Bottom Painting .........................

[Ralph Johnstone]

...................... will be rearing its ugly head next spring. I like to use two coats (a bit of overkill) but when our marina charges an arm, leg, and a vital organ for a full haul-out, I find I can get four years out of two coats of Micron CSC and save a fair amount on the cost of more frequent full haul-outs.

Now I've had more than satisfactory performance from Micron CSC over many years, but at $225.00/gal. I just can't afford another mortgage on the house for bottom paint right now.

One of my neighbours at the marina has recommended West Marine CPP150 and says it's very comparable to Micron CSC in performance. The big difference is that it's about $80.00/gal cheaper :dance:. I checked at our local West Marine and a very knowledgeable fellow I know there says that West Marine CPP150 is manufactured by Petit.

I've looked at the comments about West Marine CPP150 on West's web page and again, many say it's comparable to CSC and produces excellent results. This stuff is starting to look "too good to be true", and we all know what that means :Liar:.

Has anyone had personal experience with West Marine CPP150 and what is your opinion ?

Thanks as always for your input.

 

[Chris Patterson]

10175180 is the model # of the W.M. I put on last year. Copper Composite Technology I think they call it. I'm happy with it so far, and will probably use it again. A little over a hundred a gallon, the price is right. Despite getting a less than stellar rating in Practical Sailor, it has held up for me. And P.S. says it's Pettit also..

 

[sailaway78]

Another option

You might want to check out Super Ship Bottom. It is from what I think is a small mom and pop operation in Fl. I used it after the oil spill, purely because of price. I talked to them, and they assured me it would last three years in my waters. I had always used Petit Trinidad, but the Ship Bottom stuff was less than half the price. After two years I must say I am very, very pleased with it. You can find them on the net, and call.

 

[Jalepeno]

Ralph,
Not sure if you are in T-Bird or one of the other marinas located in Fisherman's Cove but I've been here for over fifteen years and find that with the Nelson Creek's fresh water over the salt water, one good coat of CSC works well for over two years. I always try to do a half-lift (1/2 hr in slings with optional power wash) on even years for a bottom inspection and to change the zincs and a full lift with the addition of one coat of bottom paint on the odd years. If I get everything organized, I can get her hauled first thing in the morning and be back in the water last thing the same afternoon. I used to have Viva do the work but they are gone, I now use Performance Yacht Services. They say if your slip is near the creek outlet, that often you can do a full bottom every third year if you do the leading edges and a water line touchup during a half-lift in the second year. Zincs are cheap and it is always a good idea to pay for a half-lift to change the zincs and inspect the bottom every year. I look for a dry day window in February or March.

 

[ejet99]

My Venture 2-24 is in Belfast Harbor ME. It is a river mouth so the water must be brackish. Anyone know if brackish water is worse on anti-fowling or bad on anti fowling paint? Two years ago I used hydrocoat Petit it was all gone at the end of the summer then last year I tried Ultma Petit it must have been gone at the end of August because when I took the boat out the keel was a mess and the bottom of the boat had a good start of fowling. I'm thinking of trying hard anti fowling this winter.

 

[bffatcat]

Ablative bottom paint

Looking for a good Ablative try Donovan Marine Mar Pro Ive used it for the past 3 years and
find it works as well as any of the Pettit on Interlux Ablatives I sail in cold water 5 month season Add one coat each year takes very little sanding. It was highly recommended by the parctical sailor at about half the price

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Micron technology works sort of like a time capsule cold pill does. It has antifouling toxicants in it throughout the paint matrix. Like most ablative paints, the paint is designed to slough off completely over time so that when you see bare hull again you know it is time to repaint. Two things are happening here in your favor....one: the toxicants are working to keep you hull clean all the time your paint is thinning out on your hull, which is considered good performance and two: you don't get a build up of paint like you do with a hard surface paint that is considered to be a single season paint. Single season paints usually have a cuprous oxide biocide which sloughs off as the boat moves through the water. The difference is the toxicants leave the paint behind where the with an ablative Micron technology the paint and the toxicants leave at the same rate, so you get no build up and the toxicants are exposed during the entrire process to keep you hull clean. More to think about.....single season paints have a chemical change when the boat is removed from the water. This change renders the paint not so effective. Not true with Micron technology. You can pull the boat as many times as you want and there is no chemical change or adverse effect on the paint's performance. With a single season paint, you can look at paint on a hull, but not necessarily assume that there is any toxicant left, because the toxicant sloughs off leaving the paint behind which is useless in terms of antifouling. These single season paints are very effective and you can get the highest content of toxicant with these paints, but Micron technology claims you don't need high levels of toxicant if you have this time capsule approach working for you. Of course Micron technology is more expensive out of the can, but that has to do with the performance quotient. The thing is, it is recommended that you put 3 coats on because the more coats you have, the longer the paint will last, and so you won't have to apply each year like you do with hard, single season paints. This will save you application costs alone. Just one other note.....when you pull your boat for the winter (if you live in an area that you do that), then don't have them power wash your expensive paint off your hull. You might have some slime, but that can be removed with a very low pressure hose or just a light scrub and a rinse with a garden hose. No one likes to spend any more than they have to, but sometimes cheap isn't the best approach. You have to look at the entire picture. Hope this helps.

 

[dscribner]

Keep an eye on WholesaleMarine.com. I purchased bottom and topside paint from them and saved about $50/gallon based on Worst Marine prices. Or, at least do some shopping and have WM price-match what you find.

 

[Gunni]

At their 20 month bottom paint evaluation, Practical Sailor rated both West Marine CPP (Pettit), and Micron CSC as "poor".

What you end up using will be determined by whether it is compatible with your existing bottom paint, coating condition, and whether you want to do the work of removing the old paint. Which argues for what ya got.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Re: Bottom Painting ......................

Ralph,
Not sure if you are in T-Bird or one of the other marinas located in Fisherman's Cove but I've been here for over fifteen years and find that with the Nelson Creek's fresh water over the salt water, one good coat of CSC works well for over two years.

Yes Jalapeno, I'm out towards the end of E dock. Never thought of getting near enough to Nelson Creek to kill off the little buggers. Excellent idea. Always get at least a half lift every year to see what's going on down there and also do the zincs.

I'm still going with a double coat again next spring as I find it easier to get all the painting over with in one shot and then not bother again for about four years. I'm in no rush to splash as I also spend several days polishing the hull ................ one of the hardships of retirement.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Re: Bottom Painting .........................

At their 20 month bottom paint evaluation, Practical Sailor rated both West Marine CPP (Pettit), and Micron CSC as "poor".

YIPES

I'm surprised at PS's findings. I still say I'm happy with the performance and start painting when I see the black CSC coat under the blue coats.

I'm curious as to where they tested the CSC .... water temp, salinity, marine growth, etc. Our waters are pretty cold around here except for August when most of the ice disappears (at least it feels that way :Liar.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Re: Bottom Painting .........................

Or, at least do some shopping and have WM price-match what you find.

What you say is very true .................... they do claim price match on the same product. Good idea and thanks.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Re: Bottom Painting .........................

Despite getting a less than stellar rating in Practical Sailor, it has held up for me. And P.S. says it's Pettit also..

Thanks for the note. I think bottom paint is one product which MUST be tested in your own back yard. Just because the guy 50 miles down the coast says it's crap, that may well be the case for his neighbourhood but not so for yours.

I see where Practical Sailor give Micron CSC a poor rating based on wherever they tested their's. I've got nothing but good to say about CSC in my area of the Pacific Southwest.

 

[Tricia]

pacific soutwest bottom paint

Ralph,
I've been using Pettit Horizons. Docked in False Creek. It works well for me, is a little less expensive than and compatible with CSC.

 

[AnchorDragger]

I have been using Micron CSC and had even purchased some when fate brought me a Hydro Hoist. (hydrohoist.com). It is effectively a submersible pontoon boat with boat support bunks instead of the usual deck and stuff on top. Push a button on a dock console to input or release air from the 2 cylindrical floats. Parallelogram arms attached to a dock restrict the movement of the hoist horizontally and force it to remain level as it sinks below keel level to allow the sailboat to be moved into place for lifting. Only about 70% of the keel remains below water. NO MORE BOTTOM PAINTING.

 

[Maine Sail]

Thanks for the note. I think bottom paint is one product which MUST be tested in your own back yard. Just because the guy 50 miles down the coast says it's crap, that may well be the case for his neighbourhood but not so for yours.

I see where Practical Sailor give Micron CSC a poor rating based on wherever they tested their's. I've got nothing but good to say about CSC in my area of the Pacific Southwest.

Consider West Marine PCA Gold. It is the SAME EXACT formulation as Pettit Ultima SR40. SR40 is an excellent paint as is PCA Gold and it usually goes on sale in the spring for about $130.00 gallon....

 

[wufibugs]

Practical Sailor gave the Eco paint a very high rating. It is costly but if it actually outlasts some of the other products, might be worth it. Has anyone any experience, or even some comments about this bottom paint? I suspect we'll all be using it or some variant in a few years.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I used that West Marine paint....three years ago in a very high fouling area. VERY high fouling area. The water there can be nasty.

It worked really good for the first two years. I do clean the bottom a few times a year. This past year I cleaned it in the beginning of the summer and it was working okay.

The first year it worked awesomely. I didn't even get the normal water line growth I normally get.

 

[Jalepeno]

Ralph, I didn't know we were neighbors. s/v Jalepeno is at E50

I went with Micron CSC, when I moved here in 1997, because most used it and both of the service supplier recommended it for this area and at this marina.

Use the paint you find the best for your application. Remember, the cost difference between paints is insignificant compared to the total cost of the paint project (travel lift, pressure wash, work-yard daily charge and labour charges). Their web site has the current rates. I look for a dry weather window with temperatures above 10C in February to get the winter-discounted rates.

 

[joker460]

Has anybody tried the ultrasonic antifouling method which purports to eliminate the use of bottom paints.

http://www.ultrasonic-antifouling.com/ultrasonic_boat_antifouling_faqs.html

It is an initial high expense, but does it really work?

I mention this as in the last Everyday Practical Electronics(EPE) magazine it shows how to build one of these devices for a substantially lower price.

Just another possible option for those in Salt Water