I’m thinking of having Coppercoat applied to the bottom of my 44 foot fiberglas sloop this summer. Has anyone had this done? Would you do it again? How much did it cost? And would you recommend the place where you had it done? I’ll be located in New England this summer.

I have had Copper Coat for the last 3 years, and I have been disappointed with it. It worked great for the first 6 months. Then It began to get algae, which was difficult to remove. After another year, it would get barnacles. I was in the Caribbean, which might be part of the problem. I complained to Copper Coat about it, and they said that I needed to have the boat hauled out and further sanding done. The copper is suspended in epoxy and it needs to be activated by lightly sanding the top layer of epoxy off. I had this done, but it didn't help. I complained further to Copper Coat and they gave me new paint as a warranty replacement. By this time, I was in Portimao, Portugal, and it turns out that the experts in applying Copper Coat is Slick Hull Service are located there. I had them repaint my boat and it looks great. They believe that my original painters sanded the bottom too much by using a machine. Copper Coat is very particular in its application. Slick Hull did the painting with rollers (which is recommended by Copper Coat), then the did the activation by hand with a fine sandpaper and Scotch Bright. It looks great, now it will have the test of time. I am headed into the Mediterranean, which I understand generally has less growth. I am also adding an ultrasonic anti-fouling system to make double sure that I don't have to scrub the bottom. I am looking forward to seeing how it works.