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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

bottom sealing

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cat78
1st Mate

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34 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/09/2005 : 08:30:28

Well, after five years of thinking about it I'm getting ready to get ready to seal the bottom of my 78 c25. So far I haven't noticed any blisters bellow the water line but what I have are thousands of hair line cracks in the gelcoat. Could some owners give me an idea of what they've used to seal their boat bottoms and the results. I have read you can use anything from gluvit to alkyd silcone paint. Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks
Dave
Cat78

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2005 : 10:03:11

Dave,

I have barrier coated three sailboats, two fiberglass, and one wooden. I used WEST epoxy on all three. On the glass boats, I used their barrier coat additive. On the wooden boat I also built up a couple of layers of cloth. On both glass boats, there was a small amount of re-blistering a few years later, which was easy to touch up. In both cases, I attribute that to imperfections in my application, not to any inherent short coming in the product. In my opinion, it's important to get the fiberglass (or wood) really dry before coating, and to keep the bilges dry afterwards.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

thaind
Navigator

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Canada
145 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2005 : 10:16:52

Leon's point about dry bilges is especialy important. All of the outer hull problems with my boat have been clearly caused by water infiltration and freezing from the inside out. It was therefore at least as important to seal the bilge as well as the outer hull.

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2005 : 11:32:06

Dave, When I deblistered my 25 I used Interlux VC Watertite. It's a two part epoxy fairing compound that is recommended for blister and osmosis repairs. It's easy to apply and is easy to sand with the consistancy of soft butter. Curing time is 1 to 2 hours depending on ambient temperatures. I used it in deblistering my hull when I switched from the swing keel to the wing retrofit. That was eight years ago and the hull has been watertite since. It is essential that the fiberglass it is to be used on be totally dry. It's counter productive to cover moisture laden fiberglass.

Val on Calista # 3936

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existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 10/09/2005 : 14:14:23

I did Swimmer with Interprotect 2000 last spring. I will be hauling her in a few weeks and I'll see how well my application held up. Before application, I used 3M's version of vinylester to do the repairs. I expect to find more blisters, but I hope they will be in new locations, not repeats at areas I already repaired.

Edited by - on

Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 10/13/2005 : 19:42:38

Best thing to use and an artical about barrier coat rip offs. Check it out and do your homework first .

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/barrier4u.html

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/marine.html

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/mepoxies.html

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/summarymar.html

There are tons of links on this companies page . Read it all search it out and pick whats best for you . I did a C-25 with there marine barrier coat and it came out so nice it was a shame to paint the antifowling over it.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/14/2005 : 09:05:21

Interlux 2000 goes on nicely with a pad applicator, it requires multiple coats and the product must be kept refrigerated between coats, so like most things preperation and technique make all the difference. If you don't follow directions, don't do it yourself.

Edited by - on

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 10/17/2005 : 15:06:55

Hi,

Does the sponge applicator provide for a smoother finish, over a roller??

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 10/19/2005 : 22:04:37

Actually Mark, interlux recommends a long board sanding before the bottom paint. If your racing with the big boys in a Schock 35 then you would probably do that before you throw on you 175 dollar a gallon 4 gallon baltoplate racing finish. However, if you put a coat or two of VC 17 on without sanding the barrier coat, you'll have zero chance of sanding through the barrier coat accidently and you'll still be really competitive.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/20/2005 : 07:29:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by weluvlife
 Hi,

Does the sponge applicator provide for a smoother finish, over a roller??

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Note my guy is putting the 2000 on with a pad, it did a nice job.

Edited by - on

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 10/20/2005 : 18:51:51

Good information.

What is "long board sanding".....
I didn't know that the Interlux 2000 had to be refrigerated.
I've used it before and it worked ok. What does the cold
do for the paint?

The "pad" applicator looks like a sponge. Is it?
Can these be bought at a hardware store?

Thanks,

Mark

Edited by - on

JaimeZX
1st Mate

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USA
34 Posts

Response Posted - 10/21/2005 : 02:35:12

Doug/Ruth - your barrier coat DOES look beautiful! If you didn't need antifouling would you have to cover it anyway for UV protection or what? Just curious. Thanks! I'm learning so much reading these forums in addition to the Hobie forums. :) Thinking about trading my sports car for a C25. :o

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 10/21/2005 : 07:44:49

Long boards are really long flexible sanding boards. They go as large as 3 or 4 feet and require more than one guy to sand. Most people for boats up to 35 feet make their own out of a 3 inch wide strip of Luan or 1/8” ply. These are usually about the length of a large hand held belt sander strip when cut. Handles are also fashioned on the ends. Think of one of those two man hand saws up on Walton’s Mountain . The Sandpaper is then put onto the bottom of the wood using spray adhesive.

You then can sand the contour of the boat without digging into any one area too deeply. Your final sand should be with the flow of the water.

On the Evelyn 32-2 we took the bottom all the way down to the glass, refaired the entire thing, then sanded with pneumatic orbitals, then hand sanded and longboarded the boat. All the way up to about 200 grit. After applying the barrier coat we sanded again, this time going all the way up to 2000 wet sand. Applied the Baltoplate and repeated the process for each coat of Blatoplate. It’s a really long and dirty process.

By the way, be sure to buy a tyvek suit (head included) and where a good respirator and good goggles or eye protector. The paper mask won’t cut it for this one.

Edited by - on

weluvlife
Navigator

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166 Posts

Response Posted - 10/21/2005 : 17:36:57

Hello Duane,

Again, very good information. I'm taking notes"

"Long boards are really long flexible sanding boards. "

Got it :)

"You then can sand the contour of the boat without digging into any one area too deeply. Your final sand should be with the flow of the water."

Never thought about sanding in the direction of the water flow. I guess it was just too obvious :)

"By the way, be sure to buy a tyvek suit (head included) and where a good respirator and good goggles or eye protector. The paper mask won’t cut it for this one."

I've always just used a paper mask? Why the respirator?

Thanks,

Edited by - on

thaind
Navigator

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Canada
145 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2005 : 09:22:59

There has been a strand about using truck bed armorcoat for this purpose. I don't have the guts to do this myself, but am following to see the results of anyone who has.

Edited by - on

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