Ultrasonic Anti Fouling for Sailboats

Our post back on 11 April 2009 featured a range of ultrasonic anti fouling systems that have come onto the market in recent years. Since posting, I have been contacted by a German company, Impact Tec, manufacturing a similar product, pointing out that I missed them off the list. So, under the heading of balance, the following is an extract from their website:

Your sailing yacht is your pride and joy! No matter how small or big your yacht is, algae, shells and other small animals do not stop from clinging to your favorite. The fouling of the hull is unfortunately not just a visual problem. Sustained algae on your hull can damage commonly used materials and finishes, in the worst case, making them brittle or cracked. In addition, the "beard algae" and mussel fouling deteriorates the lubrication of the hull through the water, resulting in loss of speed, and when motoring, reflecting a higher fuel consumption.

The variety of protective coatings are the traditional way to deal with this problem. Moreover, today there are still many antifouling paints containing toxic ingredients such as copper powder, herbicides and fungicides, which are extremely harmful to the environment.

Is there anyone who has not already had their eyes startled when the bill arrives for the anti-fouling of their sailoatboat? How much money or just work and sweat has already gone into your protective coating?

Fig.1 shows the "Why Knot '2006 with heavy algae growth on the hull.

Fig.2 taken in 2008 shows the significant difference with 2006.

The Transducer - Ultrasonic generator emitted a multi-layered ultrasonic pattern. In each of algae is a microscopic fluid bubbles called vacuoles. Our digital ultrasonic pattern brings this to vibrate, this leads to the collapse of the vacuole and eventually to the dying algae.

With our Tec Marine Product range, Marine Tec 60-AC, 40 - AC, 20 - AC and AC - 10 it is possible to permanently stop the growth of algae on the ship's hull. Already infested hulls can be treated with this technology. As the algae are killed off by the ultrasound, they are easily wiped off from the ship's hull.

You can save yourself costly Antifouling expense and the associated incoming order to stay in dry dock.

By stopping the algal fouling on the hull, your boat glides through the water better and it also saves more fuel. Even the cleaning of your rotating ships log is no longer so often necessary.
Do something for the longevity and value of your yacht.

Extract and images courtesy Impact Tec website

The four models listed above feature six, four, two and one transducers depending on the size of your vessel, and range in price from Euros 1195 to 4999. You can visit their website on http://www.impacttec.de/ to learn more about these products.

You can learn more about anti fouling your sailboat when cruising in my ebook 'Voyage of the Little Ship 'Tere Moana' downloadable from my website http://www.sailboat2adventure.com/