Pettit Trinidad Pro not working well

[smokey73]

Have any of you had any problem with using Pettit Trinidad Pro in the Southeast? I just had my 40.5 soda blasted, then 2 barrier coats and two coats of Trinidad Pro put on up in Annapolis (won't say name of boatworks doing the work yet since I dont' know the problem). This was all done April of this year.

I moved the boat from Annapolis to Beaufort in May. I have a diver clean the bottom monthly and he says "my boat gets the award for the most grass and starting barnacle growth" each month. It almost looks like there is no antifouling at all? I expected to get two years nominally out of a new bottom job like that and it looks like I'll need to do it again this year.

Do any of you have a good contact at Petitt to call and have them tell me what went wrong or is it just a poor product or poor application? I know its hard to tell but I trust my diver as he does a lot of boats. I'm getting his recommendation for what works here but I'd like to hear from those on this board. I'd also like to talk to someone at Petitt before I go saying it was a bad application job. :naughty:

I'm really upset with this as it was not a cheap or cutrate jot and I wnated it done right - not what I got!!! Frankly - its not what I expected from a reputable boatworks in Annapolis and from Pettit. :cussing:

You can respond here or PM me and I'll give you my number so we can talk. Thanks in advance

 

[Rick D]

Have any of you had any problem with using Pettit Trinidad Pro in the Southeast? I just had my 40.5 soda blasted, then 2 barrier coats and two coats of Trinidad Pro put on up in Annapolis (won't say name of boatworks doing the work yet since I dont' know the problem). This was all done April of this year.

I moved the boat from Annapolis to Beaufort in May. I have a diver clean the bottom monthly and he says "my boat gets the award for the most grass and starting barnacle growth" each month. It almost looks like there is no antifouling at all? I expected to get two years nominally out of a new bottom job like that and it looks like I'll need to do it again this year.

Do any of you have a good contact at Petitt to call and have them tell me what went wrong or is it just a poor product or poor application? I know its hard to tell but I trust my diver as he does a lot of boats. I'm getting his recommendation for what works here but I'd like to hear from those on this board. I'd also like to talk to someone at Petitt before I go saying it was a bad application job. :naughty:

I'm really upset with this as it was not a cheap or cutrate jot and I wnated it done right - not what I got!!! Frankly - its not what I expected from a reputable boatworks in Annapolis and from Pettit. :cussing:

You can respond here or PM me and I'll give you my number so we can talk. Thanks in advance

Old paint? File a warranty claim with them for openers. Trinidad is the left coast default

 

[svchickadee]

Maybe the bottom paint did not adhere to the (assumed) epoxy barrier coat and there is little bottom paint on the bottom.

 

[smokey73]

Rick, how do I file a warranty claim and to whom do I file it? Any suggestions?

 

[fstbttms]

The product is the best there is, IMHO. Look to the yard.

 

[jibes138]

Did you actually see them apply it by opening the cans and so forth? Maybe they didn't use what you requested?

 

[sailormanbigd]

I would have to agree with jibes. How do you know if it really was Trinidad applied to your boat bottom? It is the gold standard here in the south if you have the money. The yard who applied the bottom coatings would be the one to go to for satisfaction?

 

[DougM]

It's difficult to tell what occurred. If, as you say, this was a reputable yard, it would be unlikely that they would have substituted another product. They might have gotten a bad batch of paint or the weather wasn't right for application. I know that there is a relatively small window of time between the application of the final barrier coat and the first coat of bottom paint, and that may be a factor. Also how much time elapsed between the final bottom painting and launching?

 

[Anonymous 121765]

I agree with those who say look to the yard.

Five years ago, I hauled my boat for a bottom job. I walked in on a Saturday (they were closed but owners had access to their boats). I went looking for a bathroom.

Walking thru the connected work buildings, I stood in the doorway & watched the manager scooping copper from a can & pouring it into a generic bottom paint can. I then spoke up with a lot of expletive-deletives.

I demanded he give me 4 unopened cans of Pettit Trinidad which I put in my car. The next 3 days the yard had to wait for me to get there & hand them 1 can at a time. I also watched them paint the whole time. Great yard experience right?

Also, did you ever notice when going to the yard to see the progress, there's ALWAYs an empty can of the paint you ordered sitting under your boat? No one is working on your boat, but the can is proudly showcased. This alone should raise some yellow flags. Everything else is cleaned up, just an empty can, like it proves this paint was used.

It's almost impossible to find an HONEST yard, and that's a poor truth in the industry. In twenty three yrs., I've had four yards rip or try to rip me off in the past. And, don't forget them jacking the price saying they needed to do this & that. Most times it's painted over before you see what was needed. Make sure you see it before any work is allegedly done.

You learn after being spanked a couple of times. And I don't want to hear arguments sticking up for yards that are reliable, the fact they are, speaks for them, it's the other slugs you need to watch out for.

PS: yards in Tampa Bay area NOT to use are:
Snug Harbor
Progressive
Salt Creek Boat Works (unless doing it yourself)

CR

 

[Sanfelice]

Barrier coat

I agree with DougM. I just pulled my new to me Catalina 30 and power washed the bottom with a cheapo unit that does not have super pressure. One of the prior owners barrier coated the bottom and painted , not sure with what. The paint was coming off in large flakes while other parts are difficult remove. Based on the pattern the paint is coming off, I suspect the barrier coat kicked in and the owner waited too long before painting the boat. I believe I will have to sand the entire hull prior to repainting. Barrier coat is prretty fussy as to the timing between the last coat and the first coat.

 

[WayneH]

Over here on the forgotten coast, I'm having good results with Interlux' BottomKote NT. I get a ring of algae at the waterline and the few barnacles I've picked up have popped right off. My slip neighbors are not doing so well with barnacles. My running gear is a different story altogether. If I can find out what one of my neighbors put on his prop, I'm getting it. He only had hard growths on the edges of the blades. The faces were clean. With my luck, it's probably something that's banned in the US now.

As always with fouling, what works here can fail miserably there.

 

[John Nantz]

Pettit Zinc Coat Barnacle Barrier 1792

Wayne - a lot of people use Pettit Zinc Coat Barnacle Barrier 1792 on the prop and that may be what your neighbor used. That is what I use and I've had excellent results with it.


As for the bottom paint, I've been using Trinidad SR for years and the only stuff stuck to the bottom has been slime stuff, never any barnacles.

It was mentioned earlier about the time between application of the bottom paint and splash so this is one factor.

If the boat had been out on the hard for a long time, or if the old bottom paint was stripped, then there would be little to no residual effect from old paint so that could be another factor. If you contact Pettit about the problem they will want to know the previous conditions and the timeline details for sure.

Most larger companies have Tech Reps so Petit probably has a Tech Rep you could get some input from.

 

[BobM]

I bet Trinidad can identify their paint if you send a sample. I am an analytical chemist. That will tell you if it was the used. They mat also be able to tell you if it cured properly.

 

[capta]

Most bottom paints are formulated for the area of intended use. Perhaps yours was in a shipment that was sent to the wrong area?
On the other hand, I had bottom paint applied by Consolidated in City Island, Ny and they thinned it so much to spray it on that I had over an inch of barnacles after only ten months!

 

[fstbttms]

Most bottom paints are formulated for the area of intended use. Perhaps yours was in a shipment that was sent to the wrong area?

Umm... no they aren't. I don't know where you picked up that bit of fantasy but Trinidad is Trinidad is Trinidad, no matter where you buy it.

 

[capta]

Umm... no they aren't. I don't know where you picked up that bit of fantasy but Trinidad is Trinidad is Trinidad, no matter where you buy it.

Whatever you say.

 

[Jayster]

Love the logic.....

The common sediment (and I agree), and the first place to look should be the yard. Time between barrier coat and bottom paint, tampered bottom paint, or bad bottom paint.

 

[smokey73]

Love the logic.....

The common sediment (and I agree), and the first place to look should be the yard. Time between barrier coat and bottom paint, tampered bottom paint, or bad bottom paint.

Well a little more info has been developed. Seems the yard and I had a "failure to communicate".

When we started discussing what to do with the bottom I was pretty sure I wanted hard bottom paint. We had a lot of discussions about pros and cons of ablative paint and somewhere along the line the yard thought I said I wanted ablative. He had Trinidad Pro written in his notes and then lined that out and put ablative. I don't dispute we "talked about it" at one time, however, I am certain the final decision was to strip the old paint, put on two epoxy barrier coats and finish with two coats of Trinidad Pro black. I even looked at the Trinidad Pro paint colors and my wife picked the black. The yard still had his note that we would use ablative and based on that note put on Interlux Micron CSX. That's a top of the line ablative I think. I know for a fact that we finally changed and we settled on Trinidad Pro although that somehow didn't get changed on the notes.

In any case, it was a communication error. Since I was out of town with the painting was done and came in just before the launch I didn't get a look at the actual painting and had no idea they had used an ablative paint. It has not worked out well based on our sailing pattern and times we have been able to go. (I had planned on retiring but my clients won't let me go!!!)

They yard has indicated that we will work something out and I'll get some kind of adjustment to get what's left of the the ablative off and the
Trinidad Pro paint on at a yard down here. I am not sure of the costs but I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that the ablative will have to come off to put on the hard Trinidad Pro. Does anyone know what else has to be done to the epoxy barrier coat to make sure we get good adhesion? I'm sure the yard here knows but I'd like an idea too. Any help on estimating the conversion costs would be appreciated. (Hunter 40.5) I expect I'll ask for reimbursement for a portion of the costs of the changeover. I really don't think the yard did anything shady, just a communication issue. We'll see what they agree to and if its equitable I'll still have a good rating of the yard. If not, then I'll let you all know the details and the name of the yard.

Thanks for the responses
Smokey

 

[Chris Patterson]

It's been in my experience that no, one should not put hard paint on ablative as the ablative sloughs off by design, so no adhesion. If I had the say, strip it off completely, (the paint), maybe put one more barrier coat on just in case you sand it hard here and there, and reapply.

 

[fstbttms]

You will not have to remove the ablative prior to applying Trinidad. It will need to be well sanded however.