I haul my boat every few years to paint etc.I have a 30 foot hunter 1980.What process should I use to get the bottom in shape,sanding ,painting etc please give me some advice.JD
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Bob Howie
On your bottom
I have the same boat, but mine's a '78 and here's how I take care of the bottom. Assuming you have no "sucking chest wound" blisters and your gel coat is in reasonable sound shape with no big chucks of it missing, you can simply sand the bottom (and I would STRONGLY suggest you use a full-on respirator and NOT one of those dinky little paper masks, good eye protection and wear one of those Tyvek protective suit with hood)using a belt sander or a grinder-type sanding disk with stick-on sanding sheets and 100-120 grit paper. Be careful not to sand thru your gel coat, just get the bulk of the old bottom paint off. Clean the surface very well with a solvent-based wash such as Interlux Fiberglas Wash and then roll on a couple of coats of your favorite stuff...I recommend Interlux Ultra; mine is 18 months old, just hauled the boat for some shaft and strut work and the bottom is very, very sound and clean. Of course, unless you are just determined to do your own stuff, most bottom jobs will cost you about $1,100 and I would suggest, if you have never done a bottom job, that this is not a bad price and well-worth the expense. Good luck.
I have the same boat, but mine's a '78 and here's how I take care of the bottom. Assuming you have no "sucking chest wound" blisters and your gel coat is in reasonable sound shape with no big chucks of it missing, you can simply sand the bottom (and I would STRONGLY suggest you use a full-on respirator and NOT one of those dinky little paper masks, good eye protection and wear one of those Tyvek protective suit with hood)using a belt sander or a grinder-type sanding disk with stick-on sanding sheets and 100-120 grit paper. Be careful not to sand thru your gel coat, just get the bulk of the old bottom paint off. Clean the surface very well with a solvent-based wash such as Interlux Fiberglas Wash and then roll on a couple of coats of your favorite stuff...I recommend Interlux Ultra; mine is 18 months old, just hauled the boat for some shaft and strut work and the bottom is very, very sound and clean. Of course, unless you are just determined to do your own stuff, most bottom jobs will cost you about $1,100 and I would suggest, if you have never done a bottom job, that this is not a bad price and well-worth the expense. Good luck.
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Dave Johndrow
Dont use a belt sander
When stripping the old paint off your better off using a disk sander than a belt sander. The belt sander may leave a lot of flat spots on the hull if you leave it in place too long. Also big and heavy and bad on your back and shoulders. I"m going to try the chemical strippers like peel-away and see how that works out. Usually I just clean up the bottom fair-out chipped areas and paint over the old paint. (Ablative paint) Also make sure your marina still allows owners to do this. My marina still does but requires ground cover and dust collectors. (enviormental laws) My guess is that in the next few years even that will be stopped.
When stripping the old paint off your better off using a disk sander than a belt sander. The belt sander may leave a lot of flat spots on the hull if you leave it in place too long. Also big and heavy and bad on your back and shoulders. I"m going to try the chemical strippers like peel-away and see how that works out. Usually I just clean up the bottom fair-out chipped areas and paint over the old paint. (Ablative paint) Also make sure your marina still allows owners to do this. My marina still does but requires ground cover and dust collectors. (enviormental laws) My guess is that in the next few years even that will be stopped.
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Roland
Bottom job
Had my '77 h30 hull sandblasted 18 months ago and then epoxied with West System, faired, primed, and spray painted with ACP-60 ablative paint. I use the boat 3-4 times a month which helps the ablative paint do it's job. My diver says I have one of the cleanest bottoms in the marina. ( I hope he's referring to my boat ). -Roland s/v Fraulein II
Had my '77 h30 hull sandblasted 18 months ago and then epoxied with West System, faired, primed, and spray painted with ACP-60 ablative paint. I use the boat 3-4 times a month which helps the ablative paint do it's job. My diver says I have one of the cleanest bottoms in the marina. ( I hope he's referring to my boat ). -Roland s/v Fraulein II
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steve growcock
Bottom paint suggestion
About Dave's comment. He is correct, use an industrial orbital disc sander. I used at least 100 sheets of 60 grit as I had 6(!) layers of paint to get through. Indeed, use the respirators, gloves, tyvex suits and goggles and duct tape. Still, expect to find paint dust hidden in anatomical places you thought were safe. I have a 25 ft Oday and it took me a combined total of 24 manhours to get all the paint off. It is amazing to me how big a smaller boat can be when you are under it sanding away square inches at a time. Of course, I was called "Popa Smurf" for several weeks. When repainting, I used the longest multi-year paint I could find on the market. I do not want to repeat this procedure for some time. I don't know, Jon, the $1k sounds good to me. Steve!
About Dave's comment. He is correct, use an industrial orbital disc sander. I used at least 100 sheets of 60 grit as I had 6(!) layers of paint to get through. Indeed, use the respirators, gloves, tyvex suits and goggles and duct tape. Still, expect to find paint dust hidden in anatomical places you thought were safe. I have a 25 ft Oday and it took me a combined total of 24 manhours to get all the paint off. It is amazing to me how big a smaller boat can be when you are under it sanding away square inches at a time. Of course, I was called "Popa Smurf" for several weeks. When repainting, I used the longest multi-year paint I could find on the market. I do not want to repeat this procedure for some time. I don't know, Jon, the $1k sounds good to me. Steve!
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Chip
Bottom Job Qs
Did you have yard do the sand blast job? How tick an epoxy base did you do. I'm thinking of a simialr project next year and am interested in the details (pros/cons) of this approach vs. $18k for a yard doing the work
Did you have yard do the sand blast job? How tick an epoxy base did you do. I'm thinking of a simialr project next year and am interested in the details (pros/cons) of this approach vs. $18k for a yard doing the work
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Roland
Bottom Job
I had a yard do the work. I'm not sure of the thickness of the epoxy, but I can't imagine it being very thick as long as it seals the hull. $18k seems quite excessive to me. How big of a boat do you have? I had the work done with some other work, but I believe the whole bottom job from blasting to final coat was about $3K, maybe less. I would shop around. Good luck. -Roland -s/v Fraulein II
I had a yard do the work. I'm not sure of the thickness of the epoxy, but I can't imagine it being very thick as long as it seals the hull. $18k seems quite excessive to me. How big of a boat do you have? I had the work done with some other work, but I believe the whole bottom job from blasting to final coat was about $3K, maybe less. I would shop around. Good luck. -Roland -s/v Fraulein II
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