Eco-Clad's New Anti-Fouling Paint

There may be a better mousetrap after all, at least the people at Eco-Clad say there is. Eco-Clad is a new company based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, that developed a biotech-based anti-fouling paint that it says lasts longer, reduces fuel consumption and even increases speed on recreational boats.

Eco-Clad is an internationally patented, hard-wearing epoxy/copper composite that does its work underwater by providing support for living biofilms. The biofilms, in turn, provide excellent antifouling performance. "You don't see barnacles on fish, do you?" asks Andy Thompson, Eco-Clad's president. "Well, this is the same technology." The company already tested Eco-Clad on a Fountain, Marlow, Nordhavn and a Bertram 510, which had a totally clean bottom even after nine months in the water in Fort Lauderdale. The owner of the Fountain, Thompson says, reported an 8 percent increase in speed after he applied Eco-Clad to his 42-footer.

Eco-Clad's parent company is Luritek, a biotechnology firm specializing in developing products that safely and effectively attack marine fouling with applications for recreational boats, the Navy and Coast Guard, commercial shipping and even offshore oil rigs. The biofilm in Eco-Clad results in no booster biocides and no volatile organic compounds, and it has a low copper leach rate. There's no zinc and no ablative "cloud" during in-water scrubbing. In addition to lasting longer than traditional bottom paint, the biofilm reduces drag, resulting in lower fuel consumption and higher speed.

So far, Eco-Clad is available only through dealers. It's installed by boatyards as a 100 percent solid, two-component epoxy paint, applied by roller or brush. The company says it is very cost-effective. ecoclad.com