The choice of paint for many America’s Cup boats, Durepox, has finally hit Australia’s green and gold shores!
For all those teams counting the kilograms (and milligrams!) before a race, Durepox is lighter and more durable than your average marine paint, proving to be a very attractive performance drawcard.
“There is a lot of anticipation out there” says James Ogilvie, National Distributor, “Now Durepox is accessible to more Aussie boats wanting that extra edge and boats which used to get their Durepox overseas can now get painted at home.”
Durepox has figured strongly on the hull and deck of contestants in the Volvo Ocean Race and previous America's Cups meeting their astringent rules and specifications. Seven of the twelve challengers in the Louis Vuitton Cup and the last America's Cup defender in 2007 all used Durepox.
The light and durable nature of Durepox continues to perform even in the harshest environments. This September, Emirates Team New Zealand who were coated in Durepox, powered away in heavy conditions to win two out of two on the first day of racing in the Audi MedCup regatta in Cartagena. Conditions were, Grant Dalton said, just like a Volvo Ocean race. “Downwind as the boat thundered down the face of the waves we hit speeds in the high 20s at times. The boat would then bury the bow into the back of the next wave and a metre of white water would wash down the deck.”
Durepox is an epoxy urethane with amazing adhesion to carbon fibre, fibreglass and wood, which can be applied without sanding between coats. While developed as a primer, Durepox is used as a topcoat on racing boats as it has excellent water barrier properties and exceptional weather stability. Durepox was tested by the Otago Flume Laboratory and results showed that its satin finish gave a 15% less drag coefficient than a high gloss surface. On a practical level, painters value its fast dry properties and sandability after three hours with no shrink back.
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