Wet Slip (bottom paint?)

[Carl Noble]

Delev wrote...I sure would hate to paint the bottom and endure the anual cost of $1500 or so, along with the cost of a slower boat, as Frank points out.

The costs if you do the work yourself is about $300 for four coats of barrier epoxy paint. ( Which you will never have to do again).

$400 for four coats of ablative paint. Which should last 2-3 years before needing to be recoated. Then it is $200 to recoat with 2 coats every 2-3 years.

It's not a fun job but is very doable and relieves the worry of blisters and growth on the bottom. As far as slowing the boat down, I'm sure it does a little but I think its negligible.

[Stephen Mooney]

I too have contemplated the joys of leaving the boat in the water. Problem is we do a fair bit of motoring and the nature of antifouls is course/rough - thereby producing large amounts of friction which slows all boats down.
I have recently come across a product called PURESEAL ANTIFOULING made by the Miami Boat Company (UK). The product is not cheap - about $600 to do a Mac however it is supposed to be good for a lifetime!!! Additionally it improves speed as it works on the priciple of being a completely smooth finish which stops microscopic mould growth.
We live in PNG in the tropics and our local 'yacht' club is renowed for very bad fouling. I have a trial sample in the water, and whilst it does grow wildlife it simply slides off when you touch it. I suspect on a Mac, if used reasonably reguarly it would prove to be self cleaning.
Their website is www.miamiboat.co.uk

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

i think that this is the site...

http://www.manorboat.co.uk/pureseal/index.htm

[delevi]

MMM, Ok, sounds good, but how do you guys who do the bottom work yourselves get the boat on those tall jacks so you can actually work on the bottom. I would imagine that you would also need to blast off the gelcoat before applying any of the products mentioned here.

[Frank C]

Regarding Pure Seal coating, a bit of digging with Google turned up this thread, which included the following report:

(Quoting from the linked thread)

• Hi All
  
  Yes I have had experience with this stuff and its not good. I had my boat epoxied and then applied the Miami Boat Co Pure Seal antifouling system. This new "revolutionary" antifouling system repels everything including water. According to the manufacturers. Once applied your hull will remain free from barnacles and weed indefinitely.
  
  The first application was put on just before xmas and launched. By March I noticed growth on the hull. I contacted the Manufacturer now called Manor Boat Co. They informed me that I must have had a faulty batch. I was told to get the boat lifted and they would send two guys down to remove the old application and replace with a new coat of the anti fouling. They told me that they would cover the costs of the lift and storage ashore. So the boat was lifted and they duly turned up and recoated the boat. The boat was relaunched by the end
  of March.
  
  By the Middle of May some 6 weeks later I noticed growth on the hull. I got a scrub by boatscrubber just before we went to France at the end of May
  
  On last Friday 23rd of June I had the boat lifted again the hull was completley covered in barnicles and weed this system does NOT work at all and thats after only 5 weeks. I have to recommend the guy at Sealift2 Don in Cowes he is incredibly helpful. In fact he said that in 35 years hehad never seen growth like that in 5 weeks he said that it was more like 5 months worth of growth. The sealift system is really clever
  in its simplicity. Well worth a try.
  
  To sum up if you are considering this anti-foul system I'd give it a miss if I were you.
  
  Kind regards
  
  Paul Howard
  Ghostly Goose
  

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

I would imagine that you would also need to blast off the gelcoat before applying any of the products mentioned here.

yes. you'll need to lightly sand the bottom.
again...i would only use the Epoxy sealer if i wuz u.
that is, once you put the anti-fouling bottom paint on, it's there for all of eternity.

[Chinook]

Terry - Comments from BWY were one of those quick "Boat Show" conversations. Key points as I recall were:
1. Our boat is usually stored on the trailer.
2. We would be on the water 10 to 12 weeks going up Inside Passage.
3. Water temperatures on that route are typically chilly to cold, thus slower growth conditions.
4. We would be underway a significant part of the time, as opposed to sitting stationary in a slip.
5. Antifouling wax might help with barnacles and hard growth.
6. Bottom paint is a major expense and a major commitment. Once started, it needs to be continued.

Balancing those considerations, Todd felt that not painting was probably the preferred option.

[Frank C]

Amplifying Bob's comment, you only lightly sand the bottom before coating it. The gelcoat has the highest possible adhesion to the fiberglass since the FRP was adhered to it in the mold.

The only time you'd ever "blast-off the gelcoat" is when it's already coming off ... as in blistering. Protecting the gelcoat (avoiding its removal) is exactly the reason for coating the bottom.

[Terry]

Delevi wrote:

MMM, Ok, sounds good, but how do you guys who do the bottom work yourselves get the boat on those tall jacks so you can actually work on the bottom.

Ha, Ha, if only I could get my hands on those tall jacks I see in the boat yards at a reasonable cost, anyone know?
What I do is lower the nose of the trailer as low as it will go, put blocks under the stern and then raise the nose of the trailer up higher than the trailer bunks and put a jack stand under the bow. This allows me to move the trailer back and forth enough to get the areas the bunks cover. I use a mechanics creeper to move around on my back and scrub away while all the cleaning crap drops all over me. Even after I blast it with the pressure washer I still have to use a plastic scraper to remove the residual roots the barnacles and those round critters leave behind. Even the green slime leaves a stain to be scrubbed off, sometimes I use a bleach mixture. It is a big messy ugly job and I cannot see how just an epoxy coat can eliminate this work. I am fanatical about keeping my boat clean and new looking both inside and out. Those stands would give me more clearance underneath while on the creeper, sure whish I could get a few. As for the AF bottom paint, well, comments here will keep me on my back for another season or two.
Chinnook, thanks for the response.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

this looks like the epoxy product to use...

Interlux 2000

[Terry]

Well now I got to wondering:
As a quick and dirty method for keeping the hull clean in between the big jobs I thought of Rogers picture of holding the Mac over on it's side with the jib halyard with empty ballast. I could lash the halyard onto a slip cleat and take a car wash brush with handle and clean half the hull then let the boat upright and then pull it over and tie it onto my neighbors cleat when he is not there and clean the other side. Does this sound feasible. Of course I could also get a 20 foot bolt of cloth and and stand on the deck pulling it back and forth underneath the hull like shining a shoe upside down. Any ideas for easy methods to clean that hull?

[CFCassidy]

If you are going to do it yourself, note that you need to remove the mold release wax from the gelcoat before sanding. Otherwise, you'll grind the wax into the gelcoat and cause poor adhesion of the epoxy barrier coat.

Just as a point of reference on costs, I did it myself when the boat was new. Put on the required coats of barrier, then 3 coats of ablative antifouling. Have followed up with two coats (1 gallon or a little over $100) every 2 years since. I find that I like West Marine's house brand better than Micron. And it's cheaper too.

I'm actually on my third season this summer since repainting and so far, so good.

Charlie

[delevi]

What I do is lower the nose of the trailer as low as it will go, put blocks under the stern and then raise the nose of the trailer up higher than the trailer bunks and put a jack stand under the bow. This allows me to move the trailer back and forth enough to get the areas the bunks cover. I use a mechanics creeper to move around on my back and scrub away while all the cleaning crap drops all over me. Even after I blast it with the pressure washer I still have to use a plastic scraper to remove the residual roots the barnacles and those round critters leave behind. Even the green slime leaves a stain to be scrubbed off, sometimes I use a bleach mixture. It is a big messy ugly job and I cannot see how just an epoxy coat can eliminate this work.

Man, that's a lot of work

[Compromise]

Interesting timing of this topic. See my thread in Trailers & Towing "Trailer Rust Mishap". The name of the thread says it all. My trailer retrieved it's last boat!

My dilema was, (a) spend $3k on a new trailer or (b) bite the bullet and have the bottom paint applied and keep her in a slip.

It became an easy decision when I learned it would take at least a month to have the trailer completed. I had no choice but to leave the Mac in the water. A previous 6 week stint in these murky gulf coast waters gave birth to a plethera of marine growth and barnacles. The slime began almost immediately, within 7 days I had small weed growth and thicker coating of slime. Needless to say when I took her out it was a lot of work to get her back in shape.

Just knowing I had to leave her in the same waters for a minimum of a month helped me make my decision.

Being a total novice in this area, I researched on the internet and here of course .
When I decided to go with the bottom paint I learned there were two price choices to have it done. The cheaper price ($850) would get me a bottom job which came with a guarantee of no growth for 1 year. However, if I were to take her out of the water for more than 2-3 days this would "kill" the paint and it would not be of any use. There is a possibility I may trailer again in the near future, so this posed a problem for me.

The second price $1150 (ablative paint) was guaranteed for two - three years and it did not matter if I had her out of the water for any length of time. She is in the boatyard as we speak.

Curious, are blisters covered by insurance? Or is it pretty much like the rust on your saltwater used trailer?

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

It became an easy decision when I learned it would take at least a month to have the trailer completed.

i'm looking at adding the second axle. i want to do it myself with the Champion kit ($599 + ?).
indoing so i'll need to put in the water for a couple of weeks.

so now...maybe i put the Epoxy Interlux 2000 (white) on the bottom prior to putting in the slip.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI & '06 2.5-Suzuki