Bottom Paint

[rlynch03]

How often do you’ll do a full bottom sand and paint? I haven’t since July of 2019 just before I got the boat.

Every year since we have pulled the boat, power washed and just touched up the bottom paint. The running and swim platform gear requires a full sand and paint each year though.

Thinking it’s time to schedule a full bottom job. We just power washed and touched up the bottom a month and half ago (paint still looked good) but the bottom is mucked up with growth already and performance is down again so maybe I need to go to an Ablative or just fresh full bottom paint.

Do you guys take the paint down to the barrier coat each time you paint?

If so, do you have them sand or use a soda blast?

Also wondering if most of you use an Ablative or Hard Paint.

Rich

 

[Skybolt]

How often do you’ll do a full bottom sand and paint? I haven’t since July of 2019 just before I got the boat.

Every year since we have pulled the boat, power washed and just touched up the bottom paint. The running and swim platform gear requires a full sand and paint each year though.

Thinking it’s time to schedule a full bottom job. We just power washed and touched up the bottom a month and half ago (paint still looked good) but the bottom is mucked up with growth already and performance is down again so maybe I need to go to an Ablative or just fresh full bottom paint.

Do you guys take the paint down to the barrier coat each time you paint?

If so, do you have them sand or use a soda blast?

Also wondering if most of you use an Ablative or Hard Paint.

Rich

Really good questions Rich, I am on an every other year re-paint with an ablative. But to your point the growth is crazy this year. I did a short haul this year in June and power washed the bottom, didn't have to touch anything up and just replace the zinc's. I was able to achieve 24mph cruise at 1850rpm. Around a month later I was and still am at 20-21mph cruise at same RPM. Prior years were not as bad as this one seems to be. I use Interlux Micron ablative which usually performs great. My slip neighbor uses any old thing he can and has not had the slow down issue like myself and a few others I know. Not sure what the answer is for this either.

When the paint is applied the existing bottom is just roughed up and then painted. To take it down to the barrier coat would mean soda blasting it. That is an expensive task, but one I am considering next season. And always using ablative paint, maybe that's the issue? Still only using ablative in the future. It lessens the need for soda blasting.


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[FootballFan]

Right now I am in year 2 on my last bottom job, looks like I will make it almost 3 years. I did have the running gear and swim platform stripped down and redone about 6 months ago when I was out of the water having some other work done.

The previous bottom job lasted a little over a year. I had it done in the Chesapeake before bringing the boat back south for the winter. No complaints about the job they did, but the paint they heavily recommended just did not hold up after I got back to FL. Zero complaints about the job that was done in the Chesapeake area - just the conditions are different.

Great question to put on the forum. My advice would be to focus more on feedback from people who are in the same water and conditions that you are in. What works well in other parts of the country may not be best for your area.

As far as stripping down to the barrier or sanding/soda blast I think that would depend heavily on the condition of your bottom.

 

[sbw1]

Never took our boats down to barrier coat and started over. Just painted with ablative paint about every 3-4 years. We did touch up the water line and smile every year strictly for appearances. Lake Michigan is pretty bottom paint friendly. A high pressure wash in the fall at haul out and the bottom looks good if you have a good initial paint job. Lots of boats are poorly prepared for painting. This results in an annual repaint becoming necessary due to adhesion failures.

 

[carterchapman]

I didn't think Sea Ray added a barrier coat first from the factory - just ablative paint. I have hard coat and am considering soda blast and starting over. Since Sea Ray's gelcoat is not prone to blisters, why barrier coat?

Maybe @fwebster will chime in...

 

[Pirate Lady]

Never. I use ablative Woolsey. Every year I touch up missing spots and that’s it. Takes maybe 30 minutes start to gloves off. 3rd year coming up, same gallon.
People use WAY too much paint.
And you don’t EVER need to sand if you use ablative.
We just hauled for some outdrive work. Wife looked at it and said, not bad, take us maybe 10 minutes to paint this year.

 

[fwebster]

I have pretty long term experience with Sea Ray gelcoat in warm salt water…like 25 years. Like most things the longer you keep them the less effective things like factory gelcoat last. At about year 20, we began having a few blisters show up. at year 20 we sand blasted the bottrom and barrier coated with Interprotect 2000 Epoxy primer. then lasst year we had 3-4 more smalle blisters show up.

My view is that barrier coating is good but it is not a permanent fix to bottom health. I think it is just one more of those maintenance things that has to be monitored and redone periodically.

W had more problems keeping the Hard paint on the rudders, shafts, props and tabs than bottom paint problems. We used Sea Hawk Ablative bottom paint exclusively and had great results with it in the hull bottom.I consistantly got 4 years in Florida with Sea Hawk and usually ckeaned and repainted the hardware annually.

 

[Henry Boyd]

On the 280 I had the bottom soda blasted and then used the Petitt epoxy 4700 after accumulating about 8 years of unknown stuff used by the previous owner and 3 years of whatever the boat yard supplied. I went back with ablative followed by annual touch ups mostly on the waterline until we sold it in 2019, still looking solid with no flaking.

With the current boat we soda blasted last fall, again with the Petitt 4700 and used their Vivid red. It was what was on it and the boss really likes the bright red. I am expecting similar results to what we had with the sea Ray.

in 2020 I refurbished the pods that are NiBrAl using 4700 epoxy and Petitt’s ECO HRT non copper bottom paint. It both holds up really well and is super effective against barnacles.

 

[rlynch03]

On the 280 I had the bottom soda blasted and then used the Petitt epoxy 4700 after accumulating about 8 years of unknown stuff used by the previous owner and 3 years of whatever the boat yard supplied. I went back with ablative followed by annual touch ups mostly on the waterline until we sold it in 2019, still looking solid with no flaking.

With the current boat we soda blasted last fall, again with the Petitt 4700 and used their Vivid red. It was what was on it and the boss really likes the bright red. I am expecting similar results to what we had with the sea Ray.

in 2020 I refurbished the pods that are NiBrAl using 4700 epoxy and Petitt’s ECO HRT non copper bottom paint. It both holds up really well and is super effective against barnacles.

Thank you for the info. What area do you boat?

Also curious what the cost was for the soda blasting. Thank you…

Rich

 

[dtfeld]

I didn't think Sea Ray added a barrier coat first from the factory - just ablative paint. I have hard coat and am considering soda blast and starting over. Since Sea Ray's gelcoat is not prone to blisters, why barrier coat?

Maybe @fwebster will chime in...

While its not prone to blisters, it does blister. I had about 25 small/medium blisters on my bottom that I had repaired this winter. They wanted to strip, re barrier coat and repaint the entire bottom, but I choose to just fix the blisters and monitor the situation, but I think its due next time out of the water, probably 2024 or so. Fresh water is a little more prone from what I've read.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Thank you for the info. What area do you boat?

Also curious what the cost was for the soda blasting. Thank you…

Rich

We are out of Newburyport Mass. This summer was spent between NBYPT and the area just north of Portland ME. In the past we have ranged from as far south as Provincetown and as far north as Mount Desert and Isle au Haut islands in Penobscot Bay.

The bottom job on the Sabre was done as part of our winter layup along with a number of other finishing related things carried out by the same crew, so without going through the monthly invoices I can’t give you an exact amount. So my best guess without research is somewhere between $1500 and $2500.