Lift-out season · Two yards · Fixed prices

Hull Polishing and Antifouling, Done Once and Properly

Most antifouling failures happen before the paint is opened: a hull washed but not degreased, old coating that was incompatible with the new one, a waterline masked by eye, or a boat launched before the coating had cured. We work to a written sequence — pressure wash on the sling, full preparation, moisture reading, primer where needed, two coats with a measured film thickness, propeller and drive treated separately — and we photograph each stage. Polishing is done with compounds matched to the gelcoat's condition rather than one aggressive paste for every boat.

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Large vessel in a dry dock surrounded by cranes

About us

A Yard Team That Reads the Data Sheets

The company was formed by two shipwrights and a coatings technician who had spent years repairing other people's antifouling failures. Almost every one came down to the same handful of causes: incompatible products applied over each other, insufficient preparation, an overcoating window missed by a day, or a coating chosen for the wrong water. None of that is difficult to avoid; it simply requires reading the manufacturer's data sheet and following it, including the parts about temperature, humidity and minimum recoat times.

We work from two yards with covered standing and heated tenting, which matters because most coatings will not cure correctly below ten degrees or above eighty-five per cent humidity. Each hull is logged: photographs on arrival, moisture readings taken at fixed points, a record of what was found under the old coating, the products used with their batch numbers, film thickness measurements, and photographs on completion. The owner receives the file, which also makes any future warranty claim straightforward.

Coating choice is made from where the boat lies rather than from what is on offer. A yacht in a warm, still marina with heavy fouling pressure needs a different system from one on a swinging mooring in cold tidal water or a fast motorboat that is used weekly. We stock several manufacturers, tell owners plainly when the cheapest option will fail in their berth, and equally plainly when the expensive one is unnecessary for the way they use the boat.

Advantages

Why the Finish Lasts a Season Longer

Six parts of the process that owners never see and always notice the following spring.

Yachts and motorboats moored along marina pontoons

Washed on the Sling, Not the Next Day

Fouling comes off easily while it is still wet and becomes concrete once it has dried in the sun for two days. We pressure wash every hull within minutes of lift-out, while it is still hanging in the slings, which removes slime and weed without the aggressive scraping that damages the coating underneath. The waste is collected on a bunded pad rather than washed into the harbour. Boats arriving from a yard that skipped this step often need a full day of extra preparation, and we say so before quoting rather than afterwards.

Preparation Measured, Not Guessed

Before anything is applied we degrease the whole hull, take moisture readings at fixed points and record them, check the existing coating for compatibility, and either key it or remove it entirely where the build-up has become too thick to hold. Old layers that have been applied over each other for a decade are the most common cause of flaking, and no new coating fixes that. Where full removal is needed we say so honestly, quote it separately and let the owner decide.

Coatings Chosen for the Berth

Fouling pressure varies enormously between a warm marina, a cold tidal estuary and a fast-flowing river, and between a boat used weekly and one that sits for three months. We ask where the boat lies, how often it moves, what speed it does and what the hull is made of, then specify a hard, eroding or self-polishing system accordingly. Aluminium hulls and drives get the correct primers rather than a copper product that will destroy them, which we still find applied by others every season.

Film Thickness Actually Measured

Antifouling works by releasing biocide at a controlled rate, which depends entirely on applying the specified thickness. We measure wet film during application and dry film afterwards at recorded points, apply an extra coat along the waterline, leading edges and rudder where erosion is fastest, and keep to the manufacturer's overcoat window rather than painting the second coat when the schedule suits. The measurements go in the file the owner receives at handover.

Polishing Matched to the Gelcoat

Oxidised gelcoat needs cutting; sound gelcoat needs refining and protecting, and treating the second like the first removes material that will never come back. We assess with a gloss meter and by eye, work through the minimum number of grades required, and finish with a sealant or ceramic coating according to how the boat is stored. Topsides, superstructure and non-slip areas are treated differently, and stainless, teak and rubbers are masked rather than polished over and stained.

Fixed Prices and Real Dates

Quotes are given per metre for standard work after an inspection, with any extra preparation identified and priced before it is carried out rather than appearing on the final invoice. Slots are booked with a start and a launch date, and we hold them; a boat scheduled for the third week of March goes back in the water in the third week of March. Where weather or curing times make that impossible, the owner is told the same day rather than the day before launch.

Motor yachts moored in a quiet marina basin

Services

What the Yard Does

Antifouling, polishing, gelcoat repair, osmosis treatment, drive servicing and winter storage packages.

Antifouling

Lift-out, wash on the sling, degrease, preparation, primer where required and two coats of the specified system with an extra coat at the waterline, leading edges, keel and rudder. Propellers, shafts, trim tabs and drive legs are treated with the correct products for their material, and anodes are checked and replaced. Every hull leaves with a photographic record, film thickness readings and the product batch numbers, which is what makes a warranty claim possible if one is ever needed.

Hull and Topside Polishing

Assessment of the gelcoat's condition, then compounding and refining through the minimum number of stages needed, finishing with a hard wax, sealant or a ceramic coating that lasts two to four seasons depending on storage. Stains from waterline, exhaust and rust runs are removed chemically rather than by cutting, and non-slip surfaces are cleaned and protected without being made slippery. Superstructure, mast and stainless polishing can be included in the same visit.

Gelcoat Repair and Restoration

Repair of scratches, impact damage, star cracks, crazing and blistering, with colour matched by spectrophotometer and blended rather than patched in an obvious circle. Deeper damage is laminated back to strength before cosmetic work. Where gelcoat has passed the point of polishing, we prepare and spray a two-part topcoat that restores the finish for a decade, which is considerably cheaper than a full respray and almost indistinguishable from one.

Osmosis Diagnosis and Treatment

Moisture surveys with calibrated meters at fixed grid points, blister mapping and, where necessary, full treatment: peeling of the gelcoat, controlled drying under tenting with recorded readings, filling, epoxy build-up and a new coating scheme. We publish the drying data rather than declaring a hull ready by feel, and we tell owners honestly when readings are high but the hull is sound and needs monitoring rather than a five-figure treatment.

Drives, Props and Anodes

Servicing of sterndrives and saildrives, bellows and seal inspection, propeller cleaning, polishing and coating with a foul-release system, shaft and P-bracket treatment, and a full anode survey with replacement in the correct alloy for fresh, brackish or salt water. Galvanic issues are investigated with a reference electrode rather than guessed at, which usually identifies a shore power fault that would otherwise eat a new set of anodes every season.

Winter Storage and Care Packages

Ashore storage with cradles or a covered berth, winterisation, dehumidified covers, monthly checks with photographs sent to the owner, and a spring package combining antifouling, polishing, anode replacement and launch on an agreed date. Packages are priced per metre for the season with everything included, which avoids the usual accumulation of small invoices and means the boat is genuinely ready on the day the owner arrives.

Contacts

Quotes and Yard Slots

Tell us the boat, its length, the hull material, where it lies and how it is used, and we will quote per metre for standard work and inspect before confirming anything that needs extra preparation. Spring slots fill from January.

Osmosis surveys, gelcoat restoration, drive servicing and winter storage are booked through the same office.

Yard6 Quai Duperré, 17000 La Rochelle, France

Phone+33 5 46 41 28 73

Emailmirrorglosshull@icloud.com

OpeningMonday–Saturday 08:00–18:00; lift-outs from 07:30