Is it ablative paint or not?

[Peter]

A buddy of mine recently purchased a C27, and he's looking to redo the bottom soon. The question he posed to me was can he tell whether the bottom paint is ablative or not, while the boat is still in the water. This would give him time to pre-shop for paint, as he's looking to stay with whatever is already on. Any ideas how to tell?

 

[Thos Kober]

What Kind?

Next time he is in the water, tell him to run his hand under the boat, an ablative paint will leave some paint film - though maybe not much. A hard paint will not leave anything on the hand except maybe some marine growth. To be certain though I would wait until the boat is out of the water before buying the paint.