What to put on the Hull before Antifouling

[OwensXL19]

I have a 1965 Owens and we stripped the entire boat to restore. The bottom was by far the worst. It was pitted like no other, and would take weeks to restore to the original condition.

Long story short, the entire boat except the bottom is at the painters right now. The painter recemended putting antifouling on the bottom, but in a very minimal way, and to save $900 we are doing this ourselves.

My question is, the bottom is a cross between fiberglass and duraglass(used to fill pits), what should i apply to seal up the hull before painting on the antifouling. I also want to do very little or no sanding, my back just cant take it anymore.

 

[seven up]

Re: What to put on the Hull before Antifouling

The bottoms of fiberglass boats are sealed with a "barrier coat" before antifouling paint is applied. It's a two part epoxy based product.

I had to read your post twice as I wasn't sure Owens had fiberglass hulls in 1965.



Enjoy

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What to put on the Hull before Antifouling

Yes to the two part epoxy barrier coat paint. Read the instructions on the competing products. Some want you to put 5-6 coats of the stuff, whereas other are thicker and require 3 coats. You need to recoat at specific intervals depending on the temperature.

Use an ablative bottom paint over the barrier coat. Two coats of bttom paint will last 2+years, and then it wears off, reducing buildup.

 

[OwensXL19]

Re: What to put on the Hull before Antifouling

Thanks for the advise. Yea, we said the same thing when we came across it, fiberglass? I have had a very hard time finding info on this boat. I have found 3 other, one was forsale in California and was no where near being original, and 2 that were owned by the same guy in New Jersey.