what's a bottom paint cost in yr marina ?

MitchM

.
Jan 20, 2005
1,011
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
i'm doing a survey.: all comments welcome. i will have to hire someone for this job of bottom painting my 20 ' catboat. ( i broke my wrist and some fingers . so my catboat i bought recently is still on the hard and i 'm not able to do much at all this season.) it's kept in a slip in fresh water on lake erie.

there are no major marinas doing professional boat paint work within 150 miles. so i'm getting bids from local people who claim to have experience in car fiberglas and paint work. the catboat bottom is in pretty good shape, some minor sanding on a few spots has been done. i already have bought a whole brand new gallon of interlux $$$$ micron and all the other supplies for painting. I supply rollers , paint trays, drop cloths etc. they just supply their own protective clothing. i will be on site for the whole time the boat job is being done.

the job is : loose paint has already been pressure washed away. the contractor is to wipe down a couple already- sanded spots w acetone and rags, which i'll supply. the waterline stripe must be taped off w frog or 3m blue tape. then contractor is to apply 1 coat micron to those sanded spots and for a foot to the area right below the waterline. let that coat dry. then do 2 coats to the rest of the bottom, letting it dry between coats, per micron directions..

how many hours for 1 guy to do a competent job on this ? what's a typical hourly rate ? the guy does not want a check payable to his boat detail - and - wash co., but a check made to him personally.

thoughts on cost ? amount of hours ? things to watch out for? i usually do my own bottom work and it kills me to have to hire out this job. the 2 guys who have been recommended have a boat washing business locally. so they would put a coat of paint on my boat, then they go tend to their expensive boat wash customers in the same marina as me, which customers unlike me pay for 2x a week boat wash and cleans (at about $800 a season 5/15 thru 10/30.) then they come back to my boat to do more painting. so i don't expect them to be charging travel as they'll already be on site to tend to other customers. they are brothers who live 10 minutes away from the marina.

thanks for all thoughts. fair winds.
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Wow $800 for 44 boat washes over a 5.5 month season twice per week comes out to $18 per wash..........what a bargin....they must not bill themselves out at a high rate!! Since you already know how much time it takes to paint the bottom I do not think the forum can answer that, especially not having seen the boat. I would judge the hours based on your experience. You are also in a better position to know the prevailing boat labor rates in your area than the forum. If they want a personal check that would be fine. Most contractors I work with take CASH, persoanl check or credit card/bank payment through an on-line service.
 
Last edited:
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Lake Erie rates are likely less than either coast. I would guess it's about 5 hours work. So, I'd guess you could get a $20 hr rate. Two guys = $200. A nice tip if done well. A boatyard in the East would charge $90 hr but they don't pay the workers anything like that. Does the boatyard allow outside workers? If so, often there is a requirement to bill through the yard and they'll want insurance.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,727
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
If money is the issue, find a local teenager you Use as your muscle…you tell him what to do and watch as he does it. $15/hour is better than minimum wage and they can 1) learn something and 2) get a suntan at the same time.

or find some friends who will work for beer…just don’t O’Day them until the job is done…


I put a coat of VC17 on my 32 footer in about 2 hours, including masking the water line.

2344D0F3-970B-4DFB-9BA1-0BF5E193EAC3.jpeg
Hope the hand heals quickly!

Greg
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
marina on lake michigan, $125.00/hr all day long. the coasts are cheaper.

good buddy deal, $40.00/hr on the lakes, for sure.

daughter and grandkids, VC17, prep and apply, a sailboat ride :cool:
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
You can have the work done well or you can have the work done cheap. You can't have both.

$20/hour? No BMW worth his weight in sandpaper would paint a boat bottom for that kind of money.
AMEN!
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,727
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
It’s bottom paint (and non-abative)…not brain surgery!

And worst case scenario is you redo it next spring before you splash (and the season is already half over) …so no nasty down side.

Slap some paint on there and get sailing!

last year, I was at the marina a few days before Indiana was going to lock down due to Covid. I asked the yard guys if I could splash the following week. They said, “dunno. It we will splash you today if you want”. I meant to apply a fresh coat of VC17 before launching, so I grabbed my paint and brush, roller and tape, and said “give me a few hours”.
I slapped on the paint, and then remembered my wheel was in my basement as I rebuilt the wheel pilot drive motor over the winter…

Called the Admiral and asked her to bring it to the marina as soon as she could….

Got the boat in the water before the day was out.

So slap some paint on that girl and get sailing ;-).

Greg
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Just to refer back to the OP, the bottom is prepped, the owner is paying for all material costs all the workers have to do is apply the paint - and it's ablative.
So my yard on LI use to charge $60 to $120 per hour for labor. Do you want to guess what they paid the workers? I promise it wasn't that. BTW the "BMW's" would paint over barnacles if I left them there. Prep? Ha! We weren't allowed to paint our bottoms because it was considered as applying a pesticide. Yard rule. I don't wish to demean anyone's labor but those workers would have been happy with $20/hr. They weren't getting that from the yard.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
OK maybe I'm wrong but OP said he bought Micron which I believe is ablative.
As far as "BMW"'s ask Fast Bottoms.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,727
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
OK maybe I'm wrong but OP said he bought Micron which I believe is ablative.
As far as "BMW"'s ask Fast Bottoms.
ok. I see lots of varieties of “Micron”, but I am sure you are right.


Greg
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
BMW. Boat Marine Worker

Like BMW mechanics only on water.