A few weeks ago we had the Acrobat in dry dock for several repairs. Among other things, Diego de Miguel renewed the antifouling of the boat´s hull, using one of our partner enterprise Titan Yate products.
From Titan we received also this small historical review to the systems of protection against fouling over time to share it with you all.
Protection systems against fouling on boat hulls have evolved and improved since ancient times.
At first, the most common way to protect ships from fouling (before the use of steal in Ships) was the use of copper plates on submerged surfaces.
With the beginning of the use of Steel in the construction of ships, the antifouling coatings appeared for the first time. However, the base of these new coatings in the beginning was cupper, oils and tar. Several decades later, in the sixties, these coatings were formulated with tin and proved to be highly effective during the seventies.
Beginning of the eighties, Marine biologist found out and proved that TBT had a very negative environmental impact in living organisms, therefore the use of TBT was forbidden for ships with lenghs under 25 meters. From 1987, with a new IMO Regulation in place, this component was definitely forbidden for all kind of ships.
From this moment forward, all manufacturers of antifoulings went back to using copper as biocide, material which reduces environmetal impact by controlling the dosage.
At present days, manufacturers continue to investigate new ways and alternatives to reduce the use of copper and chemical biocides.
Visit Titan website to know its products to protect your boat.
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