deck paint

Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

this fall I became the proud owner of a 1968 Kittiwake 23 sailboat... it has been sitting for 10 years unused in a barn on a farm... the owner was not a sailor, he flies planes... I got it for a steal... it has this terrible sky blue paint on the deck.... I am looking to paint it white... what I am looking for is recommendations for the type of paint I need to use... I am on a limited budget so I cannot go expensive, but I do want something that will last a long time... the reason I am gong with RED, is I have 2 jib sails with the red UV protection, a Red boom cover, 2 rope bags in Red, and tiller cover in Red...

also I will be painting the inside of the cabin, the bottom needs painting, and the accent stripes will be redone too

I plan to paint the bottom black, the waterline and gunwhale stripe will be red, the interior of the cabin will be white, the deck will be white...

I have not painted a boat before, so I am looking for advice on the best paint to buy on a fixed budget.... I have posted 2 pictures... 1st is the present, and the 2nd is what I am going for in looks for my boat...

thanks

sincerely
Jess
 

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azguy

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Aug 23, 2012
337
Catalina 22 Lake Pleasant
hello all

.... I am looking to paint it white...

... the reason I am gong with RED, is I have 2 jib sails with the red UV protection, a Red boom cover, 2 rope bags in Red, and tiller cover in Red...
I'm confused, white or red.

I don't think any quality deck or bottom paint will be "inexpensive" if you want it to hold up, never mind the associate prep, sanding, primer, etc...
 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
I'm confused, white or red.

I don't think any quality deck or bottom paint will be "inexpensive" if you want it to hold up, never mind the associate prep, sanding, primer, etc...
hello

the deck will be white....

the red will be all the accents to compliment the boat... water line, gunwhale stripe, all my canvass materials, UV protection material on my 2 roller furler jibs, my boom cover, my tiller cover, and rope pockets...

sincerely
Jess
 
Aug 22, 2011
1,113
MacGregor Venture V224 Cheeseland
Just remember - its not so much the paint you choose - its more the elbow grease applied... and no matter what brand you select someone will think you're an idiot.

Isn't there a danger of regularly being bedazzled by an all white topsides?
Haven't you ever been bedazzled by the dazzling white parts of your boat???
Step out of the companionway in blinding sun and just being totally bedazzled by the dazzling white looking to the darker parts for immediate relief??? Am I the only one???

One is not keeping a prudent and proper lookout while being bedazzled are they???
 
Sep 30, 2013
3,538
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
Congrats on the purchase, I'm a little jealous. Looks like a boat I'd love to own!
 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
Congrats on the purchase, I'm a little jealous. Looks like a boat I'd love to own!
hello

thank you... I think is a beautiful sailboat... I fell n love with it as soon as I saw it... I dickered with the guy over the price for a week, then when we could not come to an agreeable price, I offered a trade... I traded him a sharp 40 inch flat HDTV for it, and he agreed.. my friends at the marina say I stole the boat, because I got the TV as a gift for free... I didn't need it in my house, so I traded it off...

as for the all white deck... my friends say I should leave it all white... most of them have the all white decks on their boats... I kind of thought about painting light grey on the non skid areas to make a differentiation on the deck... but I am not sure yet... that is kind of why I am asking for advice on here...

thanks
Jess
 
Jan 1, 2014
4
Kenner Kittiwake 23 Beaver Lake
hello

the deck will be white....

the red will be all the accents to compliment the boat... water line, gunwhale stripe, all my canvass materials, UV protection material on my 2 roller furler jibs, my boom cover, my tiller cover, and rope pockets...

sincerely
Jess
Jess, if you don't already have the red canvass covers, I'd suggest blue instead. I made a red Sunbrella sail cover for my Kittiwake to replace an older too-small blue one because she came with a red cove stripe and I thought I'd match it. However, it didn't take long for the red cover to fade to pink while boats with blue sail covers many years old were still blue. The red looked nice when new, but didn't stay new looking very long. If I had it to do again I'd paint the cove stripe blue to match the sail cover.
 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
Jess, if you don't already have the red canvass covers, I'd suggest blue instead. I made a red Sunbrella sail cover for my Kittiwake to replace an older too-small blue one because she came with a red cove stripe and I thought I'd match it. However, it didn't take long for the red cover to fade to pink while boats with blue sail covers many years old were still blue. The red looked nice when new, but didn't stay new looking very long. If I had it to do again I'd paint the cove stripe blue to match the sail cover.

hello

I too like the blue idea... but my jib and genoa sails already have the red uv protection for the roller furler.. also I have a boom cover that is red too... I only have a couple of items to add to get everything red on my boat

sincerely
Jess
 
Jan 1, 2014
4
Kenner Kittiwake 23 Beaver Lake
hello

I too like the blue idea... but my jib and genoa sails already have the red uv protection for the roller furler.. also I have a boom cover that is red too... I only have a couple of items to add to get everything red on my boat

sincerely
Jess
I hope your red does better than mine did, then. BTW, you did "steal" your kittiwake in that trade. The roller furler from your other boat will be nice for single handling. I traded my hank-on genny for a genny with a furling drum when a friend sold his Kittiwake and really liked it although it is not a furling setup but just a sail storage setup as it uses a cable instead of a foil and it lets the top of the sail twist off if partially rolled.

One thing to watch for if your Kittiwake has the standard bronze cleat on the foredeck is that this cleat is especially good at fouling jib sheets during a tacking mauouver at the most inopportune times. I thought about replacing mine with a retracting cleat after the third or fourth time I had to go forward in a blow to untangle a sheet, but they were a bit pricey and "new looking" for a Kittiwake so I made a wood block with a cutout to fit over the cleat and sloped sides to let a line slide over it without catching.

Another handy item is thin closed cell foam cockpit cushions that can be made from exercise mats or sleeping pads found in sporting goods stores (maybe even in red?). These provide insulation and just enough padding on the hard fiberglass, and are easier to store than the thicker vinyl and padding cushions that traditionally came with these boats. Those cushions are OK on the berths, but they eventually absorb water when used topsides and they can get in the way in those rare moments when things get really exciting like a down burst that comes out of nowhere and blows you flat.

It is a bit late for the Christmas photo, but here is illusion in her better days at the sailing club decked out for the holiday and one of her sailing wing and wing on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. She's been on her trailer in the backyard for some years now awaiting a refurb and for the Corp. of Engineers at beaver Lake to approve an addition to our boat house to provide her a slip.
 

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Nov 7, 2012
678
1978 Catalina 30 Wilbur-by-the-Sea
We are in the middle of repainting our entire boat. Decided not to go with the expense of a 2 part paint and am using Rustoleum Marine paint and primer I got on Amazon. We like the results. For the nonskid we decided to not skimp and are using Kiwi Grip, love the stuff.

Prep is were it is at. Sand, prime , sand etc. very time consuming and makes me think the cost of the paint is not as much a factor as the time spent to do it right. After working 4 or 5 weekends just to get the topside done a few extra bucks on per quart probably would not have killed me.
 
Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
Jess,
I used Interthane plus (new old stock I had from previous project that never happened), the paint that later became Perfection. Perfection goes for about $80/qt kit now but holds up like crazy. I painted above the hull/deck joint with this and the hull with Blue Seas 1 part poly. Big mistake. as in my other experiences 1 part poly is a let down for the money. Wish I'd have used Rustoleum (my funds were tight too).
When it gets down to it if you don't mind painting occasionally use enamel (Rustoleum) but if you just want to do it once go with Perfection.
For a traditional boat, off white (cream) decks and house with a bright white hull really sets the boat apart from the herd and the off white does glare like bright white does.
I experimented with different non skid additives and finally found that my favorite was just clean sand (which is what the hardware store additive is). This is what the old wooden fishing, shrimp and scallop boats use and it works great for little money. They also use enamel paints.
Whatever you do it'll be beautiful. A boat like that just glows after a little spit and polish!
Wanna trade for a tv? Hell I'll go 42"!
 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

sorry... I love my boat and all her traditional lines... no TV could ever replace her... I will keep for forever... she has a special character about her that time cannot change...

thanks for all the advice about the deck paints... I like the idea of the cream colored deck and the white deck house... I was thinking about an accent stripe along the white deck house too...

but I have until spring thaw to get my mind made up at to what I will do...

sincerely
Jess
 
Nov 7, 2012
678
1978 Catalina 30 Wilbur-by-the-Sea
Hey Garbone, what primer did you use?
See much of Neal these days?

I used the Rustolium Primer listed with the paint on Amazon. Cost twice as much as the paint but covers very well. We primed the top side with about 1/2 a quart. Have 2 quarts more to prime the freeboard now that we are finaly done with repair and prep on that part of the boat.

Here is a picture of what the new paint looks like. Not the best light. I will try to get a better picture this weekend as the Kiwi Grip is now done. The Rustolium is White Semi-Gloss. White Kiwi Grip.

One note on the Kiwi Grip is it took 1 gallon and 1 quart to do out topside and we did not do inside the cockpit or the top of the sliding hatch. We had to put it on pretty thick as we went from blue to white. On the white Seahood (not yet done in the picture) we were able to put on only half as much using our plastic trowel and love the results.


We have not seen or heard from Neal in over a month. He stopped by once and chatted but that is it. To be fair we spend all our time working on the 30 and have only visited the 27 a few times (need to reduce the price). Neals boat is still in its slip though.

 
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello

your Kittiwake looks beautiful... she has elegant lines to her.... I have some work to do to mine before I splash her in the spring.... I cannot work on her now, 8 nches of snow on the ground, freezing temps outside.. I will send you picture and post them on SBO as I get projects done on her in the spring and summer....

sincerely
Jess