Painting bottom

Oct 28, 2018
45
Hunter 31 Duncan Bay
This is my first time painting the bottom of a boat this size. Hunter 31. I assume I should back off each of the cradle pad to paint under them. I am not sure the best way to work this.
Do I need to rig temporary support for each one, or is it safe to pull one at a time? The aft support goes across the full width so I guess I should prop that up somehow. It looks like these spots were left unpainted in the past. We will be stripping it and repainting as soon as it gets warm again.
Any advice would be helpful.
 

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Jan 5, 2017
2,263
Beneteau First 38 Lyall Harbour Saturna Island
Looks a little chilly to be painting. I usually have a couple of extra jack stands to move around. If you're doing it a yard they may want to move the pads themselves.
 
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Apr 7, 2016
184
Beneteau First 305 Seward, Alaska
I’m no expert for sure, but I thought you are supposed to have 4 stands for square stability, then a bow stand with an optional stern stand. If you had one spare, place it next to the one you are removing. Then remove the old one. Rinse and repeat with each stand.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
As suggested above.
Or
Paint everything as is, then, when paint is set, ask the yard to shift the boat forward or back the length of the pads.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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Jan 22, 2008
1,654
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
Our yard will do one move of the pads for free. However we've never done that. Instead we ask to be put in the travelift at noon before they break for lunch. We paint the spots and about 10 minutes before lunch is over we hit them again with a second coat. The boat gets splashed and we've never seen any difference in growth in those spots after 34 years. They look the same at the next haulout as the rest of the hull. That's with the solvent based paint ( Z-spar B91). Dunno about water based paint.
 
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Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
I agree with Allen, Paint before splash. If it is ablative paint most will be dry to the touch in about ten minutes. I have touched up the pad areas ten minutes before the boat was splashed and the pad areas have always cured under water. The ablative type paint never totally dry as they melt off slowly like a bar of soap. I have painted the pad areas like this for the past ten or fifteen years with no issues.

I would check with your yard before you start moving pads. If you do move any pads I would place another one adjacent to the one you are trying to move.
 
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Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
Um... does not look like those pads can be shifted anyway. They are all on the cradle. The boat has to be lifted and moved.
 
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Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
If you mean you want to lower the jacks, you simply do not have enough support remaining without placing some additional stands. I would do your work. Then ask the yard to shift the boat.
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
That cradle looks like it has six stands. Two midship will probably be ok to back off for painting.
I'm with 907Juice, you need a bow stand and a stern stand, if you can get two free standing stands. Then, back off whichever one you want, but only one at a time. Paint the bottom. Put in a bow stand, back off the left forward stand and paint. When it dries, replace it. Waxed paper sounds like a good idea. Move on to the eight forward stand and repeat. Do the two middle stands together. Reposition the middle stands and move the bow stand to the stern before working the after stands one at a time. You should have the bow stand anyway.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Oct 28, 2018
45
Hunter 31 Duncan Bay
It is a cradle, not separate stands. I will talk to the yard manager when they reopen in the spring.
I have plenty of time to plan, since I can't get to the boat now anyway (snow).
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
The yards around here usually paint the pad areas when the boat is in the sling. But that's just for bottom paint. If you're doing a bottom job you need to move stands. Cradles should have poppets for this reason. One thing you shouldn't do is to raise the boat using stands. A lot of yards have a hydraulic trailer which can easily move the boat on the cradle.
 

RoyS

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Jun 3, 2012
1,739
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
Why do some Marinas always place the stands exactly in the same bare spot year after year? How much training would be required to get them to move the stands one foot over?
 
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Jun 3, 2004
890
Hunter 34 Toronto, Ontario Canada
I would use a movable stand. I only had 4 pads as yours when I had my San Juan 24, and I could drop one at a time and leave down for ~10 min as long as the boat was level and the cradle as level. I have 6 pads on my H34 and I can drop one at a time. I drop and paint under, then paint for 10 or so min, put pad back up and drop another.
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,399
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Get the yard to do it if you lack experience.
The spare stand MUST be chained to the cradle so that it cannot slide back. There is a slot in the stand for the chain.

More to the point, you do NOT really need to do this. The yard doesn't when they paint boats. They just slap some paint on the spot while it is in the slings. So long as it is oil-based paint, it will finish curing in the water. Standard practice.

I also can tell if it needs stripped.. Unless there are large loose sections, spot scraping and a good sanding should do.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Why do some Marinas always place the stands exactly in the same bare spot year after year?
Could it be that they are using the best balance points and the bulk heads on your boat to position the stands? I imagine if they placed the pad between the bulkheads that the hull skin might be at risk of puncture should something slip.
 
Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
Will, I think he said the rear pads are linked by a bar across the stern. I think there is not enough support because they would have to either move together or cannot move at all without additional stern support. I do not recall seeing a solid crossbar like that, but oh well. We inherit all sorts of interesting arrangements!
 
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RoyS

.
Jun 3, 2012
1,739
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
Jssailem, in my case the yards have no idea where the bulkheads are. The boat is usually locked when they pull it. That may be why they put the stands back in the same place, however. Another issue that annoys me is that they sometimes way over-tighten the stands which are only needed to balance the boat that rests on the keel. Maybe I am just cranky.
 
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