Do I need Bottom paint?

TNCat22

TNCat22

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Jul 12, 2023
7
Catalina 22 Kentucky Lake
I have a 1987 C-22 that has always been kept on the trailer or on a lift its entire life. The boat is a freshwater cruiser, never in salt water. Next season I have the opportunity to leave in a slip at one of my local freshwater lakes. I will only leave it for 3 - 6 months not the whole year. Would it be advisable to apply barrier paint?

Thanks,
 

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morbidfollower

morbidfollower

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Aug 15, 2022
160
Catalina 22 14790 Redwood City, CA
Personally I wouldn't. Might not hurt to dive it a couple times with a soft brush but if its not in salt water I wouldn't spend the time/money or suffer the performance loss.
 
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Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
3,485
Catalina 30 MKIII Chicago
Stuff will grow on it within a few weeks. I wasnt able to tack when my bottom was dirty. Once I applied some fresh VC17, I had no issues tacking.

You will end up with a dark colored stain at the minimum. Some people acid wash, others use bottom paint
 
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shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,629
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Since the osmotic gradient between fresh water and hull laminate is greater than between salt water and laminate I think the need for a barrier coat in fresh water would be greater than for salt water.
But for a short amount of time the risk of getting blisters is low. There should be intact gel coat under whatever bottom paint was/is used.
The photo is named "bottom job." What was done?
I agree an anti-fouling paint should be used with or without a barrier coat. The anti-fouling paint will offer no protection from water intrusion into the laminate.
 
BigEasy

BigEasy

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Jun 21, 2004
2,943
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Just sand LIGHTLY (80 grit) to roughen surface & apply ablative anti fouling paint. No need for a barrier coat because you’re only going to be in water for 3 - 6 months; the hull will have 6 - 9 months annually to dry. If you don’t apply antifouling there will be ample amounts of tenacious growth that will require removal when you haul out.
 
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Gene Neill

Gene Neill

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Sep 30, 2013
3,602
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
Are we definitely talking about barrier paint, or do you mean anti fouling paint?

I don't think I would bother with barrier paint for just 3-6 months at a stretch. Anti fouling ... maybe. Every body of water seems to foster different organisms at a different rate, so it's worth talking to other boat owners at your own marina. Can you/will you snorkel around and give it a scrubbing every few days? How attached are you to that perfect gleaming white bottom? Et cetera ...
 
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JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
637
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
Yep, if it's in the water for 3-6 months, you'll want some anti-foul paint. It'll help keep the growth down. A barrier coat is unnecessary if you dry out for 6 months a year, but wouldn't hurt. Most any anti-foul will do well in fresh water.
 
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Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
5,724
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I’ll add another vote for not bothering with an epoxy barrier coat but yes for antifouling bottom paint. I don’t think the exposure to osmosis and blistering will be high enough for that to be a concern, but you’ll almost certainly have slime buildup slowing the boat down very quickly without paint.
 
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Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
3,485
Catalina 30 MKIII Chicago
My last boat was in the water for no more than six months per season and in heated storage in the winter. Previous owner barrier coated it. I applied VC17 as needed. It ended up with thousands of tiny blisters. It was in Southern Lake Michigan
 
S

ShawnL

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Jul 29, 2020
165
Catalina 22 3603 Calumet Mi
Another member of the choir here.

I keep my boat on a mooring in a fairly small (and stagnant) bay off of Lake Superior all summer and use an ablative bottom paint. No idea if I have a barrier coat or not. I pressure wash the boat when I pull it in the fall, then do it again 2x in the spring with a scrub from a coarse brush attached to a painter's pole in-between. Then re-coat. A gallon of paint lasts me 2 seasons. At some point I'll probably have to sand it all off and re-do something, but it's been working for me so far.

Lake Superior is cold, but diving on the bottom mid-season does still show some slime. No growth to speak of, but I suppose if I was a racer I'd probably try to scrub the hull. In fresh water, you're not going to get any anything more than slimy growth (I think), but I feel better knowing I have an ablative paint (Jamestown Distributors) on both the hull and rudder. I just slap it on with a roller and a paint-tray and do the best I can around the trailer bunks and it seems to work for me.
 
P

Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
3,485
Catalina 30 MKIII Chicago
ShawnL said:
Another member of the choir here.

I keep my boat on a mooring in a fairly small (and stagnant) bay off of Lake Superior all summer and use an ablative bottom paint. No idea if I have a barrier coat or not. I pressure wash the boat when I pull it in the fall, then do it again 2x in the spring with a scrub from a coarse brush attached to a painter's pole in-between. Then re-coat. A gallon of paint lasts me 2 seasons. At some point I'll probably have to sand it all off and re-do something, but it's been working for me so far.

Lake Superior is cold, but diving on the bottom mid-season does still show some slime. No growth to speak of, but I suppose if I was a racer I'd probably try to scrub the hull. In fresh water, you're not going to get any anything more than slimy growth (I think), but I feel better knowing I have an ablative paint (Jamestown Distributors) on both the hull and rudder. I just slap it on with a roller and a paint-tray and do the best I can around the trailer bunks and it seems to work for me.
Click to expand
We get tons of zebra mussels. They seem to like metal the most but that's likely because it doesnt have any bottom paint
 
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