Bottom prep

[Mark Gale]

I'm planning to sand the bottom of my C30 next week in preparation for repainting before we go in. It's in good shape, but I need a new coat of anti-fouling. I would like to take down the paint a bit to avoid a buildup but do not need to go all way way down. Should I use an orbital sander? A disc sander? I don't want to knick into the fiberglass. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Walt]

Palm Sanders

The best thing I've found is a quarter sheet palm sander. It's very easy to control and they're cheap. I've tried an orbital grinder type disk but they run too fast to control. A palm sander is light and easy to contol. You can use 80 grit and take off paint very easily and still control it well. Good luck.

 

[Todd Osborne]

Wet Scotch brite

Just finished my hull last weekend. In our enviornmentally aware times as well as personal health, I used a scotch brite type grill cleaner (W/handle). Dipped it in a bucket of water & scrubbed the hull down. this keeps dust to nil and the bucket of waste water can be treated at the boat yard. Don't think this will take off several layers of paint, but if done every repainting, will keep buildup to a minimum.

 

[Bob Camarena]

Air Power

I'd try the Scotch Brite route first-- sanding is messy. A similar method I read about used a drywall sanding stick w/wet sandpaper. If you do decide to go the sander route, think about renting an air compressor and air powered orbital sander. The efficiency of air vs. electric is amazing. At the boatyard I use, they rent air tools to do-it-yourselfers that simply plug into the yard's air lines. I found it well worth the money in time and sweat saved.

 

[Mike Hagerman]

Follow On Question

My first big boat and first season to confront the bottom paint. It's been several seasons since the bottom was done (it was stored in the water by the previous owner). Just how much bottom paint needs to be removed before we repaint? Just rough it up or down to bare fiberglass/metal? I noticed one section at the top of the keel that has become slightly cracked so that certainly has to go.

 

[Todd Osborne]

If you stick to the scotch brite method

If you are a cruiser & not a hard core racer, I'd take off just enough paint to expose fresh paint (1 coat or so). this assures good adhesion of the new stuff your about to put on. after scrubbing, I even wipe the hull down with a rag & paint thinner to make shure she is clean. Racers don't like the added weight of all those layers of paint & eventually you may want to take her down to the fiberglass too, but I'd wait (I'm a procrastinator).P.S. (IMHO) The crack in the keel is normal for our boats, it's a flex point. But you should inspect it to make shure it has been properly addressed (filled with a flexible type caulk (3M 5200 or the like).

 

[Mike Hagerman]

Thanks!

Thanks for the input. I'm more interested in stability than speed at least until I can train my 4 Labs as a racing crew!