Marine Fouling

It is the main cause of fouling on your hull providing a rich food source for most types of fouling and the reason that year after year, you spend large amounts of money on antifoul paints, which in fact, are becoming more and more ineffective as a result of changing legislation banning the use of chemicals, toxins and other pollutants that are harmful to the environment. If the algae (seaweed) were prevented from attaching itself to your hull in the first place, you would have no need to paint the various products on it so regularly!

Everything in our seas, harbours and estuaries is bathed in a ‘soup’ of living matter, and your boat can become badly fouled within just a few weeks unless protected by an effective anti-fouling system which is essential if you want to avoid these infestations.

Stage 1: Initial attachment

Stage 2: Irreversible attachment

Stage 3: Maturation

Stage 4: Maturation II

Stage 5: Dispersion

Apart from looking unsightly, heavy fouling makes your boat slow, less responsive, less fuel efficient and more difficult to manoeuvre in close quarters situations.  Boats spend a large proportion of their working life partly submerged in water and as with all objects subjected to long periods of time in the water, boat hulls become prone to colonisation by the many micro-organisms which inhabit the aquatic environment. This colonisation is known as fouling. The extent of infestation depends on a number of factors including water temperature, salinity and productivity of the organic matter on which the organisms feed.

Antifouling paints are applied to help prevent the build up of these organisms to some degree, but it is much better to install the Ultra system in conjunction with either a new or old antifouling paint to prevent the organisms from attaching to the hull in the first place.