Bottom paint...every year?

[Keith K.]

I bought a C22 last year and trailered it to the lake and home, so it didn't spend a lot of time in the water.This year I have a slip on the lake (freshwater). The bottom paint appears to be in good condition (no flaking or cracks that I have found). Do I need to put a fresh coat on the hull or wait until the existing paint shows its age and then give her a bottom job?Keith K.S/V Vesta

 

[Bob Camarena]

Depends

It depends on what type of paint you have. Some types lose their effectiveness out of the water, others do not. Provided that your's is the type that doesn't, you shouldn't need to paint every year, particularly if you're not in the water all year. Put it in the water and see how it goes. In freshwater, you'll mainly get slime which brushes off easily anyway.My C-30 is in freshwater the year round and I've found that every 3rd year seems to be OK. Every other year is definitely OK. If I were a racer, it would be a different story.

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com]

Don't worry about it

Like Bob said, even if it lost some effectiveness, the worst that will happen is slime build up. If that starts happening you can always pull her out & give her a quick paint job. I'm in freshwater & every 3 years is typical here (I was at year 4 & it was definitely time). When you do repaint, consider Trinidad SR (Slime Resistant). I know several folks who've used it & have perfectly clean bottoms at the end of 2 years. That's what I used and have my fingers crossed!LaDonna