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Peter Volken Smidt – episode 12 – Electrifying a Contest 30
He who cannot share cannot multiply! At Robust-MT Marine Technology BV, we believe that success is a combination of factors. Knowledge is just one of them, but it's useless without facilities, resources, capabilities, and so on. For this reason, we will never be complacent about sharing knowledge or providing a platform to someone who deserves it, or when there's useful knowledge to share.
Previous episodes:
3. A boat on dry land and removing remaining parts
4. A hole in my hull, what next…
5. Building up in layer thickness
7. Peeling the underwater hull
8. Armor Coat, an everlasting protection
9. The (temporary) installation of the pod motor
This is episode 12 of Peter Volken Smidt's conversion report. Many choices need to be made in the process of making a boat more sustainable. This began with the decision to renovate an old boat. Considering all the chemicals needed to extend the boat's lifespan, one might wonder if that outweighs building a new one. Economically, I think so; in terms of environmental impact, building a new boat is still quite substantial. The same applies to electrifying the engine; all the raw materials needed to produce the battery are also scarce, and is that worth it?
A final step is choosing the antifouling. Especially after sanding the product, I realized that this is definitely something I don't want to release into the environment. Therefore, I'm looking for an environmentally friendly alternative that's suitable for relatively slow-moving boats, pesticide-free, and easy to maintain. Furthermore, I don't want to take my boat out of the water every year, so it needs to be able to function for at least two years.
There are more and more suppliers claiming to have a good alternative to the old traditional and unfortunately also polluting antifouling.
However, two products emerged that I considered very suitable. Since January 2023, International has had its B-free explore product, a biocide-free fouling agent. Hempel has also had Silic One for several years, which is similar to International's product.
Because the first product mentioned wasn't delivered on time for my boat, I decided to use Hempel's Silic One. After some inquiries, it turned out I could apply the Silic One tiecoat (the bonding layer) directly to the armor coating. After the tiecoat, two coats of Silic One are sufficient to keep me sailing for at least two years.
As the name suggests, the base is formed by silicone. This silicone doesn't release into the water but prevents it from adhering to the surface. Regular boating keeps the layer free of fouling, and otherwise, a summer dip in the water armed with a soft sponge is also a good way to keep the boat free of fouling.
Applying the tiecoat and silicone still requires careful planning. There are quite strict requirements regarding temperature, follow-up times, and humidity. And especially now that spring hasn't really arrived yet, this poses a challenge.
