Importance

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Abstract

A coating for hulls of ships to be applied underwater to areas of the hull not accessible when ship is in dry dock. The means for applying the coating may take several forms: (1) a multilayered tape system having impregnated in or carrying an antifoulant and having an adhesive tape operable underwater on one side; (2) a sponge like layer having an antifoulant paint or coating liquid which can be squeezed onto the hull; (3) the use of a water soluble sponge having mixed therein microspheres of resin and pigment and microspheres of activator material such that when the microspheres or crushed, the pigmented resin, which may contain an antifoulant, and the activator are mixed and cured to form a coating on the hull while the sponge material will dissolve away when exposed over its surface to seawater. The preferred means and method for applying the coating is to mount the tape system on the dock blocks in a dry dock before the dry dock is flooded to admit the ship and is activated by the settling of the ship onto the blocks as the water is withdrawn from the dry dock. The coating may be applied by hand to small areas of damaged coating of the ship hull.

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First Claim