My trailerable boat needs a fresh coat of paint for her bottom, as the original (black - yuck)is so oxidized, it has turned to soot, and a lot washed off at the car wash this weekend. We used 3M Hull Cleaner. Since putting the mast up and down is a pain, we'd like to dry dock her on the trailer close to the launch site, and in the water on a mooring during the warm months. We will have to do the work ourselves, so we need a paint that's fairly easy to work with, and a decent drying time. I want her to be pretty when we're done. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks MB
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Kenneth Pfaff
If you always keep on a trailer - no paint
If you are always going to keep the boat on the trailer and launch it every time for a day sail then you really do not need to paint her. The paint is just to keep growth off and that will only happen if you store your boat in the water.
If you are always going to keep the boat on the trailer and launch it every time for a day sail then you really do not need to paint her. The paint is just to keep growth off and that will only happen if you store your boat in the water.
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LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com
No paint
Kenneth is right. If you're not going to leave her in the water for any extended length of time, you don't need bottom paint at all. And if you're thinking of painting it white so she'll be "pretty", don't bother. Launching her from that trailer with beat up any paint within a week & she'll look worse than before! To completely remove the old paint, I'd recommend taking it to a boat yard that can dispose of the old stuff properly (remember, bottom paint is HIGHLY toxic). You could use a stripper (Jasco, for example) and it would come off fairly easy. You could also scrub the heck out of it but that's time & elbow-grease consuming. Why bother? If you do intend on removing it, you should definitely check your states environmental laws concerning the removal of it. Washington state doesn't even allow you to scrub the bottom of your boat outside of a real boat yard. All that said, if you just want to paint over the old, you're going to have to make sure what kind of paint it is cuz not all bottom paints are compatible. Painting one over an incompatible kind can cause the new coat to just flake off. LaDonna
Kenneth is right. If you're not going to leave her in the water for any extended length of time, you don't need bottom paint at all. And if you're thinking of painting it white so she'll be "pretty", don't bother. Launching her from that trailer with beat up any paint within a week & she'll look worse than before! To completely remove the old paint, I'd recommend taking it to a boat yard that can dispose of the old stuff properly (remember, bottom paint is HIGHLY toxic). You could use a stripper (Jasco, for example) and it would come off fairly easy. You could also scrub the heck out of it but that's time & elbow-grease consuming. Why bother? If you do intend on removing it, you should definitely check your states environmental laws concerning the removal of it. Washington state doesn't even allow you to scrub the bottom of your boat outside of a real boat yard. All that said, if you just want to paint over the old, you're going to have to make sure what kind of paint it is cuz not all bottom paints are compatible. Painting one over an incompatible kind can cause the new coat to just flake off. LaDonna
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[author]Thomas Ling
Bottom paint
I bought a retractable keel sailboat on a trailer. It had abalative bottom paint and was messy to be in contact with the paint. So to removed the bottom paint ( easy method). Get a bucket of bottom paint stripper ( West Marine) and then cover the bottom with plastic sheet for a couple of hours. Then bottom paint came off easily. Then lightly sand off the remaining bottom stain with a wet 220 grit. I can leave the boat in the water for a couple of weeks and use diluted oxalic acid (drug store) to wash off the stain. Good luck!
I bought a retractable keel sailboat on a trailer. It had abalative bottom paint and was messy to be in contact with the paint. So to removed the bottom paint ( easy method). Get a bucket of bottom paint stripper ( West Marine) and then cover the bottom with plastic sheet for a couple of hours. Then bottom paint came off easily. Then lightly sand off the remaining bottom stain with a wet 220 grit. I can leave the boat in the water for a couple of weeks and use diluted oxalic acid (drug store) to wash off the stain. Good luck!
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Mark
We don't
We leave our 260 in the water for up to a week at a time in a harbour that seems to have a high level of nuitrients. A week though is about the limit. Any time after that we start to get a build up of green/black spot. This does take a bit to rub off.
We leave our 260 in the water for up to a week at a time in a harbour that seems to have a high level of nuitrients. A week though is about the limit. Any time after that we start to get a build up of green/black spot. This does take a bit to rub off.
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Mama Bruff
I am a total sail newbie, so bear with me...
I thought the paint would help to seal the bottom to protect the fiberglass/gelcoat from water penetration, and prevent "the pox". My boat is a 1984 model. My husband and I have had trailerable fiberglass powerboats for years, so bottom paint was never a consideration. I really want to keep the boat in the water during the summer months, so I need to protect her in some fashion. Her trailer is a "Piece of S..." (18ft bass boat trailer refitted for a 22 ft sailboat) Yikes!
I thought the paint would help to seal the bottom to protect the fiberglass/gelcoat from water penetration, and prevent "the pox". My boat is a 1984 model. My husband and I have had trailerable fiberglass powerboats for years, so bottom paint was never a consideration. I really want to keep the boat in the water during the summer months, so I need to protect her in some fashion. Her trailer is a "Piece of S..." (18ft bass boat trailer refitted for a 22 ft sailboat) Yikes!
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Tom
Try VC17m
Your location is listed as Springfield, MO, so assume that you are in fresh water. You may be just fine without an anti fouling paint, it is best to ask for advice from local sources. Conditions can vary depending on location, even on the same lake. I used to keep a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee (NH) and didn't use bottom paint at my location that had fairly deep, cool water. The slime would come off pretty easily with a power washer at the end of the season, and mid season I would spend a few hours snokling with a scrub brush to take off the slime. Other parts of the lake were shallow, warm and weedy and boats moored there required paint to keep the weeds at bay. A popular one for fresh water is Interlux VC17m. Anti fouling paints will not seal the bottom to prevent blistering. If this is required, Interlux also makes a barrier paint called VC-Tar2 that is compatible with the VC17m. Getting a boat up off the trailer, preping the bottom (very important) and painting are jobs I leave to the boat yard professionals. They have the equipment and experience to do a good job, safely and without environmental impact. These paints are hazardous and you want to handle them carefully to avoid breathing fumes and getting it on your skin. Even the dust from old paint while doing bottom prep is hazardous. My boat is now in Boston Harbor and I use Woolsey Hydrocoat. It is a water based, multi season ablative, and I get 2 seasons between paint jobs. I have the boat yard prep the bottom and apply 2 coats. In between years I touch up the nicks as best I can on the trailer. Fair winds... Tom
Your location is listed as Springfield, MO, so assume that you are in fresh water. You may be just fine without an anti fouling paint, it is best to ask for advice from local sources. Conditions can vary depending on location, even on the same lake. I used to keep a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee (NH) and didn't use bottom paint at my location that had fairly deep, cool water. The slime would come off pretty easily with a power washer at the end of the season, and mid season I would spend a few hours snokling with a scrub brush to take off the slime. Other parts of the lake were shallow, warm and weedy and boats moored there required paint to keep the weeds at bay. A popular one for fresh water is Interlux VC17m. Anti fouling paints will not seal the bottom to prevent blistering. If this is required, Interlux also makes a barrier paint called VC-Tar2 that is compatible with the VC17m. Getting a boat up off the trailer, preping the bottom (very important) and painting are jobs I leave to the boat yard professionals. They have the equipment and experience to do a good job, safely and without environmental impact. These paints are hazardous and you want to handle them carefully to avoid breathing fumes and getting it on your skin. Even the dust from old paint while doing bottom prep is hazardous. My boat is now in Boston Harbor and I use Woolsey Hydrocoat. It is a water based, multi season ablative, and I get 2 seasons between paint jobs. I have the boat yard prep the bottom and apply 2 coats. In between years I touch up the nicks as best I can on the trailer. Fair winds... Tom
VC17 in fresh water
This subject has been discussed at great length in the Smaller Boats forum. Search the Forum Archives using "bottom paint" or "VC17" and all kinds of posts should pop up. I use VC17 and kept my boat in warm fresh water for five years. It was OK but doesn't resist blistering, slime or algae. I've heard that a new formulation of VC17 with improved slime and algae resistance is in the works. VC17 is thin. If the boat has been in the water for a few weeks, the paint may blister and peel a little when you pull the boat out. This is a cosmetic problem and is not to be confused with blistering beneath the gelcoat (boat pox). Touch ups with VC17 are fast because the paint dries in about ten minutes. It dries so fast that you should not use a tray when applying with a roller. Instead, funnel the paint into a large plastic ketchup bottle and squeeze what you need onto the roller. You can go as fast or as slow as you want and the paint in the bottle won't dry as long as you cap it when not in use. You also don't have to clean the roller when you're finished painting. Just let it dry and store it. Next time you paint, squeeze some fresh paint onto the hard dry roller and wait a couple of minutes. The new paint will soften the old dried paint and you can start painting. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
This subject has been discussed at great length in the Smaller Boats forum. Search the Forum Archives using "bottom paint" or "VC17" and all kinds of posts should pop up. I use VC17 and kept my boat in warm fresh water for five years. It was OK but doesn't resist blistering, slime or algae. I've heard that a new formulation of VC17 with improved slime and algae resistance is in the works. VC17 is thin. If the boat has been in the water for a few weeks, the paint may blister and peel a little when you pull the boat out. This is a cosmetic problem and is not to be confused with blistering beneath the gelcoat (boat pox). Touch ups with VC17 are fast because the paint dries in about ten minutes. It dries so fast that you should not use a tray when applying with a roller. Instead, funnel the paint into a large plastic ketchup bottle and squeeze what you need onto the roller. You can go as fast or as slow as you want and the paint in the bottle won't dry as long as you cap it when not in use. You also don't have to clean the roller when you're finished painting. Just let it dry and store it. Next time you paint, squeeze some fresh paint onto the hard dry roller and wait a couple of minutes. The new paint will soften the old dried paint and you can start painting. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
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Paul Reason
Bottom Paint for Trailerables
If you are talking about salt water there is only one choice. Ablative paint technology allows the bottom to launch and recover, then fully dry and relaunch with no loss of effectivnes. It also very slowly disolves in the water constantly exposing a new layer of biocide to the elements. If you are using the boat in fresh water then the options are larger, I like the hard coat slime resistent super slick bottoms that slime just can't stick to. I tried to add a picture to this post and it didn't work. See the next post for the picture. Paul
If you are talking about salt water there is only one choice. Ablative paint technology allows the bottom to launch and recover, then fully dry and relaunch with no loss of effectivnes. It also very slowly disolves in the water constantly exposing a new layer of biocide to the elements. If you are using the boat in fresh water then the options are larger, I like the hard coat slime resistent super slick bottoms that slime just can't stick to. I tried to add a picture to this post and it didn't work. See the next post for the picture. Paul
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Paul Reason
Best Bottom Paints
If you use the boat in salt water the only choice in my opinion is the new ablative paints. They are the only ones that can launch, recover, dry out, and relaunch while maintaining the effectivenes of the biocide. I will be using the West Marine Brand with the highest copper content on my 30' Voyager when she gets ready to come off the trailer and go back in the water.
If you use the boat in salt water the only choice in my opinion is the new ablative paints. They are the only ones that can launch, recover, dry out, and relaunch while maintaining the effectivenes of the biocide. I will be using the West Marine Brand with the highest copper content on my 30' Voyager when she gets ready to come off the trailer and go back in the water.
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