The ultimate antifouling group test

Antifoul

A dozen of the leading antifouling paints are put to the test and rated by MBY in The Solent and the Mediterranean

The results

Our antifouling paint test threw up some interesting results. At first glance the boards show a range of different results, but only when you investigate the product and why it performed how it did do you fully understand what has happened.
Firstly it shows that professional application paints seem to perform marginally better. The higher toxicity of the paint is deemed too risky for the public to handle, so perhaps that’s why it’s also more effective.
Rather more surprising is that, contrary to expectations, many of the paints performed better in the Mediterranean than in the UK, although as the variations in our UK results proved, that may not apply to other areas of the Med.
The muddy waters of the East Coast proved the most challenging with all the paints showing plenty of slime and the occasional patch of weed.
However, the big surprise for us was the relative success of the silicone paints in a static test that would usually have favoured soft or copolymer copper-based antifoulings.
When choosing a paint, it’s important to think about how much you’ll be using your boat, as some of the hard paints will perform so much better with regular usage, while if you only plan on pottering up a river occasionally, you might be better off by going for a soft self-eroding paint.
Armed with the results of this test, you should be able to make a more informed decision on what paint to use this season, even if you’re not bold enough to try the silicone alternative.