Editorial
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O
n the day this edition
of PBO arrives on your
doormat, on your screen
or in your newsagent,
Ben Meakins and I will
be part-way through
our round-Britain journey to collect
the results of our antifouling test.
Comprising 26 boards in 13 locations,
this season-long enterprise will compare
the performance of 20 different eroding
paints, giving a unique level of detail into
how different paints perform in different
areas. We’ll be publishing the results in
our January edition, so make sure you
don’t miss it!
However, although our test should
stand you in good stead for choosing
your antifouling paint in the short term,
the next time we carry out such a test the
range of products available may be very
different. Antifouling
manufacturers have
long been struggling
with the increasingly
stringent demands of the Biocidal
Product Directive (BPD) enforced by the
EU, which requires each biocide and
combination of biocides to be separately
approved. In theory, even the seadog’s
approach of tipping a generous dollop of
chilli powder into your paint renders it a
new product, subject to further analysis
and approval or, failing that, prosecution.
Approval itself is not a straight yes or
no. Different rulings are made for
professional and DIY application, and
making the transition from one to the
other can be challenging. For example,
International’s water-based Micron WA
antifouling, which I fi rst tested on my
boat during the 2012 season, has still
to be approved for DIY application.
Recent news from the British Coatings
Federation (BCF) suggests that this one
example may be an indication of a wider
trend in legislation. Until now most of
us, myself included, have assumed that
tighter controls on biocides have been inthe interests of marine life. Although it’s
frustrating to think that one might have
to put up with increased fouling, the odd
mid-season scrub is a worthwhile price to
pay to preserve our marine environment.
However, the latest review of biocides is
expected to have a stronger focus on the
dangers of application, with the possible
result that formulating and supplying
antifouling paint for DIY application
may become all but impossible.
Saving our environment is one thing,
but I, for one, prefer to have a choice of
how I poison myself. Alcohol, tobacco
and car fumes are still legal and, however
sensible it may be, I’m not obliged to don
gloves and a facemask to open a bottle of
bleach or unscrew the top of a battery.
Equally, I’m permitted to go to sea with
no qualifi cations, which some may
regard as inadvisable until you consider
the hordes of people
who cross roads
with no paperwork to
confi rm their ability to
to so. What all these activities have in
common is that they rely on a modicum
of that innate intelligence which has so
far preserved our race, known as
common sense.
So, when you get to the stage of
rubbing down and renewing your
antifouling for 2016, wear overalls,
gloves and a mask to preserve your
health and ensure that you are not using
NHS resources to treat bizarre biocide-
induced ailments, and to demonstrate
to any passing bureaucrats that practical
boat owners are not idiots. And, before
the closing date of 30 November, please
fi ll in the BCF’s online survey on DIY
application to furnish evidence that the
way boat owners use antifouling products
is both safe and sensible. You’ll fi nd the
link on p6, together with some industry
opinions on the potential legislation.
I hope you enjoy this issue of PBO.
Fair winds,
David Pughhttp://www.twitter.com/p_b_o http://www.facebook.com/
practicalboatownermag
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I prefer to have a choice
of how I poison myselfCrying foul over DIY antifouling?
Waiting for
the tide
with the editor