment blocked again so I am here to suggest that the reason your antifouling failed is very easy to prove. Simply remove a small chip the product from the hull in the good and bad areas and have it examined under a microscope. I am almost certain that you will find the bad coating will not have much copper present in the surface of the chip. This would indicate that it was not kept suspended by frequent mixing during application…a boatyard error.
sorry for your issue with the anti fauling may i suggest you watch Mads from sail life where he
paint copper coat on his boat Athena where he talk about how to do it and the comitmend the people
need to have when they are doing it so the next layers is applyet when the fist is still taky and something about the drying period and then just before lunching it have to be sanded lightly to trick the copper to work correctly , if the yard dont understand that then you are screwed as i understand it
please just watch him he seems to know what he is talking about even though i think its his first time doing it diy 🙂
fair winds ,,,,/),,,,
Thanks Kim and Simon,
We looked at using Coppercoat on our catamaran a few years ago, but couldn’t find anyone with experience where we can haul in South Florida, heard a couple mixed reviews, got cost estimates of $19,000 upfront, and actually spoke with Jim.
I wasn’t convinced. Even though our “high end” ablative antifouls last about 18 months (we push them to 2 years), they do work overall. Unfortunately, cost of antifouling seems to keep going up and the effectiveness continues to diminish. Wishing you success resolving the issue. And thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you for Sharing this Information, now i know that I do not need copper coat on my boat. Best regards from Germany Alex
It seems obvious that the application done by coppercoat USA was the way the while be should he been done. It worked in those patches perfectly. The product works but unfortunately for you, the application simply wasn’t done correctly, both times. Do you have any video of them applying the coppercoat or were you there at the time to watch the way they did it?
It looks like a expensive Tombola; Invest a lot of money and maybe you’ll get the right prize: ‘a working antifouling solution’. Thanks for posting your experience with this product. To be honest, it is more how you’re being serviced, and how professional companies frustrate customers that makes me change opinion and using Coppercoat as a solution. All would be right when they would take proactive action and/or admit that there is something wrong (e.g. International, who checked my not properly working antifouling and send over a team to inspect (and learn) and make it right with a complete overhaul with new/fresh micron). Good luck and I hope everything works out fine – for now I’ll stick to the more traditional antifouling.
With respect, Richard nailed it in his comment. There is nothing wrong with the product Coppercoat, but it must be applied properly to work properly. It was a botched application job the first time, an educated guess would be that they did not stir the mix as they were applying it, so the copper settled out of suspension quite quickly, it’s heavy.
And re your barnacle regrowth problem, I know a cat in Sydney Harbour ( serious barnacle territory) that has been barnacle free for more than 5 years, but he wipes the green/brown algae growth off his hull regularly. Barnacles don’t like the copper, but if you let a thin matt of algae grow the barnacle nymph gets a chance to settle and start it’s ring shell layer. That quickly cuts through the algae matt to the Coppercoat and the adhesive they exude will stick to the Coppercoat. At that stage it pops off easily, but leave it a couple of weeks and it attaches more strongly.
So apply it according to the instructions and keep the copper resistant algae off with regular wipe offs.
Letting yards do some jobs that owners can easily do as well or better can be counter productive, as you’ve discovered.
I am interested in knowing when Copper Coat was applied how often did you clean your bottom? What was your expectation? Your video hinted at some irregular intervals. What did the yard/copper coat USA commit to. I am still considering this product.
Thanks in advance.
Steve
Hey Steve, we clean our bottom every two weeks right now. It takes Simon about an hour or two and we use one full tank of air. The yard committed to getting it right but when we said it wasn’t right the yard got CopperCoat involved and blamed the product. CC then met with the Yard to determine if it was the application or the product. CC instructed the Yard to redo patches that we’re not applied correctly however, in the end, the whole hull should have been redone. So…the yard did a bad job to begin with and CC should have had the yard redo the whole boat but for some reason, they didn’t. Now it’s CC’s issue because they signed off that the yard was no longer to blame, if that’s the right term. So my advice would be to do it yourself if you can OR find a yard that has many happy CC customers. Do not got with a yard that hasn’t done it before… Kim
Not a chance in HELL that I’d use their Copper Coat product.
NOT because of the product…because of the WAY CC UK and CC USA treated the 2 of you.
Hi
Sorry about your problems. I use a coating from Jotun. Lasts for 12 months and I only use a pressurewasher before I add a new coat. They also have a 24 months coat. Fantastic product. Only 1 layer pr seson. Go and see Jotun.no they are in 70 contrys around the world. Not cheap but very good.
Petter Nygaard Hansen
Guys, is your boat Fibreglass? If so your problem lies with that massive anode on your boat. It is sucking the copper out of your antifoul. The copper in your antifoul is becoming the anode for your anode. So it will go before your anode does and that reduces it effectiveness. Re do the copper coat and leave your anode off and see how it works. Keep it as passive as possible, watch out for stray current at berths in marinas if you have no anode protection. A small shaft anode should protect your prop and shaft. If your boat is metal you have no choice but to keep anodes on it. Hope that helps
Erm. Can you explain the physics of this as it makes no sense.
I’m pretty sure the anodes are zinc (soft metal) which attracts the electricity in the water/boat to attack/corrode that first before the aluminium and other soft metals on the boat. The CC would actually cause more of an electrical field potentially causing more of a “corrosion” problem so removing the zinc’s would in my opinion be a very bad idea. I might be wrong on the exact way it works but I’m quite sure zinc doesn’t attract copper the way you have described.
Then again how bad this application of CC has turned out anything is worth a punt 🤷
BIg Jim made a classic mistake, boating is a small community and tight-knit. Funny we were looking to CopperCoat our Cat – Now, I have told our Captain, ANY bottom coat but CopperCoat. So that is two hulls lost to the company and EVERY one I talk to going forward.
Sorry to hear of your pains. My experience is positive on my boat but if not applied in perfect conditions and to the letter of the instructions, then issues occur. It is not like any other paint – It is applied by roller but that is where its similarities with normal paint ends. I did have an issue where after 10 years I asked for an unknown and new to me contractor to apply more and they unfortunately had to do it again as moisture came into contact with the setting coppercoat. I would never allow an unknown contractor to apply this stuff and wished I had the time to do myself – My lesson learned. I still would not go back to normal antifouling paint again but I am aware of various such stories as yours. I can’t impress upon you just how critical it is to apply to the exact letter of the instructions. Any shortcoming in application will manifest itself as a problem later. I have often thought that maybe the manufacturers need to offer proper training programmes to contractors so as to approve them as it is not until you truly understand what coppercoat is and how it works that and its specific nuances that you can truly understand it’s characteristics, do’s /don’ts etc.
I feel for you as I relax after having been to our catamaran for the 5th weekend in a row sanding the copper coat down for the 2nd time in less than a year, because the copper coat is not working. Load of barnacles in lots of places, but from what I can see, they are particularly focused on the rougher parts of the paint and wow, is some of it rough!!!
Luckily for us the boat is still under warranty and a reputable large UK dealership subcontracted the work to a highly experienced UK company. YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!! All of them, including copper coat UK, remain very polite but completely unwilling to help further! I am getting amazing advice like, its “because your boat went to the Caribbean so quickly” (yup, serious!), “some barnacles are ok” (this its a lot, not some), “Caribbean water is warmer, its a high fouling area” and “you will need to regularly go into the water and scrub the boat to remove the barnacles and make sure you also take the discs off”.
The boat was new in Aug 18, the copper coat was applied late Sept 18, the boat was not in the Caribbean for another 3 months (late Dec), it was hauled less than 2 months later in Feb to remove all the barnacles and was completely sanded. Now 6 months later and I am doing it all again and this time myself by hand.
Interestingly, the anti-foul put onto the saildrives back in Feb has done a much much better job of stopping the barnacles than the copper coat has. No comment from Coppercoat UK on that one! Another boat near us is having the same issues and also say they are talking to Coppercoat UK, but I doubt that will get them very far either. Interestingly Coppercoat UK say in over 75,000 applications they have not seen, to any statistical relevance, a link between smoothness of application and growth.
Unless you keep your fingers crossed and get lucky, I would stay away from Coppercoat. Trying to get them or whoever applied it for you to pay to fix any issues is nigh on impossible. To me it kind of feels like one of those Amazon products where you can see it has quite a lot of 4 and 5 stars, but then you also see 20% have given it 1 stars. If you go ahead and order it … you know you are taking a gamble that you don’t end up being one of the 1 stars! Only difference is that Coppercoat is much more expensive than that thing on Amazon!
Sorry to hear of your experience. You need to snorkel / dive the boat every 4 weeks, 2 weeks in high growth areas, and wipe the slime layer off before the barnie’s get a foot hold on the epoxy matrix that holds the copper. Do that and I don’t think you will have any problems. Had it on our catamaran Luckyfish for 4 years and it’s already paid for itself. Just wipe it down regularly and your view of the product will change. Cheers, Stew
Really glad you put this out there, as people should know how REAL world experiences have been, with both the product and the company. And like you state, have heard some people who say they’ve had decent luck with it, and some who swear it was the worst waste of money they ever did!
But also have experienced a company trying to shove off the blame on us for something they made that didn’t hold up, and that is the worst feeling of all, as I’m sure you guys did everything you could to get it applied correctly, and get the correct product..and that leads me to wonder in their product is uniform from can to can even. But they’ve also lost a buddy of mine who was considering their product for a haul out this coming Tuesday, and now is going w/something else, although we’re not fans of the ablative paint either, as have you ever swam around a hull with it? But hope you guys get all straightened out.
Why the hell do you still bother with coppercoat? Are you not getting it by now?
Crap product. Go for Vc17 instead. Much better
I have a 37′ trawler that had coppercoat applied in 1999. Product did not work.
I have copper coat on my lagoon 42 in the UK. It seems to work fine.
Comments from me on your boat-
1.The coppercoat does not seem to have oxidized into as deep a green color as on my boat, it may be that for some reason the coppercoat needs to be activated through a chemical process.my boat is in a marina connected to shore power. Could electrolysis be helping my boats coppercoat stay active
Is the water much warmer where you are? Could this affect the growth of barnacles.
Are the strain of barnacles on your boat resistant/immune to copper?
Could your anti fouling have been contaminated with barnacles from the start due to poor yard techniques?
Bw
Dean
I have nothing to do with copper coat,
and I do not have it on my own boat as it is always up in the winter.
But I know copper coat is not maintenance free,
what makes copper coat work like anti fouling is copper,
but the copper is molded in epoxy,
so the whole bottom should be scrubbed with a scotch pads,
to remove the outer layer of epoxy so that the copper is bloodied, then it works, but only until the bloodied copper is corroded, then it must again have a trip with scotch pad, and this process must be repeated until there is no more copper coat back to the bottom,
hope this little explanation can bring some understanding of why you are not enjoying your copper coat.
good luck
I was seriously considering coppercoat for our Bavaria even though it’s a pricey proposition. Oh well……that’s shot to shit now. Thanks for the heads up. I’m the US so with that kind of customer service it makes zero sense. High price, bad service, untrained resellers = disappearing company.
From what you have described so clearly, and from hearing from others that Copper Coat works, I think it’s clear the product is fine and the issue is in the application of it. The yard that did the original can claim it was done according to manufacturers directions all they like, but it seems clear that isn’t the case. I think you should be taking it up directly with them. In Australia you can take these things through a “Small Claims Tribunal” and “Fair Trading” at very little cost compared to the traditional legal litigation – is that an option where you live or had the CC application done?
I really appreciate you taking the trouble to document this so carefully – I intend applying Copper Coat myself, but will be doing so my with my own & directly hired labour not through a yard because of this outcome. I believe you have shown clearly this is a “if you want something done properly, do it yourself” case & product, and I am so sorry you are having the problems you are, and shouldn’t be having, given you paid “experienced professionals” to do it properly.
Hi Scott Schmidt,
I have developed a silver based marine paint. Now before you go and say – No way price will be through the roof !!! – This product has been tested in length in fresh and salt water. Zero growth and this paint will bring your anode loss to almost zero. My company is looking for more testers !!! That means we will provide this product at cost. Try me you might like it.
Have decided not to use Copper Coat ourselves. Thanks for the videos.
Thanks for this information – I was considering this product but it is no longer an option based on the behavior of the manufacturer. Good luck in obtaining a resolution.
Just happened across this video and article from YouTube. I’m a sailing fan but not a boat owner and have almost no experience with boats.
So, perhaps it’s my inexperience talking, but looking at the issues you are having, the incredibly detailed prep work required and the VERY narrow specifications that have to be followed, it is hard to see, from an outside perspective, how Coppercoat could be considered a good product.
A good product will do what it says on the tin, each time, every time, in an easily repeatable and broadly applicable manner. Furthermore, if it is competing against other products, then it should have an application process and tolerances similar to those other products, even if it is claiming to be superior. ESPECIALLY if it is claiming to be superior.
You SHOULD be able to just slather this coating on like any other coating and have it work just as well or better. You should never have to fight with it or follow some ridiculously narrow and easy to get wrong set of engineer-level precision instructions. OR the company should ONLY sell the product to trained and licensed appliers that they themselves school on the proper application of the product. and tightly control the distribution of the product so that nobody outside the approved network of trained and bonded installers can do the insanely complex work of applying it properly.
Further, if this product is so superior, they should be willing to go to the ends of the earth to support it. Unless you were being verbally abusive with the support personnel they should never hang up on you. Behavior like that is just terrible and shows a lack of customer service commitment from the company.
Frankly, this kind of poor service and failed product would likely result in a lawsuit and probably should.
Regardless, I know that when I do eventually buy my own boat, Coppercoat is never coming within a nautical mile of it.
Any product where you have to basically ‘align the planets’ to get it to be applied correctly, isn’t what I’d consider for market or feasible. If the success ratio of application is less than 90%, avoid it. Preferably, success ratio should be close to 100%. Not ready for market.
A respectable antifouling (AF) manufacturer offers a guarantee for their product. This implies that he knows the applicator as being capable to apply the AF as per manufacturer’s instructions, otherwise he would not give any guarantee. The manufacturer is guaranteeing that the AF will not have any surface (or only 5%) covered with marine growth the first year in service, the second year only 5 (or 10%) of the surface covered with marine growth. This is called “Surfaces Excluded from the Guarantee”. Any excess of these guaranteed percentages are then repaired by the manufacturer.
You can judge the quality of the AF by reading the Guarantee proposed by the Manufacturer. The terms of the Guarantee can be discussed with the Manufacturer and also with the applicator! In this case, you should know who covers what and how much!
I’ve battled with a well-known paint manufacturer over the AF guarantee, he was supported by the shipyard but in the end, both gave up because another Manufacturer accepted the required guarantee.
Sometimes ago, a well-known sailing vessel, which nearly ten years publish videos on YouTube, installed an ultrasonic device to prevent fouling. To date, I haven’t heard anything about the efficiency but learned about the new antifouling paint applied in Antigua. Is it because ultrasonic AF device doesn’t work??
Depending on the hull’s associated metals copper coating can fail due to electrolysis process having contact with dissimilar metals. I find the best anti-fouling solution is with ablative paints. In your case the copper coating needs to be stripped off, sanded with 100 grit paper and apply 2 coats. When hauling out power-wash the bottom while it’s still wet, otherwise any algae with harden like concrete! Before re launching sand again with 100 grit paper and apply one coat of ablative paint and you’re good to splash. Tip…. For best results launch within 24 hours after painting. The ablative paint can and does over harden if left exposed to air reducing its sloughing properties.
I feel for you guys … I am in the process of applying a copper based paint on my Hunter 376, but Copper Coat will not be it!
My 2 cents: first batch of paint was bad. Second batch of paint was good (patches looked good, and the same yard applied it). Bad business decision for the manufacturer to not replace the entire paint batch ….
Good luck and keep us posted!
I have had CC on my last three boats in the North Sea and the application is really important. You must stop thinking of the CC as a paintjob, but rather as you are applying a metal sheathing surface that is very prone to external disturbances before having cured. Hence, it is not advisable for anyone (including professional painters) to expect a perfect result even if you have succeeded with one application once before. Firstly the removal of old antifoul and the abrading needed for a perfect key prior to applying the CC is tidious(!) but seldom a source for a bad result. However, proper and continous stirring of correctly mixed CC, dust free environment, stable (low) air humidity, stable 24hrs temperature (well above 10 degrees centigrade) in the surrounding air and levelled with the same stable temperature on the surface to be “painted” – is really crucial, as well as stable (high) temperature and ample ventilation (wind) during the curing week before the abrading “activiation” of the cured surface. If the surface has not cured to “rock hard” status – the abrading “activation” of the Surface will fail.
We applied CopperCoat about 3 1/2 years ago on our Tartan 41 as part of the renovation-resotration we are dong on this old “Plastic Classic”. Subsequent to a lot of prep, stipping of decades of bottom paint we applied a high build of barrier coating as a base followed by 6 or 7 thin coats of CopperCoat. After hardening the CopperCoat was thoughouly “burnished” to expose the active copper, acheiving a surfaces similar to that of the patches which you had done under the supervious of the CopperCoat Rep.
In the warm fairly stagnent water of Sausalito on San Francisco Bay our bottom grows lots of grass and fast. But no barnacles so far. I consider our application to be but a partial success. It does keep the baranacles off provided we give the bottom a regular scrub. And I would think that the product would be more successful in cooler more moving water such as in the Pacific Northwest.
The temptation in application is to try to apply too much product too thickly in order to minimize application time and the number of coats. Remember what you are trying to get something akin to a continuois sheet of copper with the copper particles and molecules lining up to form a single electrically contiuous substrate. This will not be acheived with too much product applied with insuffient isopropal alcohol thinner. In this case the copper paticles will tend to clump up and be encapsulated in the epoxy resin. The effect of a contiuously electrically connected sheet will be lost. From a boat painters point of view the process should be more like a “roll and tip” application of a 2 part linier polyurethan paint rather that that of a conventional heavy roll of bottom paint.
Copper coat applied in 2014, in Bangor, Wales, UK. Beneteau 473
Old AF removed (soda blasted), hull faired, 3 coats epoxy applied, followed by 4 coats copper coat.
All work carried out in temp controlled boat shed,
I haul out every couple of year, and only have some green slime to wash off. I lightly abrade hull at this time with a green scouring pad,
Been pretty pleased with it so far
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me – At this point, you need to come to terms with the fact that you have been taken. This can only be dismissed by woeful denial in the face of the facts.
Have you been given any guarantees beyond a refund of your purchase price?
Have you consulted an attorney?
Chances are, that the CopperCoat Crew is smarter than to leave themselves exposed, as they have had no intention of assuring their product works – ever. It is paint and a prayer, or they would be training and certifying applicators – I am probably wasting my / your time explaining this, as you already know that this is a scam that you must admit that you have fallen victim of.
Move on – enjoy life’s little ironic lessons and smile.
Hi guys, we had exactly the same issues with CC. Applied professionally on a new hull afer removing the launch coat of Cruiser Copolymer.
After 6-9 months all looked good, from there on it got worse we reapplied CC during a haul out and hoped for the best nahh.
This product is useless it should be renamed exercise as a through scrubbing is required every 1-2 months.
I now know of more boats that have painted over it with conventional anti fouling than those that are happy with it.
Hi , re comments on you tube……..one work around is if you post something in the community tab we can leave comments there even on child restricted channels.. but you must leave some content there!
There are other work arounds I think it’s to do with how you initially associate your channel . One channel that gets arround it is sailboat story and Winty uses community posts.
Worth checking out!
I will check that out Warren. Thank you. Kim
should have used copper poxy a lot better product
Everything you show in your video and your experiences with dealing with Coppercoat are exactly what I had with them in 2016. I spent good money stripping it all off and went back to normal antifoul. Useless product very poorly supported and no warranty.
We applied Copper Coat ourselves to out Beneteau Ocianis 390 5 years ago. It was hard work getting the hull prepared and we also used their recommended epoxy barrier coating first. We have been immersed for 4 years and 7 months and have only last week been lifted for a survey. The hull needed a quick pressure wash to remove some mussels and weed but came up completely clean after more than 4 years in the water. We have a few blisters to repair as we did previously but will be using the same products again to patch. Sorry to hear of your troubles and I have also seen boats that it has not worked on in the past. I guess because of the mixing and application there are too many variables to diagnose the issue but we did it ourselves and felt in control.
Since this product works on other boats, and boats of your manufacture and type I wonder if it is something with your boat. Are your anodes disappearing faster or lasting longer than expected? I wonder if you have an electrical/grounding issue that is having an effect. Just something to consider.
It’s a good question Honor. We ruled that out when we were in Antigua. We had an elecrician look at our boat out of the water and in the water. There are no grounding issues. I really think that it’s just poor work from boatyards with a product that is very sensitive to the manner it’s applied. Thank you for writing. Kim
hi all
I do copper coat ever 15 Year & 1Year good clean up all over
I had copper coat applied to 46′ cat, by certified copper coat boatyard in Grenada (look for certificates to prove this). The outcome was very good to excellent. But the copper coat is not magic. This is what i know from the experience:
1 hull surface must be very, very smooth, or product performance will be less, a lot less.
2 best to blast existing surface back to gell coat, if glass hull use glass particles to blast with (inert, no bacteria)
3 2 or 3 coats of epoxy resin (called pure epoxy) rolled on to the hull
4 3 coats of epoxy primer
5 sand and reapply epoxy primer were needed during the priming process
5 5 coats of thin copper coat, make sure of copper content and mixing suspension correct, must be done in strict time limits and humidity.
6 wait for correct curing time and sand hull with #300/400 wet/dry paper (use dry and by hand) to expose the first lot of copper oxide, its a fair bit of sanding needed.
7 put her in the water and wipe the slim off as required every 2/3/4 weeks or so and watch the hull turn green as the copper reacts with the saltwater…
8 hall out every year and re-sand the copper coat to expose a new layer of copper…
I’m not convinced your problem is copper coats problem. More the installers, supervision and not enough due diligence…
Another disappointed Coppercoat user. I had it professionally applied in Greece 4 years ago. The first year it seemed to work reasonably well, but since then the weed, barnacle and especially coral worm growth has been terrible. I went to see Coppercoat in the UK and they explained that the surface needed sanding with very fine paper to total smoothness. I have had it out of the water twice since then and sanded with 500 grit paper until really smooth. The first time I did it myself; the second time I paid to have it done. No improvement on either occasion. This season I have had to pay a diver twice to go down and scrape the hull. I am debating what to do next spring when she is lifted out again. There are a number of boats on the pontoon with Coppercoat, and now no one seems to be satisfied. All of us have tried everything to prepare the surface, with no luck. One owner has reverted to conventional antifouling – a shame in these green days!
Hey Philip, I feel your pain. We have CopperCoat flying someone out to us in December (a months time) to once and for all sort it out. If someone from CC can’t fix our issues then I think it’s going to be an interesting situation…stay tuned. Smiles, Kim
Having read the experiences and comments on your site I would just like to say that in 2002 my Fantasi 44 Copper Coat was applied to the new hull at the yard and today still only requires a power wash to remove any brown slime. The boat is based in the Clyde , Scotland and is only lifted out for a month in March.Most times I find no need to even sand it to expose a new surface although I suspect this year it may need some abrasion.
Great to hear a success story Martin 🙂 Kim