Painting Bottom

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Robert Abello

I am a 1st time owner of a Catalina 30 '81. I need to get it out of the water and getthe bottom stripped and painted. My question is this: 1. how many layers to paint with?? 2. what kind of paint?? 3. what can I expect to pay?? 4. if i have blisters, what products to use?? please reply directly to babello@aol.com
 
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Chris Hyland

Paint

Robert, Congrats! I finished up my first season on our 2001 C36. We used Pettit Ultima SR ablative. It was excellent, not even scum on the bottom. I think it was 169 a gallon. We put two coats, two colors. Use a base coat of a signal color, two coats. Then put two coats of your final and differnt color on. When the ablative wears down the signal coat will show you it needs repainting. Regards, Chris
 
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Jim WIllis

Blisters dealt with on gelcoat and plastics forum

Fiberglass TRilogy III has summariazed info on the subejct Thanks Jim W
 
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Mike

Two main choices

Bottom paint comes in two basic flavors: one that kills marine growth and gradually wears away, taking the icky bottom fouling stuff with it, and one that stays on as a hard shell, where the poison in the paint gradually leeches out onto the growth, killing it off. The ablative paint (the one that wears away) is relatively new to the market, and is more expensive (about twice as much). I have heard various opinions about which is better, but for my money, I go with the ablative. The biggest selling point for me is that the ablative paint retains its potency and ablility to protect over the course of multiple seasons. You can take your boat out of the water and leave it for a few months, put it back in, and the ablative paint will still protect. The standard paint loses all ability to protect if removed from the water. In other words, the standard paint must be reapplied every season, while you can (and I have) gotten multiple seasons' use out of ablative. Of course, the ablative paint works best if your boat is moving regularly so that the paint can slough off.
 
Apr 19, 1999
1,670
Pearson Wanderer Titusville, Florida
A lot depends on your sailing style

If you use your boat fairly frequently, ablative paint is definitely the way to go. However, the boat has to be moving for it to work, as the paint washes or wears off. It doesn't really dissolve. If the boat is going to sit for long periods of time (Cruising World did a survey a while back and found that most cruisers spend up to 90% of their time on the hook) then ablative paint will not be as effective. In fact, CW recommended modified epoxy antifouling if the boat will sit for more than a month or so at a time, because any growth can be scrubbed off the hull without taking any of the antifouling with it. If you scrub a hull with ablative paint, you are going to take off some of the paint too. Bear in mind also that antifouling is supposed to deter critters (barnacles and such) not plant growth or slime. However, newer bottom paints include algaecides and slime retardants. Check the labels carefully. You might also ask around and see what other people are using. Based on past experience, your local boatyard should know what works best in your area and should be able to advise you. Good luck. Peter H23 "Raven"
 
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Les Murray

Depends on your area

Robert, A lot of this depends on the water in your area. Warmer waters tend to have more soft growth, etc. Check with some sailors in your area and see what they use. Up hear in NE, we see a lot of hard growth and some slime in the bays. I used Pettit APC last year but will use Micron CSC Extra this year to keep the slime down. Les Murray s/v Ceilidh '86 C-36 #560
 
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