I painted my bottom last year with a multi season ablative bottom paint. They say you should get two seasons with it with minor touch up and be fine. The bottom of my boat looks great, but I still have doubts. Looking for some feedback from people who have indeed left the bottom alone for two seasons and how they made out. Do you really get two seasons out of it without problems?
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Yes, multiple years.
Dave: There is no reason not to get multiple years out of bottom paint. I would suggest that you get a diver to check your bottom once or twice a season. They can scrub it for you and check out your zincs. These guys are professionals and can usually give you a good idea how the paint is aging. The idea of the ablative paints is that the wear off and the toxins are exposed to keep growth off the bottom. With the help of the diver you can keep a bottom that looks new for multiple seasons without the expense of a repaint. The paint has nothing to do with blister protection (in case you though it helped). It is only to stem the growth of critters on the bottom. I think you may find that many sailors get more than two season from their paint (depends on how much you use the boat).
Dave: There is no reason not to get multiple years out of bottom paint. I would suggest that you get a diver to check your bottom once or twice a season. They can scrub it for you and check out your zincs. These guys are professionals and can usually give you a good idea how the paint is aging. The idea of the ablative paints is that the wear off and the toxins are exposed to keep growth off the bottom. With the help of the diver you can keep a bottom that looks new for multiple seasons without the expense of a repaint. The paint has nothing to do with blister protection (in case you though it helped). It is only to stem the growth of critters on the bottom. I think you may find that many sailors get more than two season from their paint (depends on how much you use the boat).
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Dave
YES!
I get at least three years from my bottom paint and then I only re-paint because it starts to get down to the "other" color I use for the first coat. As steve noted I am a diver so I dive twice a year, clean the bottom and replace the zincs. While cleaning the bottom some of the paint wears off which is the biggest source of paint loss, I don't believe sailboats at 6 knots have enough speed to ablate the paint but rubbing it to remove slime and bootline growth removes some paint. Never seen a barnacle yet on it after three years, and I leave the boat in the water for three straight years. My last haul I did a keel job on her. I have a lead keel so I sanded down to bare lead, then I west epoxy coated it, then I sanded it, then I barrier coated it (for paint adhesion) then multi coats of bottom paint, as of last fall (two years in water) it looked great. Dave
I get at least three years from my bottom paint and then I only re-paint because it starts to get down to the "other" color I use for the first coat. As steve noted I am a diver so I dive twice a year, clean the bottom and replace the zincs. While cleaning the bottom some of the paint wears off which is the biggest source of paint loss, I don't believe sailboats at 6 knots have enough speed to ablate the paint but rubbing it to remove slime and bootline growth removes some paint. Never seen a barnacle yet on it after three years, and I leave the boat in the water for three straight years. My last haul I did a keel job on her. I have a lead keel so I sanded down to bare lead, then I west epoxy coated it, then I sanded it, then I barrier coated it (for paint adhesion) then multi coats of bottom paint, as of last fall (two years in water) it looked great. Dave
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Jim A
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Mike
I'm near you and it works fine
I keep my boat in Branford, and I have used nothing but multi-season ablative. the first year, I put on a red undercoat and a blue topcoat. At the end of the season, the red showed through a little at the bow and the rudder. I touched it up with some more blue. There was no difference in protection between the first and second year, although at the end of the second season, the red was showing through in a few more areas. I put on one more coat of the blue for my third season. At the end of that season, no red showed through at all, so I don't even see where to touch it up for the upcoming splash. For me, the stuff is def. worth the extra money. It doesn't cost quite twice as much, protects as well, and it makes painting a once every two years (and only one coat!) proposition.
I keep my boat in Branford, and I have used nothing but multi-season ablative. the first year, I put on a red undercoat and a blue topcoat. At the end of the season, the red showed through a little at the bow and the rudder. I touched it up with some more blue. There was no difference in protection between the first and second year, although at the end of the second season, the red was showing through in a few more areas. I put on one more coat of the blue for my third season. At the end of that season, no red showed through at all, so I don't even see where to touch it up for the upcoming splash. For me, the stuff is def. worth the extra money. It doesn't cost quite twice as much, protects as well, and it makes painting a once every two years (and only one coat!) proposition.
R
R. Young
Get 2-3 years with ablative
I use Micron CSC extra w/biolux and I am getting 2-3 years before I have to apply a new complete coat. Each year, I touch up the few areas that are subject to wear and where the previous coats color starts to show. BTW, I don't bother having a diver scrub the bottom - at haul out, all I notice is a light brown dusting which is soft and comes off when rubbed with your finger. Not scrubbing the bottom probably provides extra life to the coating at the expense of slowing down the boat (at least thats what the racers say). R. Young Hunter 37
I use Micron CSC extra w/biolux and I am getting 2-3 years before I have to apply a new complete coat. Each year, I touch up the few areas that are subject to wear and where the previous coats color starts to show. BTW, I don't bother having a diver scrub the bottom - at haul out, all I notice is a light brown dusting which is soft and comes off when rubbed with your finger. Not scrubbing the bottom probably provides extra life to the coating at the expense of slowing down the boat (at least thats what the racers say). R. Young Hunter 37
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