Episode 8 - Applying antifoul (paint) to the hull

In February 2022, we had Intention hauled out for two weeks to take care of several jobs. Probably the most time consuming of those jobs was painting the hull below the waterline with several coats of new antifoul - a special paint that inhibits marine growth. This antifoul would help Intention slip through the water more easily, making us feel lie we are better sailors than we probably are. This is NOT intended to be a full tutorial on how to prepare your boat and apply antifouling. It is an overview of the process that we followed and it likely has enough detail to give you a good idea of what might be involved. We STRONGLY recommend that you check out the website for whatever product you intend to apply to your boat. Whatever product you choose should have clear and detailed instructions and ample support for any questions that you might have. If it doesn't, choose a different product. Antifoul is not cheap. The MicronCSC that we applied cost about $350 (Canadian) per gallon, and we applied 3 gallons to Intention's hull. That cost almost as much as the haulout and boatyard storage for two weeks, but it's a cost we should only have to pay every few years. In our opinion, it's worth it to pay for a quality antifoul product - as we were doing the hull, several other owners stopped by to talk (if you've ever been to a boatyard, you understand what this is like) and the stories of rampant growth or short-lived antifoul applications with off-brand products were common. The amount of labour involved in doing this job is significant; do you REALLY want to scrimp on the product you're applying, and then have to do it AGAIN in a year (or less)? By the way, that thumbnail picture for this episode was taken by Donna when I got home from hand-sanding Intention the first day, and yes, I really DID look that bad! I wore an N95 mask and clothes that I REALLY didn't care about, but my goodness, the dust from that old antifoul got EVERYWHERE. I don't think I've ever been as happy to shower at the end of a day! Many thanks to Dallas, one of the instructors at Starlight Sailing Adventures (https://starlightsailing.com). Not only did he help a LOT with the hours of work sanding and painting the hull, he showed what a good instructor he is by patiently and clearly educating me about the tasks involved in applying antifoul. If you're looking for a good instructor, contact him or Gord at Starlight - I'm confident they will be a good fit for your sailing needs! The Youtube algorithm is a fickle and hungry beast, so Like, Comment, and Subscribe to the channel if you are new. If you have any more detailed questions about our antifoul application, please feel free to put a comment down below. As always, feel free to make any suggestions about topics for future videos you would like to see. Our intent for this channel is to share our experiences with you, so the better we understand what you want to see, the better we will be able to provide for it. Next time, we *try* to splash (or launch) the boat, only to have bad weather blow... *erm* - throw a monkey wrench into the works!