Antifouling adhesive film Fouling

high-performancefor boatsfor sailboats

Fouling is a major problem for the performance and maintenance of boats. The rapid accretion of the first biofilm layer (approximately 1 mm) already results in a 20% increase in drag, rising to 60% if molluscs are present. Uniflow engineers decided to change the rules in dealing with fouling. Paints are very harmful for the oceans and for man, and they are becoming less effective. The two major innovations (international patent) are the substitution of a high-performance adhesive film for the paint and replacement of the chemical effects of biocides with the mechanical effects of the continuous movement of synthetic fibres, preventing algae and mollusks from establishing themselves long-term on the hull. Molluscs, the largest contributing factor in drag, no longer have a flat surface on which to attach themselves. Algae cannot establish themselves permanently due to the constant movement of the spiney fibres. Fouling is a high-performance, water-tight, multiple- layer, self-adhesive film with thousands of microfibres covering its outside surface which move with the movement of the boat or of the water. These flexible fibres act both as spines preventing marine organisms from attaching to the hull (no foothold) and continuous and natural vibrating bodies to which marine flora and fauna are not attracted. Fouling Fouling is the result of several years of research by expert engineers and specialists in antifouling. Their thinking has been based on observation of nature and of the biological system and how they can be applied to man-made materials. It is what is known as “biomimetism”