Pettit Ultima SR 60 Questions.....

[Sumner]

First thanks for the help on the Zipper/Enclosure Window question. I'm going to get some 303.

We are putting a barrier coat and bottom paint on the Endeavour after having the bottom taken down to the gel coat and some blisters repaired. We will use the boat almost like a trailered boat. The majority of the year it will be on stands in the yard. We will probably use her once a year for 3 months to maybe 6 months max in the water during that time and the rest of the year she will be hauled.

Before taking the Mac to Florida I put Sea Hawk's Tuff Stuff barrier coat on her along with 2 coats of black Sea Hawk's Cukote Biocide Plus Self-Polishing bottom paint with one coat of blue over the black as a wear indicator....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-39.html

The boat was in the water in the Charlotte Harbor area for almost a month last Nov./Dec.. When we pulled her out there was no bottom growth on the boat. This past spring the boat was in the water for almost 2 months from Charlotte Harbor down to the Keys and back up to South Dade Marina. During that time we had to clean barnacles and growth...

...from the inflatable, that is in the water always, 3 times total. When we pulled the Mac out there were some very small barnacles, 1/8th inch or less that were starting in some places on the bottom. After towing home to Utah it took me about 30 minutes to clean them off with a Teflon spatula. In the water we had a small amount of slime at the water-line, but it wiped off quickly using the inflatable to go around the boat. Only had to do that twice.

Now this is our first experience with bottom paint and bottom growth. Was that a good or bad performance for the paint under those conditions?

I see others recommending Pettit's Ultima SR-60, also an ablative that can be hauled out and that also has an anti-slime. It is in the same price range as the Sea Hawk bottom paint we used. After 2 months in Florida water during the spring would I expect to see about the same small growth as we had or more or less?

I want to stay with the Sea Hawk's barrier paint, and liked how the Cukote performed, but if the SR-60 performs better then I'd try it. I know some of you have your boats in the water down there for 5-8 months a year and hauled the rest of the time what are you using?

Thanks as usual,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

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[Steve Walsh]

Petit Trinidad SR, 5 years between last two bottom jobs:11/2006 & 11/2001, bottom is cleaned by diver every other month. Just hauled this morning for a bottom job and bottom looked great, no blisters, but it was failing this summer and the diver said it was time. Boat has not been out of water since 11/2006, prior to that 11/2001. Now the part that makes almost no sense, considering the great service the Petit has provided: I am trying the Sea Hawk Tropic Kote Biocide Plus this time. It has slightly more cuperous oxide that the Petit, has very good reviews and a different marina gave me a great deal on the bottom job to try it. They have a great reputation for standing behind their work and they said Sea Hawk does, too. I do sail my boat nearly every weekend, so that does help vs being a slip queen.

 

[Joe]

No matter what you put on the bottom..... you'll have to dive on it every month or so an wipe it down with a piece of carpet. Or do like I do and hire a dive service to take care of it. I have only used modified epoxy (hardshell) type paints and I always wait a few months after a new application, to allow it to completely dry and set, before I start the maintenance cleaning. Ablative paint may not require this waiting period.

In your case, since you're hauling out for a considerable time each year, your paint choice will be different....but if it we were me I'd clean the bottom thoroughly before your final haul out..... let it sit .... and then slap on four or five thin coats of ablative just before your next launch. Very simple process. I wouldn't spend big bucks on the paint because you will be applying maintenance coats on such a regular basis, and if the boat is in the water for more than a month you'll need to dive and wipe anyway.

 

[Sumner]

No matter what you put on the bottom..... you'll have to dive on it every month or so an wipe it down with a piece of carpet........ Very simple process. I wouldn't spend big bucks on the paint because you will be applying maintenance coats on such a regular basis, and if the boat is in the water for more than a month you'll need to dive and wipe anyway.

Thanks Joe, so I guess by that the Sea Hawk that we used on the Mac was doing a good job as there were only very small barnacles starting after 2 months. Also the paint still looks good on the Mac and I don't think I need to put more on as it hasn't wore through the tattle-tell blue to the black yet.

I guess I don't understand the purpose then of the bottom paint? I thought it was suppose to stop growth, at least for a while. Does it just slow it down and make it easier to remove what growth there is?

I'd sure like to put something on that we wouldn't have to do bottom maintenance on the boat while we were out for 3-4 months. I'm closing in on 70 and don't hold my breath that long under water anymore :cry: and we will be all over the place so finding someone to dive on the boat is pretty much out of the question. It would be worth it for us to spend more for a paint considering the above. If I don't find out that the Ultima does any better than the Sea Hawk Cukote Biocide Plus I'll go with what we used on the Mac.

Steve thanks for the info on the paint you did use and what you are going to try, but those are hard paints and we can't use them as the boat will be hauled out at least half the year.

I see a lot of boats where we have the Endeavour that are hauled out, but we aren't down there now so I can't ask anyone what they use and how it works. Do any of the rest of you have your boat in for half the year or less and if so what do you use and how does it work?

Thanks guys,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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[seadaddler]

SR40

I used SR 40 in 2008 and just hauled in july and just started getting some small barnacles,I did not dive and wipe the haul just cleaned the prop and I guess I did sail her alot pretty much every week and a few days a week and most of the time the slime would come off from using the boat.
I called Petitt and they said 60 days after painting the boat should go in the water,try calling them for advice.
Nick

 

[Sumner]

I used SR 40 in 2008 and just hauled in july and just started getting some small barnacles...Nick

Thanks Nick, I was going to talk to you about the paint on the phone, but forgot. I thought I'd seen that you were using SR 60, but I guess it was SR 40.

I'll call therm. The 60 is about $30 more than the 40. I was thinking about it, but it sounds like the 40 has worked well for you,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

 

[Joe]

........I guess I don't understand the purpose then of the bottom paint? I thought it was suppose to stop growth, at least for a while. Does it just slow it down and make it easier to remove what growth there is?

I'd sure like to put something on that we wouldn't have to do bottom maintenance on the boat while we were out for 3-4 months. I'm closing in on 70 and don't hold my breath that long under water anymore :cry: ...........

It will stop if for a while.......but your second statement "slow it down and make it easier to remove...." is more truthful... That's not a bad thing though, sumner, and it's not a crime to have a little growth on your boat bottom. So... in a 3-4 month period you might be able to find a diver to clean it at least once.... then when you haul out, you'll find it's easier to get it clean while it's still in the water... once it starts drying out the stuff turns hard and way more difficult to remove. When ever I've hauled out for meaintenance I let my diver know and he cleans the bottom a day or so before.... way better than powerwashing, cheaper too.

What you might do is ask your marina manager for the name of a reliable diver to handle the cleaning when you return for final haul out..... the same thing for halfway through the trip... get a referral from a local marina... rent a slip for a couple of days and let the diver come by then....

I guess my main point is this: bottom paint inhibits growth, slows it down so to speak, but you still need to have a regular maintenance schedule to compliment the paint.

Here in So Cal... where I leave my boat in the water year round... a new application of bottom paint will go for a few months before you need to start inspecting it monthly. If you stay on it... you'll probably only need a simple wipe with a piece of carpet.... after a year or so... you may see some hard stuff and might have to get more aggressive. Only when the effort needs to be constantly aggressive do you know that the biocides are depleted and it is time to consider repainting. But there is NO paint that, by itself, will keep a boat's bottom completely free of growth for an extended period of time.

 

[seadaddler]

SR40

From 2008 when I painted my bottom with SR 40 until July 2011 I never once did anything but clean growth off my prop and some minor slime would coat the hull and just doing all the sailing we do here in Florida the hull would clean off.
I did start getting some minor growth in May and that is when I decided to haul for a new bottom job,I removed what growth I had with a plastic scraper,but the boat did stay in the water all that time.
Nick

 

[Joe]

From 2008 when I painted my bottom with SR 40 until July 2011 I never once did anything but clean growth off my prop and some minor slime would coat the hull and just doing all the sailing we do here in Florida the hull would clean off.
I did start getting some minor growth in May and that is when I decided to haul for a new bottom job,I removed what growth I had with a plastic scraper,but the boat did stay in the water all that time.
Nick

Yes, that's call regular maintenance. If the paint deters hard growth, then it is well worth the money. Wiping a bit of slime off every month or two is quite normal... to me. But like I said, there will still be some slime, no matter what.... and you need to check on a regular basis.

 

[seadaddler]

Cleaning Hull

All or most boats power and sail in my Marina due have divers clean the hull and most sailboat owners here in Punta Gorda due have divers clean their hull also,but a boat owner in my Marina who does boat work like repainting hulls and all other boat repair on decks and wood on boats once told me when I first came to Florida that every time you have a diver clean the hull he is removing some of the paint and so the bottom job does not last as long.
I do have my own tank and 40' hose that I use to keep a eye on what is going on under the boat like zincs,prop growth and any slime or growth on the hull,like I said I would see some light slime and usually after sailing it would clean up and when I saw some small tiny barnacles I new it was time for a new bottom job.
One other thing is here in Charlotte Harbor we do have a mix of fresh water and salt water but the last report was that 50% less fresh water is entering the harbor and more and more salt is entering the harbor,like this year summer heat and so much more rain that mix is changing at different times,all this may make things different for our bottom paint working and I don't know how many use a hard bottom Paint here and than that would make more sense having a diver cleaning more often.
Nick

 

[Joe]

If you are wiping slime with something soft, like a piece of carpet, then you will remove very little, if any, paint. If you choose to be more aggressive with an abrasive pad or scraper you will definintly remove paint.

 

[fstbttms]

If you are wiping slime with something soft, like a piece of carpet, then you will remove very little, if any, paint. If you choose to be more aggressive with an abrasive pad or scraper you will definintly remove paint.

This is completely dependant on the type of anti fouling paint being cleaned. A really soft ablative (Petit Vivid or Trilux for instance) will "plume" at the slightest touch. Paints like this simply cannot be cleaned without removing paint, regardless of what cleaning media is used.
That being said, as you are no doubt aware by now, hull cleaners in San Diego have been forbidden by the Port to clean paints that create a plume.