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With the gazillion marine maintenance products out there, it’s an annual challenge to narrow the field down to just a few superior products for our Gear of the Year (GOTY) list. This year, our top maintenance picks came out of our endless antifouling-paint testing and our performance evaluation of multi-purpose cleaners—products we suspect most of you buy and use regularly.
Bottom Paint
In March 2011, we reported on our bottom-paint panels after they had been submerged for 18 months in Sarasota Bay, Fla. Nearly half of the 65-paint test field succumbed to barnacle growth, but one paint emerged from the water nearly as clean as the day it went in: Epaint’s EP2000. Other test paints included products from Blue Water Paints, Flexdel, Interlux, Pettit, Sea Hawk, Coppercoat, and BoatKoat Laminate.
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In June 2009, the paints were applied to sections of fiberglass panels per makers’ instructions. Testers sluiced the panels with salt water and rated them: Excellent (no growth), Good (light soft growth), Fair (moderate to heavy soft growth), and Poor (hard growth). Any paint rated Fair or better is continuing to meet its designed purpose.
Epaint’s EP2000 is a unique hard paint that contains zinc oxide, a chemical often found in sunscreens and diaper cremes. Although it’s “biocide free,” it acts much like a biocide-boosted paint: When exposed to sunlight, water, and dissolved oxygen, it releases an inhospitable layer of hydrogen peroxide around the coated surface.
The $250-per-gallon, copper-free EP2000 won’t appeal to everyone—it’s not compatible with other paints, so switching to it may require some extra prep work—but its excellent performance after 18 months garnered it a GOTY pick and makes it worth considering, especially for eco-conscious and racing sailors in search of a clean, smooth bottom. However, because it requires sunlight to work, EP2000 may not perform as well in locales that don’t see much sunshine.
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Multi-Purpose Cleaners
We set out looking for one do-it-all cleaner, because really, who wants to buy every pricey specialty cleaner on the market? As it turns out, some well-known manufacturers of specialty marine cleaners—including Star brite, Marykate, and Yacht Brite—also make products for general cleaning, so we launched a test to find the best multi-purpose cleaners on the market.
In the November 2010 issue, we tested a total of 15 products, a cross-section of cleaners from popular marine manufacturers. Most of the test cleaners are sold in spray bottles and ranged in price from $6 to $12 per container. Testers put each one through a series of bench tests simulating real-world use. Following manufacturers’ instructions, testers used them to clean fiberglass, Formica, rubber, and vinyl. We also compared them to the top picks from our degreasers (February 2010) and mildew removers (January 2009) tests.
The standout performers—and our GOTY picks—were Marine Spray Nine and MDR-Amazon’s Krazy Clean. Both earned excellent ratings for performance. Krazy Clean costs about 33 cents per ounce, and Marine Spray Nine runs about 17 cents per ounce.
