Once fouling has established a hold on a boat hull it will rapidly spread or ‘colonise’ the surface. Prevention is therefore better than cure.
There are a number of key reasons for preventing your hull from becoming a
feeding ground:
Safety
Heavy fouling growth reduces responsiveness of the craft as well as potentially making it sit lower in the water than intended. This can have obvious implications in testing weather conditions.
Protection
Prolonged growth of certain types of fouling can damage the substrate of the hull. For example, the natural glues used to attach organisms to the hull can damage wood and glass fibre.
Speed and efficiency
Fouling causes drag, which apart from slowing you down, increases fuel bills. In powercraft especially, fuel consumption increases as weed grows, speed is reduced and planing boats fail to reach the plane. For yachts, this can mean the difference between winning and losing a race.
