In the last several years, the toxicity of antifouling paints has been shown to damage the marine environment significantly. Governments, led by the European Union, have begun to outlaw the worst offenders, such as tributyl tin (TBT), and now even copper compounds. Surprisingly, the U.S. lags in this area, though TBT is no longer widely available. While many sailors are great lovers of the natural world, when barnacles, tubeworms and weeds start to cover the hull, the first impulse seems to be to wish for the good old days when TBT would keep the bottom clean for four years straight. Never mind that these compounds have been implicated in the decline of New England’s shellfish beds for starters.

How has the market responded to the problem? Rather shoddily in my opinion. Ablative paints, which continually shed a little of their surface are one example. If anything, an even larger amount of toxic material is released by these paints. Marinas in the Pacific Northwest are now forbidding scrubbing the bottom of a boat with an ablative paint because of the buildup of poisonous particles.

Another approach has been the introduction of strong biocide paint additives like Irgarol, which was accumulating so rapidly in environment that the European Union has been moving to ban it, too. There’s hope, though, in the form of innovations such as Epaint’s EP2000, which was developed with support from the Coast Guard (a major consumer of bottom paints). EP2000 slowly releases hydrogen peroxide, which decays harmlessly into water, and has shown to be as effective as the antifouling industry leaders in testing by Practical Sailor. What’s more, EP2000 is a waterborne formulation with no VOCs, and is much safer to apply than traditional bottom paints. Epaint has developed a number of variations, including one for metal boats—particularly pertinent as the current generation of copper-based paints create corrosion problems when applied to aluminum and steel. It’s great news the companies like Epaint are actually innovating in this area. I’m looking forward to trying it out on my boat.