{ FITTING OUT }
FITTING OUT YOUR CRUISING BOAT
Whether you are getting ready for a spring launch or going through your annual haul out, here’s a guide to the essential tasks
MOST CRUISERS ARE FAIRLY HANDS ON AND will undertake many if not most of the chores in an annual prelaunch refit when getting our boats ready for ocean sailing and another summer or year of cruising. Here’s a look at the basics. ANTIFOULING Racers want a hard, slippery, fast underwater surface and don’t mind diving under the boat to clean the bottom regularly. But cruisers really need antifouling that will last a long time and will not require a lot of between-haul18
out maintenance. That means we’re looking to apply a coating that has a lot of punch and includes both a lot of biocide and a slime fighter. Tin based antifouling paints are the most effective but they have long been banned in the U.S. and most of the modern world where environmental policies are stricter than in the Third World. The next best thing in bottom paint is copper or cuprous oxide and this, too, is in the cross hairs of states and the EPA since it is poisonous. But, for most of us copper-based antifouling paints are the best bet. Blue Water Sailing