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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
Re: Bottom Paint advice
Posted By: Rawleigh In Response To: Re: Bottom Paint advice (John D)
Date: Wednesday, 30 March 2005, at 2:57 p.m.
John: Barnacle Blok is a proprietary sprayed on metalic process done by PowerSpray in Hampton, VA. They have to have the props or they can come to the boatyard and do all of the underwater hardware. Its not cheap, but it works. Attached is an article about it from Chesapeake Angler Magazine. Sorry its so long, but I couldn't get the link to work. Rawleigh
Virginia Beach Company Introduces Environmentally-Safe Alternative To Use Of Toxins In Antifouling Paints
Butyltins are organic tin compounds. Tributyltin (TBT) is a butyltin compound put in marine paints to inhibit the growth of unwanted organisms such as algae and barnacles. A small amount of TBT is potent enough to kill aquatic life. When TBT paint is applied to ship hulls and ship components, the TBT leaches or "dissolves" into the water. When it settles to the bottom of the water table, it poisons and may kill marine life.
Strong scientific evidence links TBT to adverse biological effects in fish and shellfish. A recent study by Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan at the University of Michigan revealed high levels of TBT and other butyltin compounds in dead sea otters. The sea otters were found dead on the shores of California.
There is continuing evidence that TBT is dangerous to humans. Two Murray State University chemists conducted a study on human adults. The study showed that butyltins disrupt the function of critical human immune cells. Butyltins are the same compounds found in anti-fouling paints, wood preservatives, cellophane wraps, and dish sponges. The Murray State study found that when humans were exposed to "environmentally relevant" concentrations of tributyltin for as little as an hour the tumor-killing ability of natural killer cells was inhibited.
Despite the evidence that TBT is harmful to humans and marine life, it is not banned in the United States. The use of TBT anti-fouling paints is banned on smaller boats, but shipyards can apply it to large vessels. Releases of TBT are limited through the issuance of state permit levels. Shipyards are required to comply with these levels.
Barnacles are serious problems for boat owners who moor their boats in the intertidal region. Those who keep their boats in the water year-round are faced with hauling, scraping, and coating on a routine basis. It is difficult to find a product that works. TBT paints provided a solution to boat owners but at an extreme expense to marine life and possibly humans.Power Spray, Inc., a Virginia Beach company, has invented an environmentally safe alternative to harmful antifouling paints, such as tributyltin-based paints. For three years, Power Spray, Inc. (PSI) experimented with refining this coating for marine applications. Finally, in the year 2000, PSI was ready to release the product commercially. Currently, the company is selling this service to marinas, propeller shops, repair shops, and boat owners in the Tidewater Virginia area. The have named this unique thermal spray coating Barnacle Blok TM.
Barnacle Blok is environmentally friendly. It is clean air compliant because Barnacle Blok is 100% metal. There are no solvents or VOC's involved with this process. Barnacle Blok contains no hazardous materials, pesticides, biocides, toxins, or tributyltin.
Barnacle Blok is compatible with carbon steel, brass, aluminum, stainless steel, nibral, and other metals. Barnacle Blok was especially designed for props, rudders, struts, shafts, trim tabs, aluminum outdrives, and other hardware. Currently PSI is not applying Barnacle Blok to fiberglass. Barnacle Blok is a time saver and an important step in maintaining good performance. The coating has ten-times the bond strength of paint, so the coating stays on the hardware, thereby providing superior antifouling protection compared to paint. All of these Barnacle Blok characteristics provide the watercraft owner with Life Cycle Cost (LCC) savings. Maintenance costs are reduced. Future maintenance and repair can be eliminated, because the metal is protected.
The State of Virginia currently limits the use of tributyltin (TBT) in marine coatings, but TBT antifouling paints are not completely banned in Virginia. TBT is used by the paint industry in its anti-fouling paints. Anti-fouling paints are designed to prevent the growth of barnacles and other marine growth. The Virginia Pesticide Control Act limits the sale and application of tributyltin compounds (Virginia Code 3.1-249.60). In Virginia, paint with TBT can only be applied in licensed shipyards and to ships over 25 meters in size. The use of TBT in shipyards is regulated and TBT permit limits are enforced. (Information about whether Virginia shipyards are complying with these regulations was not gathered for this report).On the international front, the United Nations International Marine Organization has issued resolutions to issue legally binding legislation by 2003. The legislation will globally prohibit the use of anti-fouling systems that contain organotins such as tributyltin. Sweden will completely ban the use of TBT antifoulings on vessels under 12m by 2001. For vessels larger than 12m, the Swedish government severely restricts the use of TBT paint. At the World Summit Meeting for the protection of the environment, all participating countries signed a declaration that "As soon as an environmentally friendly substitute for the present poisonous antifouling paints becomes available in the open market, all of the presently used antifouling should, and will be banned at once."
The environmental and health hazards of TBT are issuing a call for alternatives, and the political response to ban the use of TBT in marine paints creates a demand for proven antifouling coatings without environmental hazards. Many boat owners in Tidewater Virginia are putting Barnacle Blok on their metal boat components to prevent biofouling. Power Spray has applied Barnacle Blok to aluminum pontoon boats as well.
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