Timing of bottom painting

[swist]

Hi, For 10 years, I used a marina up in Maine for my end-of-season maintenance, winterizing etc. Before delivering the boat back to me (usualy by mid-October) they repainted the bottom. So it sat outside with the new paint until Spring launch.

I recently changed marinas because I changed boats and I need a Mercury dealer to do the engine work, but this place doesn't recommend painting in the Fall, but rather they want me to bring it back in the Spring just before launch.

Needless to say, the former approach is more convenient. I do realize that new bottom paint out of water can lose some effectiveness, but I never had a growth problem with the old method, and up here in Maine with very cold water, bottom growth is not the issue as it is in more tropical climates.

Any comments?

 

[danpemby]

Re: Timing of bottom painting

I can't really say one way or the other, but it seems to me that having the entire off season to cure the paint is not a bad idea. Again I have no experience or real knowledge of boat paint.

 

[stevieray]

Re: Timing of bottom painting

swist, ablative paint will stand air exposure for all winter with no loss of effectiveness. Do you know the brand & type that they are using?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Timing of bottom painting

swist, Most marinas paint in the spring, since normal (non-ablative) bottom paint has a 60 day maximum, before you must immerse the hull, or you must repaint. Ablative paint does not have this restriction. As long as you are using the ablative paint, which I recommend, I would try to convince your new marina to paint in the fall.

 

[swist]

Re: Timing of bottom painting

Good questions. I never looked into the type being used.

My one and only experience trying to apply bottom paint myself was on my very first saltwater boat many many years ago. The toxic mess all over myself, the trailer, and the back yard almost sent my wife to divorce court. Since then I guess I don't ask enough questions, as long as it gets done by someone else!

 

[stevieray]

Re: Timing of bottom painting

"Trailer" and "backyard" are the operative words here. I had a local marina forklift mine onto a cradle & I did the work there. No fuss, no muss. The thrifty SOB that I am will not let me pay some monkey half a large to do something I can do myself in a day. Different strokes for different blokes, I guess