New approaches to defouling

Defouling 1

Sept 13, 2018

Stripping the antifouling paint from the bottom of a boat is physically demanding and is one of the dirtiest and most toxic jobs faced by boat owners.

Protocol Environmental Solutions located in Coquitlam, British Columbia created “DeFOUL”, their patent-pending technology that is a breakthrough for the marine industry.  It creates two waste streams; liquid waste (product and wash water) which is inert and fully biodegradable and can be washed down the drain; and solid waste (paint material) which can be collected at the drainage point. 

DeFOUL eliminates the need for traditional sanding or blasting removal methods which can damage the gel coat.  Other costly “peel and strip” methods provide inconsistent results and large amounts of waste that needs to be disposed.

Canadian Yachting ONBOARD newsletter decided to pick a worthy boater and give the product a try.

Defouling 2We chose Barry Hack and his boat, a 1981 Catalina 27 named Magic. Kept at Westport Marina in Sidney.

Barry has been sailing since 1973 in his University of Victoria days, racing 420, fireballs, 505s flying juniors and dinghies. He is presently racing on a Flying Tiger named My Tai out of the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club. Barry has volunteered for many years with the Brentwood Bay Power Squadron, teaching and mentoring students who are taking Power Squadron courses.

Barry’s favorite places to sail and drop anchor in the Pacific Northwest are Wallace island, Portland island, Saturna island or anywhere there is wind. In Barry’s own words “we’re surrounded by beauty everywhere in this area and we are so lucky!”

Defouling 3Barry was under severe time constraints and was not able to let the DeFoul work as long as he would have liked but here is what he had to say “The stripper really did a good job but was physically a lot of hard work. I did all of the work myself. I couldn’t find a rental sprayer that would handle the thickness of the material and so I ended up brushing it on, leaving it for approx. 5 hours and then hand scraping with a cabinet scraper. Neutralizing and cleanup was simple and environmentally friendly.” 

“Thanks for securing this product trial. It worked exceptionally well for me and I have big shoulders to show for all the hard work!”

ONBOARD’s question for Barry was would you use DeFoul again and the answer was a resounding yes!

For complete information about DeFoul go to: http://innercrete.com/products/marine-products/defoul/

BN

Related Articles

Inspecting the Aging Sailboat

Inspecting the Aging Sailboat

This book will help you with all the maintenance issues you may face if you own, or are looking to own, a fibreglass boat. It provides clear step-by-step instructions and illustrations as to how to recognize the problems (both on the surface and below) and how to determine the difference between cosmetic flaws and the serious flaws you need to address more quickly.

Video Gallery

Pursuit S268 Sport CC

By Andy Adams

The Pursuit S 268 Sport centre console is a do-it-all kind of boat with a solid sense of style. Centre console designs have been developed for the southern blue water sport fishing enthusiasts (and this boat would raise fish with the best of them) but the Pursuit S 268 Sport centre console offers far more utility and enjoyment than just fishing.

Read More

Destinations

Bayfield Marine Turns 40 with Big April Events

(l to r) Holly, Adam, Pat, Ron, Shelley

Ron and Pat Reder started out in October 1984 across the road from where they are right now on the Bayfield River in Bayfield ON. The store front was about 10 x 20 and the rest of that side of the building was a stock room, wood finishing room, then behind that was more back stock and the lunchroom. Expanding every few years for the store front, then moving over to this new building five years ago, this year with Adam, Shelley, and Holly are carrying on the business.

Read More

Lifestyle