Bottom Painting Time Before Launch - Boatyard Practice versus the Paint Can Label

[Roger Janeway]

I just had my bottom painted at a Southern California boatyard with Z-Spar “The Protector” hard type antifouling paint (B-90 Red). As far as I can tell, the second coat for most of the hull had 24 hours to dry before immersion. (The label on the paint can says: “The minimum dry time between the final coat and launching is 24 hours.”)

The four or five squares on the hull where the braces or supports were received their second coat in the Travelift sling, and the boat was deposited into the water about 10-15 minutes later.

Is this normal practice, and should I not worry about the label and its 24-hour rule?

(Although I’ve sailed a lot, I’ve never owned a boat before, so there’s a lot I don’t know.)

 

[jssailem]

You’ll likely be ok.
You might contact the painter and identify your concerns. Perhaps agree on a solution if something happens to the patch painted areas.

 

[SG]

I'd call Z-Spar.

I've had this discussion over decades with various painters. Usually, the isn't the "pads" for the supports -- those are moved more easily if you make it a "requirement". The issue is the if you want the bottom of the keel (and/or the centerboard) painted, then you have to buy travel lift time overnight. That costs more, but not as much as renting it for 24 hours. If you essentially have it lifted, put back down, and blocked twice, the paint isn't hard anyway on the bottom of the keel.

I'm going to spring for the overnight hang again next Spring.

There are a larger number of people that don't focus on this (or fixate, they might say). If you have the bottom wiped frequently by a diver, it may not make that much difference.

 

[Roger Janeway]

Thanks, SG, I hadn’t even thought about the bottom of the keel, which only received one coat, and then was promptly put in the water!

I will have regular monthly cleanings after the 90-day cure period; it seems to be the thing to do here in Los Angeles.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

You always need to observe dry time and how long out of the water the effectiveness of the anti fouling properties will last off the can or you can call the manufacturer of the paint.
There are still those in the industry before EPA required paint manufacturers to remove an ingredient that allowed anti fouling paint to dry fast and hard tend to forget was removed

 

[Davidasailor26]

In the marinas I've been in it's pretty common to do the pad areas just before launch as you describe. I've never seen any adverse effects. In fact sometimes it seems like those are the cleanest areas when the boat comes out. Be glad you're not in an area with cold temperatures; most yards are known for painting below the minimum temps listed on the can.

 

[Joe]

Don't worry about it. I'd start the dive service at 60 days with carpet only. Meet him at the boat every few months with an underwater camera and ask him to shoot the bottom of the keel and other areas that concern you. Wear will show first on the leading edge of the keel and rudder.... that's why they put extra coats on those areas. A good bottom paint job and competent dive service should give you at least 3-6 years between haul outs.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

I’d only be concerned if it was a water-based paint. This isn’t http://www.pettitpaint.com/media/2866/the-protector-1.pdf

 

[Ward H]

I went through the same thing. Yard only gives 20 minutes after you touch up the paint before they set you in the water. 5 seasons and I never saw an issue.

 

[Stu Jackson]

5 seasons and I never saw an issue.

I agree and I had eighteen years (boat in water 24/7) and seven haulouts with quarterly checks by a diver back in SF. Haven't haled out here yet. They use ablative here, I used Trinidad back there.

 

[Parsons]

I would not worry about the bottom of your keel because of the very low light levels down there. Fouling is either plant-based or filter feeders, both of which depend on being close enough to the surface to get sunlight and therefore nutrients. The "close enough" depends on the clarity of your water. In my silty harbor at the mouth of a river, we could almost do without bottom paint below four feet, but your mileage may vary.

Since all boats have the same problem you described - painting pads at the last minute - why not ask your local diver what they experience?

 

[Head Sail]

I would not be concerned. If there was paint on those areas before the pads were placed, there should still be paint when pads were removed. Usually I have the yard reposition the jack stands to paint those area but apparently the yard was caught short on time. Possibly the yard would charge to reposition and the painters were trying to save the expense. I've been hauling out in November for the last three years. Up here in the PNW, 5 months in the water with no dive service and no zinc replacement. Bottom was surprisingly clean. I'll just spot paint and replace zinc in the spring.
Oh and BTW, red bottom paint attracts whales.

 

[DrJudyB]

Don't worry about it. I'd start the dive service at 60 days with carpet only. Meet him at the boat every few months with an underwater camera and ask him to shoot the bottom of the keel and other areas that concern you. Wear will show first on the leading edge of the keel and rudder.... that's why they put extra coats on those areas. A good bottom paint job and competent dive service should give you at least 3-6 years between haul outs.

On San Francisco Bay, the best AF paints for SF Bay are the ones recommended by local divers. They are good for about 2-2.5 year if the boat is in the water year round.

 

[fstbttms]

Let me dispel some of the fallacies posted in this thread:

1.- Anti fouling paints "cure" as the solvents in them flash off into the atmosphere. When this occurs, the viscous liquid paint dries into a hard coating. Since this process requires exposure to air to occur, anti fouling paints do not cure underwater. This is exactly why the manufacturer lists minimum dry times on the product label. When you paint your jackstand pad spots and then immediately splash the boat, the paint in those spots will remain soft and unstable and be quickly scrubbed off. Any hull cleaner will tell you that those areas are frequently the worst fouled spots on the entire hull.

2.- For the reason stated above, there is no period of time after splashing that the paint needs to set up or cure. The reason we typically do not clean a freshly painted hull for 60 or 90 days is because there simply is no need to. Anti fouling paint biocide leach rates spike for about 90 days when new. The paint is performing at its maximum during this time and little or no fouling is occurring. It has nothing to do with the paint being too soft or anything else. Once the paint is in the water, it is as cured as it is ever going to be.

3.- Anybody claiming that there is nothing growing on the bottom of your keel because of the "very low light levels down there" has either never cleaned a boat bottom before or knows very little about marine biology. Probably both.

4.- Not "all boats have this problem." Simply not a factual statement.

The one good piece of advice posted here (several times, in fact), is to ask your hull cleaner what they recommend. If he or she is experienced and knowledgeable, they will be able to give you specific products suitable for your needs and tell you why they are suitable for your needs.

 

[Davidasailor26]

When you paint your jackstand pad spots and then immediately splash the boat, the paint in those spots will remain soft and unstable and be quickly scrubbed off. Any hull cleaner will tell you that those areas are frequently the worst fouled spots on the entire hull.

While I don't doubt your experience, and I'm sure the manufacurers list a minimum drying time for a reason, that just doesn't match my observations. We have always had those spots painted just before launching, and many other boats in the yards I've been in are the same. Every time our boat comes out those spots look the same or better than the rest of the hull. I've never walked around a yard in the winter and seen a boat with bare or otherwise strange looking spots. Granted this is all in the Northeast where boats are hauled pretty much every year and fouling is not extreme, but I've never seen anything to make me think there was significant harm done.

 

[fstbttms]

We have always had those spots painted just before launching, and many other boats in the yards I've been in are the same. Every time our boat comes out those spots look the same or better than the rest of the hull. I've never walked around a yard in the winter and seen a boat with bare or otherwise strange looking spots. Granted this is all in the Northeast where boats are hauled pretty much every year and fouling is not extreme, but I've never seen anything to make me think there was significant harm done.

The fact is; paint doesn't dry underwater. So when you splash a boat with uncured paint, that paint is not going to perform properly. Nobody said anything about "significant harm".

 

[DrJudyB]

While I don't doubt your experience, and I'm sure the manufacurers list a minimum drying time for a reason, that just doesn't match my observations. We have always had those spots painted just before launching, and many other boats in the yards I've been in are the same. Every time our boat comes out those spots look the same or better than the rest of the hull. I've never walked around a yard in the winter and seen a boat with bare or otherwise strange looking spots. Granted this is all in the Northeast where boats are hauled pretty much every year and fouling is not extreme, but I've never seen anything to make me think there was significant harm done.

@davidsailor26
How many times does you boat get cleaned between haulouts? Do you repaint every year before launching in the spring? If there’s few cleanings each season, it just might be that the single layer of soft paint lasts long enough to explain your observations.

JudyB

 

[Davidasailor26]

The fact is; paint doesn't dry underwater. So when you splash a boat with uncured paint, that paint is not going to perform properly. Nobody said anything about "significant harm".

Fair enough. I was just looking at it from the standpoint of whether the effectiveness of the OP's paint will be compromised to the point that it's worth worrying about. From what I've seen in conditions around here the answer to that is no. Certainly different conditions in other areas could change that too.

 

[Davidasailor26]

@davidsailor26
How many times does you boat get cleaned between haulouts? Do you repaint every year before launching in the spring? If there’s few cleanings each season, it just might be that the single layer of soft paint lasts long enough to explain your observations.

JudyB

I'm sure. Boats around here are in the water for 7 months tops before getting hauled and usually repainted over the winter. Most boats will get a couple scrubbings or less a year. Maybe my observations wouldn't apply to the OP in Marina del Rey for those reasons.

 

[Tally Ho]

I use VC17 from Interlux (I am in fresh water on Lake Michigan).

This stuff dries REALLY fast. Have to pour very little bits from a sealed container and roll that on...then pour a little more. At 73F, the stuff dries to touch in 3 minutes, can be overcoated in 10 minutes and splashed in 15 minutes.

I usually have some ready to go when the yard guys put me in the sling in the spring and slap a little paint on the stand pad areas and under the bottom of the keel. By the time they get her wet, the VC17 is dry.

In my home waters, I only need to apply every other year. I do touch up the rudder and any other areas that need it on the “off year”.

I sure am thankful for being on fresh water ;-) Now only if it would not get hard as a rock in January. I am voting for global warming!

Greg