Newbie says: School me on bottom paint..!

[jaymoussy]

School this newbie on bottom paint:

- why is it needed?

- is it a bad feature(?) on a used boat, and if yes, why?

- if present on a boat, how often does it need to be redone?

Why I am asking: new to boats, I am looking at used boats, saltwater use.

 

[agallant80]

- why is it needed?
Stops bottom growth such as barnicals and plants but its only needed when a boat is slipped


- is it a bad feature(?) on a used boat, and if yes, why?
Yes and no. With some trailerable boats people can be turned off as they think it may hide hull issues. There is no avoiding having it on a larger boat that lives in a slip


- if present on a boat, how often does it need to be redone?
Needs a re-coat once a year Best thing to do is have red as your first and black as your top coat. that way when you start seeing red you know its time to recoat

Don't forget the barrier coat. Its an epoxy coat that will stop the fiberglass from absorbing water and creating hull blisters.

 

[Chris1956]

There are multi-year antifouling paints, called ablatives. They are supposed to wear off gradually, allowing multi year usage. The amount of time they last depends on the amount of marine growth in your water, and that depends a lot on the temperature of the water. Tropical water requires stronger antifouling paint, in general than cooler water.

Some folks recommend the base coat of ablative antifouling paint to be a different color so you can see when it needs to be redone. In my observations, the paint color never wears off to reveal the under color, before you start to get barnacles. I therefore use the same color for all coats.

 

[tpenfield]

Salt water use will have you re-painting each year in order to provide the best protection against marine growth on the hull and running gear. In a ocean coastal market, it would be expected to see bottom paint on used boats for sale. In a inland lake market, not so much.

 

[jaymoussy]

Don't forget the barrier coat. Its an epoxy coat that will stop the fiberglass from absorbing water....

Ah,
When does that coat come in?
Factory applied?
Renewed regularly?

 

[tpenfield]

It is nice to put the barrier coat on before you apply any anti-fouling paint (i.e. bottom paint).. It sounds like the boat(s) you are considering may already have bottom paint. If so, then too late to add the barrier coat, unless you take off the bottom paint an prep the hull.

folks in fresh water should really use barrier coat as well, but often they do not. water eventually works its way through fiberglass and the barrier coat provides a protective layer to prevent that.

 

[JoLin]

Salt water use will have you re-painting each year in order to provide the best protection against marine growth on the hull and running gear. In a ocean coastal market, it would be expected to see bottom paint on used boats for sale. In a inland lake market, not so much.

What he said. I'm trying a water-based abaltive paint for the first time this year. One friend's been using it for years and swears by it. I'll see how it goes. Sure is nice to work with, tho. No smell, and easy cleanup.

 

[tpenfield]

What he said. I'm trying a water-based abaltive paint for the first time this year. One friend's been using it for years and swears by it. I'll see how it goes. Sure is nice to work with, tho. No smell, and easy cleanup.

What brand is it? How does it taste ?

 

[JoLin]

What brand is it? How does it taste ?

Sea Hawk 'Monterey'. I chose it over the Pettit Hydrocoat because it has a higher percentage of copper in it.

(It tastes like chicken :joyous: )

 

[tpenfield]

Sea Hawk 'Monterey'. I chose it over the Pettit Hydrocoat because it has a higher percentage of copper in it.

(It tastes like chicken :joyous: )

I had considered trying the Sea Hawk brand of paint at one point, but stayed with what works, and for me, that has been ePaint EP-2000 (White) . . . tastes like a Vanilla Milk Shake