Antifouling Without the Guesswork

Antifouling is the most commonly quoted job in boating and the most commonly misquoted — because two quotes rarely describe the same work. The fix is to compare like for like before you compare dollars.

Compare quotes on the same spec

Before you accept any quote, make sure these five things are spelled out. If one is missing, ask.

• The paint system and brand — hard or ablative — and whether it matches what's already on the hull.
• The number of coats, including any thinned first coat.
• Exactly what prep is included: pressure wash, sanding, stripping loose antifoul, dewaxing.
• Whether anode replacement is in the quote or billed separately.
• The launch date — and who owns the slipway window if it slips.

Prep is the job

Paint sticks to prep, not to promises. A hull that's washed, sanded and wiped properly will outlast a rushed coat of expensive paint every time. Stripping back to a sound edge around flaking areas matters more than a uniform colour, and a dewaxing solvent wipe before the first coat is not an optional extra.

Cure time is a launch date

Every antifoul has a window between dry-to-recoat and safe-immersion. Put the boat in too early and the paint can soften or slough; leave her on the hard too long in summer heat and some paints chalk. Agree the launch date when you agree the quote — the cure time, not the painting, is what sets the day your boat goes back in.

Photos to take while she's out

• The hull, propeller and shaft before the wash-off — that's the evidence of the season she just had.
• Each anode, old and new.
• Any gelcoat damage or blisters, so repair quotes can start from a photo instead of a guess.
• The finished coats with the paint batch number visible on the tin.

Every one of those photos, filed against the vessel, is worth its size in gold at resale — and on MarineTasker, the trade's sign-off photos file themselves into your logbook.