Do Boats in Minnesota Lakes need Anti-Fouling Bottom Paint?
As Minnesota boaters, you know about the importance of protecting your boat’s hull against the growth of organisms as well as potential damage from direct contact with the water. The application of a high quality anti-fouling bottom paint provides the essential protection that will help ensure your boat lasts for years to come.
Why use an antifouling?
The main reasons to prevent fouling growth include the following:
- Speed and efficiency – Fouling causes drag, which in turn cuts down on your boat’s speed and efficiency. This results in poor fuel mileage further contributing to fuel costs and pollution. For racing yachts, anti-fouling helps improve the flow of water, leading to less resistance and higher performance.
- Safety – Heavy fouling can negatively affect the responsiveness of your boat and the extra weight can cause it to sit lower in the water. Further, irregular distribution of fouling growth across the bottom can cause your boat to be off balance—and therefore dangerous.
- Hull preservation – Finally, some fouling can actually burrow into your hull coatings and expose the unprotected metals and fiberglass to contact with the water. This exposure can result in blisters in fiberglass and corrosion to metals. A good anti-fouling coating will help ensure you don’t have to deal with these expensive and time-consuming problems.
At M.I.C.I., we use the Anti-Fouling Coating, Interlux®, which we find superior as it offers a tin-free superior finish, that is cost effective, easy to apply and goes on in a clean bright color. Interlux® effectively protects a boat’s hull, season after season. In fact, it has been tested after multiple seasons to be 98% free of fouling for fiberglass, wood, and steel.
Learn more about our ANTI-FOULING COATINGS.