How much bottom paint will I need?

[Noah]

I need to paint the bottom of my 1976, Catalina 22 this winter. How much paint will I need. One or two quarts? Or would a whole gallon do it? Is there a recommended brand to use on this model? It is in the ocean year round. I will be painting it myself and assume I could do it in one day. Any concerns?Thanks,

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners.com]

Bottom paint

I have a C27 and I can get two coats out of one gallon. IMHO, 3-4 coats wouldn't be a bad thing, especially if it's in year-round. I use Petit Trinidad SR cuz I'm in fresh water and the SR (slime resistant) works great. Regardless, Trinidad is a good solid bottom paint.One thing you need to find out is what kind of paint is currently on there. Some bottom paints are incompatible. When you know for sure, just sand the bottom (lightly if it's pretty clean), wipe it down with acetone (don't know if everyone does this but it's the way I was taught) & slap on the new paint. Count on the whole process taking 2 days - one for sanding & one for painting - though if you rushed it, you could probably squeak by in one very long day.You might check the archives on this site for discussions about bottom painting. Tons of good info and advice in there.LaDonna

 

[Charlie on "Kestrel"]

Bottoms

Noah,When I bought my C22, I thought the bottom looked pretty good. I also thought the paint was a little too thick. Being a newbie, I thought I'd strip off the paint and check out the hull condition. Then I did some research. WOW. the things you find out when you go looking! The good news was after considerable work with chemical strippers (the paint WAS Very thick) I found the hull to be un-damaged for a 16 year old boat. However ,I did find a lot of small blisters along the waterline. This boat has always been morred in salt water (I'M the 3rd owner) Long story short, I stripped off all the paint, removed and refurbished the keel, lightly sanded and applied 5 coats ofinterlux barrier coat ( by all advise a good thing to do) and 2 coats of a good bottom paint. I had the boat jacked up off the trailer bunks on blocks and had to move the blocks and repeat everything in those places. I didn't go all out to get it done, but took 3-4 weeks in the spring for the hull and another week to fair , finish and reinstall the keel. Do your research and seek advise from anyone you can. Too much information is not a bad thing. I learned a lot about my capabilities and the boat. I now know excatly what I have.Good luck