Ablative or Modified Epoxy?

[Joe Mullee]

My H34 has been in the water for two seasons since its' last bottom job. I've had it cleaned twice each season and the diver reported everything to be OK. I'm hauling it in March to re-paint again. The last time was my first time and I don't remember what I used. I think it was a modified epoxy. I'm in the top half of the Chesapeake just south of Annapolis. Reading West Marine it appears the ablatives are for trailerables and boats that come out of the water more often than once every two seasons like mine. I'd like to know what other Chesapeake sailors are using and why. Thanks.

 

[Rex Noel]

Ablative works for us

Joe, we have used ablative for a number of years now, first on our 35.5, now on the 43. We were in Swan Creek for several years, then in Frog Mortar Creek (Middle River). We had NO growth problems throughout that period in either place.We have barrier coat on both boats, followed by several coats of Micron CSC. I have yet to try the slime agents, but will with a repaint this year.If you stay with epoxy (as I did for some years on the 35.5), you will eventually have to remove the build up. Either scrape, sand, blast or paint remover. I did this once... never want to see it again.With ablative, when you repaint every couple years, you will only need to sand the few areas which are rough or flaking. This is very minor.Put on a red coat first, followed by two blue coats (or whatever your preference). That way you know when the paint wears down and is ready to repaint.The West Marine advisor info is a little misleading. These pains are definitely intended for our boats. I'm going to try the West Marine version this year.

 

[Tom Long]

Here's our take on it...

For the past several years we have used the cheapest Boat US brand bottom paint we could buy. It was called Copper Coat modified epoxy, but in the new catalog it has a new name (and higher price). Even so, we have had virtually no problems or significant buildup of barnacles or other growth on the bottom. No reason in my mind to spend a lot of money if the cheapest way works well. ;D

 

[Warren M.]

Bottom paints

I'm located about 10 mi south of you in Deale so we probably have the same kinds of water conditions. Both modified epoxies and ablatives work pretty well, in my experience. The epoxies are harder and you'll have a buildup of the left over matrix. This can be a chore to remove, and remove you must. I switched over to annual ablatives (i.e., Interlux ACT) a few years ago and they are great. Never have any hard growth, but I do get some slime around the water line. I haven't tried the much more expensive versions with the "anti-slime" additives so I don't know how they work. I do know that I only have minimal prep/sanding each spring prior to putting on another coat. I found that by following the directions on the can, that is, put two or three coats on, resulted in my sanding off two coats each spring as the annual paint can't be out of the water more than 60 days or it loses its effectiveness. Now, I put on one coat and it lasts all season, and I have paint left over for next year.I'm not so sure about buying the cheapest brand or the stuff BoatUS has made for them. A few years ago, I tried the BoatUS multi-year ablative. It was made for BoatUS by Petit, who make some pretty good paints. But whatever formulation they used for BoatUS, it was only year in over 30 years of boating that I had paint failure (i.e., hard growth). I now note that the BoatUS ablatives are made for them by Interlux. I'd be interested in hearing from others who have tried it. For the time being, I'm sticking with Interlux.