MacGregorSailors.com

Hi Everyone,

Here's my quandry. I'm planning on renting a slip for my '07 26M at a marina at Channel Is. Harbor this, week for about 3 months 'til the sailing season is over. I'm concerned about bottom hull blistering & fouling during that period & am wondering whether or not I can get by without anti-fouling for such a short time. I was planning on following Bill MacKenzie's tips on bottom painting after I pull the boat out & giving it a good spray wash:

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/article ... inting.php

I also checked with a local ship yard, but the're asking over $2,000.00 for an anti-fouling job & for 2 weeks down time.

I'm running out of sailing season & would like to get the boat in the slip this week, but am wondering if I'm borrowing trouble by not having bottom paint for the 3 months it'll be in the water.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ray

I'm sure you must be aware of this because it is in the link you posted, but anti-fouling (usually called bottom paint) will not prevent blistering as it doesn't seal the bottom to water intrusion. You need an epoxy barrier coat to accomplish that.

I used Sea Hawk's Tuff Stuff as it was somewhat cheaper than others, but mainly since it only requires 2 coats and using it followed with a bottom paint is a pretty straight forward procedure, but you still have to put this stuff on in a time sensitive manner for it all to work and stick.

Here is a link...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-39.html

..to how I....



... painted the bottom of our Mac a year ago. It was a long 4 days and used about $600 in materials, but we are very happy with the outcome.

I don't know if we would of had blistering without the barrier coat, but after having the boat in Florida waters for about 3 months this past year there was no growth or slime on the bottom and we had plenty on the dinghy (cleaned it three times) and on unpainted parts of the Mac.

I did the barrier coat up front as it was only $120 and a few more hours of painting as you still have to do the prep work before putting on a bottom coat. If you do it later and have to remove all of the bottom paint and fix blisters it is going to take a lot longer than a couple hours and $120. If you start with a bare bottom do the barrier coat and be done with it. We are going through the remove the bottom paint, fix blisters and repaint the bottom on the Endeavour and it hasn't been cheap. We did know we were going to have to do it when we bought her, but it is costing a little more than double what we had anticipated, which I guess is cheap in in boat 'anticipated' expenses terms .

Good luck,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

Ray, I keep my boat at Channel Islands Landing, on the trailer. $120.00 a month and all the hoists in and out you want! Wash stand for clean up when you return and avoid all the maintenance of in the water storage

Thanks for the tip on the barrier coat, Sum. I'm definately going to look into it (& your useful step-by-step journal) this winter. I may have to find an enclosed shop for a project like yours though. So, what do you think? Is 3 months w/o bottom paint doable, or am I lookong for trouble?

Steve... I weighed the pros & cons between dry dock at Anchors Way & slip at Anacapa Marina. Mast up is about 1/2 the slip fee & keeping it out of the water is definately a plus. However, once I factored in guest slip fees (& the fact that the county guest facilities are becoming run down, noisy & a homeless magnet), the slip for a short term was looking better. Clubhouse, sauna, gym, pool, well kept slips, spotless showers & restrooms for $335.00/mo for the next few months was pretty enticing. I may try mast up next year to save some money, but am still going to look into bottom paint.

Steve;

But then you wouldn't have the convience and fun of being in a slip and always ready to go, which, IMHO, is worth a LOT Most people get a GREAT deal more use of their Mac if it is always in the water. I started out in mast-up storage at MDR and when I decided to get a slip instead; it turned out to be one of my better boating decisions

Ray;

Is it possible to NOT bottom paint now and just have a diver use a soft sponge (or something similiar) to clean your boat bottom once a month at a cost probably of around $30 TO $40 a month????

Rick

pokerrick1 wrote:..Ray; Is it possible to NOT bottom paint now and just have a diver use a soft sponge (or something similiar) to clean your boat bottom once a month at a cost probably of around $30 TO $40 a month???? Rick

I agree with Rick and would take that approach vs. putting on bottom paint and not the barrier paint also,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

Well guys, thanks alot! My brain doesn't hurt anymore... Slip now & bottom paint later.

Barrier before bottom paint seems like really good advise.

$30-40 to keep the critters off the hull is definately affordable.

Thanks again!

hardflat-Ray:

my X is docked in Mandalay along the main channel in front of our house.
i followed Sum's advice, ordered the Sea Hawk products. started w/ barrier coat (two coats), then the black anti-fouling paint.

the materials are about $300. the CI yard charges about $150 for blocking + 3-day stay (if you drive in on your trailer). it's an easy DIY job.

you're right, $35 is the going rate to clean a Mac bottom in the harbor.

word of warning, the $35 cleanings are generally done once a month. but w/ an untreated hull, it begins to build quickly after just 7 days.

Thanks Bobby,

Blocking at a yard may be a good alternative for me.

BTW, how do you clear the bridge?

hartflat wrote:BTW, how do you clear the bridge?

like every other sailboat does inside mandalay...drop the mast about 5'.
i have a permanent halyard from top of mast to bow rail and a quick release pin where furler connects to bow.
it's a quick and easy process to drop mast just enough to clear bridge.

Bobby T.-26X #4767 wrote:hardflat-Ray:

my X is docked in Mandalay along the main channel in front of our house.

You have no idea how much I ENVY this

I have dreams at night of my 100' Motoryacht parked in it's slip in back of my house

Rick

PS Unfortunately the back of my house is more houses and I have no 100" (or any foot) motoryacht

trailering the boat every weekend, raising the mast, taking down the mast and packing up for the trip home is no fun,

I usally waited until july and I would acquire a a transienT dock ( LAKE Erie, fresh water) on a monthy basis. I would keep the boat at at the marina until late October, aBOUT 4 MONTHS
I definitly used my boat much more , and usuall spend 3 of 4 weekends a month staying on the boat . a hot Marina shower, a real bathroom, Ice machine and fresh hot Coffee is. worth the price of
transient docking. ( about $230 per month,)

I did this for about 11 years with my 1988 Mac 26D and 7 of 10 years with my 2000 26X. boat boats were stock Macgregor gelcoat. I never seen a blister. the bottom would start to get a little slomy after a week. I kept a long handle soft bristle brush and could easily remove most slime from the dock. about once every 2 weeks I would go to a shallow 3 foot sandbar or beach and srub the bottom with a heavy duty spoonge. If I left the bottom get too dirty, it serously afffected sailing performance..

A few years ago I got a litle nervous about blisters, so after two months sitting in the water, I simply took my trailer to the Lake and pulled the boat out and let it dry out for 2 days in the parkaing lot of the boat ramp.
I convinced myself to tke a chance on blisters,,, if It would blister then I would sand it down and apply barrier coat and anti fouling paint.

I recently sold my 26X ( biggest mistake of my life). The man I sold it too hasnt called me to compain about any blisters. I took the chance and lucked out.

Good Luck.

Hi there!

This is my first post here. I was going to open a new topic about anti-fouling, however I noticed this similar topic, so let me ask here.

My situation is a bit different, because I am ex-pat, living in Turkey (Mediterranean sea). I bought a Mac 26M because I live nearby a river, boat is in the river, and it takes me 15 minutes to motor to Mediterranean sea. After I have got the the brand new '2011 26M (thank God, I wasn't disappointed in my purchase so far ), I put it into river, and started to equip it, learn to raise the mast and sail, etc... I guess you guys well know that kind of fun for a new boat owner...

Yet, after few days I noticed that under waterline, my boat gets solid green, due to algae/weeds in the water. (THere's a lot of farmers nearby, I guess lots of fertilisers are brought to river.) Being a novice, I haven't thought that new boat needs some anti-fouling before putting it in water, stupid of me!!!

Occasionally, I have taken some sea-trips that lasted for no more than few hours, because I do not feel myself experienced enough for few days' trip. So, marine fouling and seaweeds are not of much concern to me now, but could be in the future...

After two weeks, I have taken out the boat out of the water. And took it to car-wash, where they were power-washing the boat for 1.5 hours... The weeds were not coming off easily, and water wasn't enough by itself!!! After trying 5 or 7 types of detergents, we found one that worked well enough (something for cleaning the kitchenware AFAIR!!!), and now boat looks "like new". (I wish I could add pictures here, please advice some photo-hosting to put the photos and link them here).

So... I need advice what to do?

Now the boat is dry, two weeks on trailer. Actually, I want to put and keep her in the water for another two weeks, and then take out, dry her and start doing anti-fouling, barrier painting, etc... However, in Turkey it isn't easy to buy a proper anti-fouling and barrier paint, etc...

I'd like to hear your sound advice about:

1. It is dangerous to put her in water again, another 2 weeks in water, totally 2+2=4 weeks. Will it kill her paint, so I need to sand the paint down to gel coating? (Something I wouldn't want to do to a new, 2 weeks old boat!)

2. Sea trips are short now, but I hope to make some long Mediterranean trips next summer. Do I need to look for some special anti-fouling agent/paint that works both in freshwater (actually that river is brackish, as a matter of fact, and crabs and shrimps and glowing jelly-fish are living in it!!!) and seawater. Remember that it is hard to find and even mail-order the famous brands available in US, so I will be looking not for particular brand of paint, but for a type of paint (say, epoxy compound paint with copper, etc)...

3. Yes, what kind/type of paint (anti-fouling and barrier) do I need to find for a almost new Mac? (I think copper containing paints are legal here.)

4. Do I need to sand all the paint for proper results (as I told you, totally spent 2-4 weeks in water)?

5. For How long do I need to dry the boat before putting some paint on?

Sorry for too many questions, any help greatly appreciated!!!


P.S. By the way, how to wash ALL the bottom of boat, when it is on a trailer? Are there any smart ways?

DrV wrote:Hi there!.............Sorry for too many questions, any help greatly appreciated!!!

As I've said before if I was going to put anti-fouling on I would put on a barrier coat then as it is way easier vs. having to take all paint off and doing it later. The barrier paint is an epoxy paint.

You need to lightly sand the bottom prior to either a barrier paint or if you use just an epoxy. I think there are some primers on the market that will let you put them on first with no sanding, but personally I wouldn't go that route, but you might want to check it out.

The sanding creates a 'mechanical' bond between the gel coat and the paint so that it doesn't flake off. When you go between the barrier coat and the anti-fouling you need to do this within the manufacture's time window. This creates a 'chemical bond' between the barrier and anti-fouling paints. If you wait too long the first paint will no longer be able to have that bond and you again stand the chance of the paint flaking off. This will or should be in the instructions for the paints you choose or on the manufacture's web site.

When I knew that we were taking our boat to Florida I asked other boat owners in that area what anti-fouling was working for them there. I would suggest that you should do the same where you are. If you can't find the answer on the Internet ask around at the various marinas.

Good luck and congrats on the new boat,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

Sumner wrote:

DrV wrote:Hi there!.............Sorry for too many questions, any help greatly appreciated!!!

As I've said before if I was going to put anti-fouling on I would put on a barrier coat then as it is way easier vs. having to take all paint off and doing it later. The barrier paint is an epoxy paint.

You need to lightly sand the bottom prior to either a barrier paint or if you use just an epoxy. I think there are some primers on the market that will let you put them on first with no sanding, but personally I wouldn't go that route, but you might want to check it out.

The sanding creates a 'mechanical' bond between the gel coat and the paint so that it doesn't flake off. When you go between the barrier coat and the anti-fouling you need to do this within the manufacture's time window. This creates a 'chemical bond' between the barrier and anti-fouling paints. If you wait too long the first paint will no longer be able to have that bond and you again stand the chance of the paint flaking off. This will or should be in the instructions for the paints you choose or on the manufacture's web site.

Thank you so much for taking your time to reply!
that is what I needed to hear!

two questions remain:

1. when you say "You need to lightly sand the bottom" - do I get it right that I can do it myself with sandpaper (no need for sandblaster)?

2. What do you think - would it make any difference if I slip the boat to brackish waters for another 2 weeks to only after that, during Fall, to start drying, sanding, painting, etc. (I think no problem, just unsure, need advice. Now I feel abit like when I bought my first car, and didn't know much, and asked many naive questions...)