Treating Your Boat

Fouling refers to the buildup of debris and possible AIS on the hull of a boat. Fouling can negatively affect your boat’s fuel efficiency, speed and cause increased maintenance costs. It causes a powerboat to use more fuel and slows down sailboats because of the increased drag. It can affect
the maneuverability of the boat. And if you leave fouling attached to your boat for too long you can damage the paint and cause overall deterioration.

The use of anti-fouling paint is becoming more and more standard with boaters, although there are strong regulations to prevent spillage or contamination. Environmentally-friendly brands of anti-fouling paint, with less heavy metals used, are available.
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Best practices to prevent fouling:

- Inspect and clean your boat regularly.
- Clean your boat before you leave port.
- Apply anti-fouling paint and renew it within the manufacturer’s suggested time frame.
- Use manual cleaning together with anti-fouling paints. Research shows that manual cleaning alone can actually increase the rate of fouling, unless followed by an application of anti-fouling paint.
- Dispose of fouling on land as per normal compost.

Best practices for performing hull maintenance:

- Keep the boatyard clean to prevent waste from entering the aquatic environment.
- Capture paint scrapings and residues by using shrouding, tarps and drop cloths.
- Contain all waste and run-off when performing hull maintenance on tidal grids or at any facility.
- Immediately report all spills to the facility manager