Bottom Job: How much paint?

[blueribbon]

Hi,

I'm a new owner of an older Catalina '27 that's well overdue for a bottom job. I was wondering if anyone out there could recommend what type of paint I should use and how much of it I should expect to use?

I keep the boat and sail it regularly in San Francisco Bay. Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Only ask locals as the type of bottom paint is very much a function of local conditions. What works here in Florida might be useless in Sf. The only thing I can add about amount is that my old 27 ft Ericson required just less than 1 gallon and it had a semi-full keel

 

[Time Out]

One gallon is more than enough to do a Catalina 27. As far as what type of paint, as Don said, that depends on your area.
-Eric

 

[caguy]

Make sure your barrier coat is still in good shape.

 

[Jon_E]

In Los Angeles the yards recommend two coats, three at the waterline. I imagine it is the same in San Francisco.

Don't forget to budget time and money for blisters and the Catalina smile. Fixing those are part of every haul out for bottom painting.

 

[Stu Jackson]

SF Bay we use Trinidad SR, works great for 13 years and for 12 before that on our old C25. As suggested, ask your fellow boaters in your marina. We're in Alameda.

 

[blueribbon]

Thanks for all the replies! Just a couple of quick followups:

1. What should we look for to determine if our barrier coat is still good, or if we need another? If we need a new barrier coat, does anyone have a recommendation for what to use?

2. Obviously the amount of work will depend on the condition of our bottom, but how much time would you suggest I budget to smooth out blisters and patch up the Catalina smile? I'm guessing that our boat hasn't been painted in 5-7 years.

Thanks again!

 

[caguy]

If you see white gel coat you may need to touch up barrier coat.
Including masking about 2 hours or less with a roller and extension.

 

[emgersh]

Spend a little to have your bottom cleaned and inspected beforehand. Then you'll have more information about the condition of paint, keel, zincs, through hulls etc. you can get a much better bid and plan for the costs.

 

[jrowan]

I would second Stu on recommending Pettit Trinidad. We use it here in the Chasapeake too. But I though California was going to make the old copper paints illegal soon, if not already? Trinidad isn't exactly the most enviro friendly at nearly 70% copper content. It's also not cheap, at nearly $300 per gallon. Although it really works, & if U don't have to haul out & do a new bottom job but once every 3 + years, then I would say that its at least a wash, environmentally speaking.

 

[Bob Luhrs]

I have used Trinadad SR-- worked good for three years on a Com_Pac 23. 1 gallon gave me 2 1/2 coats.
Just purchased an O'day 272, bought BLUE WATER SRX 67% COPPER AND SR.
Two gallon gave me 4 coats.
$160 /gal at Amazon
Looks good. Will have see how long it lasts.

 

[Jon_E]

how much time would you suggest I budget to smooth out blisters and patch up the Catalina smile?

As you know, that depends on the number of blisters and size. That goes for the smiling keel too. However, I can tell you what I experienced during my last haul out. Mine is an outboard model, so no zincs, propeller, or shaft to deal with.

• Power wash
• Two blisters found and fixed
• Smile not so bad, but still required fairing, epoxy, paint, etc.
• Two coats, three at the waterline
• Keel bolts sistered (four new bolts, my request. Prophylactic measure.)

If I recall correctly everything was completed in five days. The yard wasn't busy, though. They did it while I was at the office.

 

[Dave Groshong]

$160/ga at Amazon! Really?

 

[Chris Nowell]

West Marine has an excellent video to help you choose a bottom paint to suit your environment AND your personality. I think you'll find it on their site under "helpful hints"' It's worth watching a couple times and taking notes. Then just purchase the paint from Amazon.