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T
ony Smee owner and operator of Folkboats UK near Milford on Sea, is always trying
to keep up with the latest technology. He tries to make the racing Nordics, and the
many cruising variations which fill his yard to bursting each winter, easier to maintain
and faster through the water.
It was during one of his regular Spring trips to Folkboatland across the North Sea,
where he was persuaded to try a revolutionary alternative to traditional antifouling. It
is simple, they said, you simply glue these to the bottom, and job done. With which
they handed him the latest edition of a German supermarket leaflet.
Full of excitement, he bought trolleys of bratwurst and sauerkraut, in order to justify
walking off with an armful of magazines.
Back home, he set about his task with extraordinary enthusiasm, which was only
dampened a little when he got to using the front page and noticed that the edition
was dated Saturday April 1st! But, who knows, if you see a navy blue Nordic going a
‘Lidl’ bit faster than the others; there may be merit, and truth in the theory.
In truth, it is an aid to antifouling removal, but we thought the above made better
reading!
Tony Blachford
A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO ANTIFOULING
