Bottom paint quandry

[jac50]

Hi All,

Last year we bought our C250 WB with an old coat of ablative paint still on it. Now that we own it, it lives on the trailer, except for maybe 2-3 weeks at a time in the salt water, and the rest of the time (long weekends) in fresh. Locations can be anywhere from Gulf Coast to San Juan Islands.

I don't want to mess with paint if I don't have to, so the question is do we slap on a new coat of ablative, strip it down the the gel and forget the paint, or strip and repaint with a hard coating?

Ablative doesn't make sense on a trailer, but I know some hard coatings can't live out of the water. What do you think?

Thanks!

 

[centerline]

tough decision....

saltwater creatures grow fast on anything they can get ahold of... a clean unprotected boat bottom is the absolute best, because its a hard surface and there is a lot of water movement around the hull for them to feed freely....

we spent 13 days in the san juan islands, washington state, and when we got home we had barnacles growing already....

I think using a good protective paint is necessary if you are going to be in saltwater over a couple days at a time.... but I cant recommend what kind you should use, but my smaller boat had ablative paint on it, and I kept it on a trailer...

 

[watercolors II]

Smooth bottom

Remove all the old paint and sand gelcoat to a very very smooth finish, the very best performance enhancer on a sailboat is a very smooth bottom. I would wax and at least try one long trip in salt water to see what happens before spending the extra time and money.

If you do decide to paint, VC-17. Apply directly to gelcoat, when reapplying in a couple years, no sanding just scrub with soap and water and paint. Very hard and very smooth paint for performance and sliding on a trailer.

 

[Bill1565]

Hi All, Last year we bought our C250 WB with an old coat of ablative paint still on it. Now that we own it, it lives on the trailer, except for maybe 2-3 weeks at a time in the salt water, and the rest of the time (long weekends) in fresh. Locations can be anywhere from Gulf Coast to San Juan Islands. I don't want to mess with paint if I don't have to, so the question is do we slap on a new coat of ablative, strip it down the the gel and forget the paint, or strip and repaint with a hard coating? Ablative doesn't make sense on a trailer, but I know some hard coatings can't live out of the water. What do you think? Thanks!

No experience in Washington, but here in Florida, barnacles will begin to attach in 4 to 5 days on a smooth waxed surface. Like our RIB.

 

[eastbayview]

What about a boat that is moored in fresh water for 3-4 months? Should it have a protective coating on it as well or would a smooth surface work?

 

[watercolors II]

Try it first.

As I previously stated, you’ll not know till you try it. I keep my boat moored in fresh water for 6 months per season and most of the boats at my marina have bottom paint, but a few don’t.

In fresh water you’ll not have heavy growth like saltwater barnacles. Bottom painting is a lot of work with a boat on a trailer, the cost of the paint is the easy part.