Bottom and prop paint for Chesapeake (Hampton Roads)

[mark_swart]

Hello Bay sailors,
I am moving this spring from a freshwater lake to the Hampton Roads area of the Chesapeake. I have to roll on a new coat of bottom paint when I move, right now I have Blue Water SCX 45 multi season (it's supposed to be comparable to Micron CSC). Just curious if anyone in that area has any paint they recommend. For now my plan is to go back with another coat of the Blue Water, maybe in a different color so I can watch the wear.
Also, I have a Martec folding prop on my H34. When I sailed out Annapolis a few years ago, the prop on my old boat got fouled with barnacles after about a year. But it didn't look like the shiny brass Martec, and it was also a couple hundred miles north of where I will be this time. Is there a coating for props, or will I just have to scrape it off periodically?
Thanks in advance!!
-Mark

 

[Ray T]

You might check with the yard that is going to haul your boat. They should know what works best in your area. I used to have my bottom done at Casa Rio boatyard in Mayo Md. The deal there was if you had them do the work they didn't charge you storage for that time. You paid to have it hauled and blocked but not storage. Given how slow I was it was cheaper to have the yard do it than doing it myself and that made me very happy. Anyway you might check to see if your yard offers something similar.

 

[richk]

My boat's on the Magothy, north of you. I've used Interlux Micron Extra for the last 4 years with no problems. I haul every other year. I have no recommendations regarding the prop. I dive on it and scrape at least once a year.

 

[Ron McCoy]

Get ready for having your boat sit in the salt water, because slime and barnacles are thriving in the CB. You'll have to clean (powerwash) your hull every year if you expect to move through the water. Even the "best" (whatever that means) bottom paint will foul. The key is to keep it from accummulating on the hull - so sail your boat often. I've tried both the ablative and non-ablatives -Micron CSC, Interlux and Pettit Vivid hard paints. All seem to work about the same. You'll get two good seasons from each of them and maybe a third depending how thick the original coats were. I'm a firm believer in hauling the boat each spring to check the bottom running gears, take the running gear down to bear metal and giving the prop/shaft/strut a couple of coats of metal primer, then two coats of bottom paint (whatever I'm using). The paint on the prop will disappear by late summer and you'll just have to scrap the barnacles after that. Failing to keep your prop clean will drastically cut boat speed and tends to overload your diesel (which isn't good). Nothing like salt water to keep you busy!

 

[Jim Haynie]

My boat, Serene Zelda, is in Irvington VA, 12 miles up the Rappahannock and I have found something that really works for low maintenance. A guy in Florida told me this trick and I have used it the entire 12 year I have owned my boat. I use Petit's best ablative. It used to be ACP-50, but now they call the similar product by a different name (Ultima SR-60). I mix one pound of cyan pepper powder with each gallon. Go ahead and laugh. I pull it every two years for a light (VERY LIGHT!) washing not to remove any more paint than absolutely neccessary. The paint lasts 4 years and at the end of the 4 my boat looks like neighbors who use other products without the pepper at the end of ONE SEASON! Folks at the yard always tell me I'm lying or simply forgot how long it has been. I'm convinced I could even get a 5th year out of it if I was willing to put up with a few "friends" at the waterline. Here is a link for the SR-60 -- http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare/product_pds/1103206.pdf
I also spray a gray paint on the prop at each bi-annual pullout. I get it through Custom Yacht Service of Irvington VA. It works for 2 years on a sailboat (again, if you DO NOT wash it all away) and will also last one year on a speedboat. If you want to race, these are not good idea, but if you want to sail cruising style with low maintenance, try it.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Mark...

at the other end of the Bay, more than a few of us use Micron CSC with good results. Annual haul-out, pressure wash in the fall, roll on a new coat in the spring. No evidence of barnacles up here, but the "brown mustache" is a common issue (FSR cures that each fall), and slime can be.

Down where it's salty you'll have more issues. Buy a good hose and be sure your marina supplies good water pressure at your slip!

Welcome back "to the Land of Pleasant Living"!

 

[mark_swart]

I hadn't thought about painting the prop shaft, I"ll definitely include that in my prep.

Jim -- I've heard the pepper thing before, and actually I believe Practical Sailor may have done a comparison on it once upon a time. I'll check on the ultima, probably the big quesiton is if it's compatible with what I have on now. I'm too lazy to strip it all down again.

Dan -- I'm very excited to be back on the bay! Was going to try and pull my boat out of Kentucky Lake this weekend but it looks like the yard I was going to use is all frozen over. I'm about 25 miles south of the yard, so I'm still hoping that I can get out of my marina for a little "arctic sailing!"