Which Bottom Paint for Lake Minnetonka?

Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
Some freshwater lakes are heavily infested with zebra mussels. They are prolific and will heavily foul a boat. In other areas there is a lot of algae that will start as slime and over the course of a season turn into a full waterline beard.
This is what we have on Minnetonka. If you don't paint, you will get slime/algae on the waterline and you will get Zebra Mussels. Hell ya get slime on the waterline no matter what so ya motor out in to the bay and hop in the water to scrub it off. People who do not paint their boats have their boats on lifts. The lifts get covered with them and need to be scrapped or just pulled and cleaned. This is the nature of our lake.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,045
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Hell ya get slime on the waterline no matter what so ya motor out in to the bay and hop in the water to scrub it off. People who do not paint their boats have their boats on lifts.
I guess that's pretty much my point. Algae is going to create a slime coat whether you paint or not. I still have to clean off the algae slime in our brackish and salt water despite putting on ablative paint. The paint keeps the barnacles off. I do get a cloud of paint now when I scrub the bottom with a brush, but the algae isn't abated in the least bit by the paint.

I've lived with boats (kept in the water without a lift) in lake water in Illinois, Wisconsin, & New Jersey for almost my entire life and never even once considered the need for painting the bottom. I will admit that I've never experienced zebra mussels as I left the midwest before they were an issue but how are they going to affect a 17' trailer sailer if there are no thru hulls (can't you close them when you leave the boat if there are any?) and the outboard is tilted up?
 
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
I guess that's pretty much my point. Algae is going to create a slime coat whether you paint or not. I still have to clean off the algae slime in our brackish and salt water despite putting on ablative paint. The paint keeps the barnacles off. I do get a cloud of paint now when I scrub the bottom with a brush, but the algae isn't abated in the least bit by the paint.

I've lived with boats (kept in the water without a lift) in lake water in Illinois, Wisconsin, & New Jersey for almost my entire life and never even once considered the need for painting the bottom. I will admit that I've never experienced zebra mussels as I left the midwest before they were an issue but how are they going to affect a 17' trailer sailer if there are no thru hulls (can't you close them when you leave the boat if there are any?) and the outboard is tilted up?
If you are dry sailing you are fine. Those of us on a ball or a slip need to paint because the Zebras will grow all over your boat bottom and keel. I know I missed a small spot last spring as I have one or two Zebra's on the keel where it meets the hull. Them and milfoil are a huge problem here in MN because with so many lakes, boats go from lake to lake. There are now volunteers at boat ramps that spend their day hanging out inspecting boats to be sure there are no aquatic hitchhikers.

Keel with Zebras
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
I will admit that I've never experienced zebra mussels as I left the midwest before they were an issue but how are they going to affect a 17' trailer sailer if there are no thru hulls (can't you close them when you leave the boat if there are any?) and the outboard is tilted up?
Zebra mussels build colonies and grow on top of them selves. They attach to hard surfaces.

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Jan 7, 2011
4,727
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I use VC17 on my hull, boat in a slip south end of Lake Michigan. I do a full recoat every other year, and touch up leading edge of rudder, keel, etc. on the off year.

Greg
 
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