bottom repaint

[Ken Koons]

I'm a fairly new owner of a 1998 Hunter 240 (three payments so far)the previous owner kept her in the water and the bottom was painted. The paint is now faded and rubbed off in areas. What is the process of repainting the bottom with existing paint on? Do I sand off the old, and start from scratch?I keep the boat on a trailer when not sailing, is it possible to get the bottom back to plain white?

 

[Steve Dion]

Probably different paint too.

Ken:You should probably look at a different type of paint than the previous owner used. When you are loading and unloading her on a trailer you need a hard non-ablative paint (does not wear off). When you keep a boat in the water the ablative paint are easier to keep the bottoms clean.If you check with a bottom paint mfg, they can tell you if you will need to remove the paint or not (probably you will).Check out the archives on bottom paints for the smaller trailer sailor sized boats.

 

[Ken Koons]

Steve reply

Steve: Thanks for the reply. What is the best way to remove the current bottom paint? I haven't removed bottom paint before as I'm a new owner.

 

[Steve Dion]

start with a power wash.

Ken:The best thing to do is start with a power washer. This sometimes knocks off the slime and the paint at the same time. It depends on how many coats of paint and how well they are sticking to the bottom.Then you just start sanding. Be careful not to get into the gelcoat if possible. There is really no reason to worry about putting on a barrier coat unless you think you may leave it in the water for extended periods of time. You may want to check the archives on bottom paint applications. These other sailors with trailerable boats can give you a lot better info than me.Be sure to wear breathing protection. Bottom paint is quite toxic. After all it is there to kill things. I would also recommend a disposable painters suit. You will look like a smurf (assuming that the bottom is blue) when you get done. You need to cover your entire body as well as your eyes.When you get done with the sanding, you can just wipe her down with acetone and then you are ready to tape and paint.

 

[Frank]

Give me a clue please.

If your are keeping your boat on a trailer, why does the condittion of the bottom paint matter? As long as the bottom is smooth, do you need any paint at all?