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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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I Need a bottom Job.Should I try to do it myself ?

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ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/04/2002 : 21:04:56

I just completed my first bottom Job and wrote an article for our Yacht Club newletter and thought the forum might find it interesting:

Due to the recent closure of Canyon Lake I began to research area boatworks and the possibility of having a bottom job done on my 99’ Catalina 250 WK “Moon Chaser” since I would not be able to use the boat and it had been about 3 years since the last one. The area people I talked to would not be able to get to my boat for several weeks and since I am a teacher I had a little free time left before returning to school I figured I could do the job myself. So I called the County Sheriff to get permission to get her out at LCYC and with Jerry Hause’s and Derek Crawfords help in contacting LCYC I got permission to use their ramp. Since I do not own a trailer or a tow vehicle, I had a few more obstacles to overcome. I found Longhorn Truck rentals and the owner of the original trailer. I rented a
truck and I rented the trailer . The following is an itemized list of expenses and time involved in getting "Moon Chaser" cleaned and painted for another three years:

1. 1 ton truck rental: $100.00 (I wanted a truck that could do the job on the ramp with no problems).
2. Trailer Rental: $50 per week X 5 weeks with $200 minimumn= $250 (I had the paint done in two weeks but as long as I had her out I did a few other upgrades).
3. 1 Gallon of bottom Paint $130 (bought at Sailboat shop at a $30 discount since Clyde was selling his business later saw the same paint for $100 at West Marine!).
4. Rental of High Pressure sprayer at Home Depot: $50 (4 hour rental, only took two hours).
5. 1 quart of Inter protect paint to repaint those spots that the high pressure sprayer peeled off to the hull: $38
6. Mask, Goggles, Masking tape, sand paper, thinner, roller, brushes, pan: $40
7. Trailer tire: $100.00 (one of the trailer tires lost considerable rubber all the way down to the steel belts & I replaced this for the owner since I felt lucky to even find a trailer).
8.3/4 ton truck rental : $66.00 ( I knew I could get the boat down the ramp with this truck but it definitely could not have pulled it out with it!).
9. Replacement Wind Index: $50 (knocked off by tree branches while driving through my neighborhood).
9. Miscellaneous:
several trips to Home Depot, West Marine, and Boat World
Throw away clothes. You can buy for $20 throw away bunny suits at West Marine to wear when sanding/painting...I just threw away the clothes I was wearing.
The Paint job took two weeks since there is 4 hours dry time between the 5 interprotect coats, and 16 hours between the 3 bottom paint coats.
Since the boat is out you think of several other upgrades you want to do so that is more money/time...not
included in this Total!.

The Total Expenses: $824.00 Total time for the Bottom Paint Job: 2 weeks
This does not include arranging with really good friends to help De-commission and re-Commission the boat
(thank you Fred Kniffen of LCYC, Derek Crawford and Kevin Cooney). Or the time to make all the arrangements
and make all the calls to make it happen.

I must say that the experience was priceless. I was able to do little things and add a VHF antenna at the mast head and install a through hull speed transducer. Having your boat at your home is really convenient to get these task done. I know much more about my boat and boat maintenance in general. I learned about trailoring a 25’ boat with a wing keel. I know where to buy trailer tires (they are not available at your local tire dealer!). I am glad I do not
do this for a living. I might do it again in the future if I have the time, but I may want to spend my time doing
other things. But ......if I have the money, I will leave it to the pros.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2002 : 01:52:05

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Having your boat at your home is really convenient to get these task done.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

We have friends who use to travel from Pittsburgh to Sandusky to work on and/or use their Allied Seawind 32. They would complain about the 3 1/2 hour drive - to which I would reply "yea, I got tired of walking between the garage and the boat fetching things, so I backed the boat 15' closer to the house!"

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2002 : 02:04:49

OJ

Brrrrrrrrr...That's COLD!!!

Don Lucier, North Star
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - on

Dennis Pierce
1st Mate

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USA
59 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2002 : 08:55:23

I had my C-25 done by Driscoll in Mission Bay for $450. They put it on a travel lift, pressure sprayed it, light sanding and paint. I will have it pulled again next winter as rust spots are popping out. This is a '79 and the keel is not encapsulated. Would like some thoughts on solving this problem from owners of older C-25's. In 30 plus years of owning boats, I find that using a commercial bottom cleaning service pays for itself over the long run......Now finding a good service is a whole 'nother story!

Dennis Pierce
Gypsy Witch #1719

Edited by - on

gnorgan
Admiral

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USA
563 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2002 : 18:57:53

Dennis, in which marina is your boat slipped? Would like to put mine in Mission Bay somewhere....soon!!!
Email me direct if you wish.
Gary Norgan
Hemet, CA

C25 tall/wing
Classical Cat #5944

Edited by - on

n/a
deleted

Members Avatar

163 Posts

Response Posted - 09/08/2002 : 12:10:09

I had a cast iron keel on my PY23, and learned how to keep from doing the yearly scrape and paint. First you have to remember that you don't want to put a copper paint right on the cast iron. In salt water (and possibly also in fresh) you'll get a galvanic reaction. I grit blasted my keel to shiny metal (have a pro do it if you're not good at it yourself) and put on two coats of zinc chromate, followed by 3 coats of epoxy barrier coat. I never had any rust after that (8 years); all I had to do was lightly sand and paint whenever I needed new anti-fouling. Good luck.

Edited by - on

ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Response Posted - 09/09/2002 : 23:55:47

Dennis,
If I could find someone to do the same around here for less than $1500 I would jump on it!, Perhaps I should trailor it to Colorado!,
Steve Steakey

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luckystar
Navigator

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USA
236 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2002 : 00:35:36

That's one of the biggest problems I face as well. I'd love to really blast and fair my swing keel but it's hard enough just to arrange the trailor around here, let alone all the tools and services to get that done to it. I'm probably just going to have to pull, as planned, this spring and do as much as I can do with my rusty keel and bottom. I guess something is better than nothing, right now the bottom is attrocious, so something has to be done. My bottom hasn't been done in ten years and I have no idea what kind of paint was used before, so this should, for a first timer, be an interesting journey! I'll have to write the list with pics while I go through it!

Patrick Burnett, Little Rock, AR
S/V Lucky Star #2707 1982 SK/SR

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ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2002 : 13:06:00

I figured out how to post pics on the internet (shutterfly.com) so that I could get them posted here:
Here is a Picture of my completed bottom job, Moon Chaser is back in the water now and I put some finishing touches on the rigging and sailed her yesterday at last!
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d734b3127cce903d60099cb90000001410" border=0>

Edited by - on

Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2002 : 13:38:24

I would be glad to give any help I can with bottom rework. Last winter I striped the bottom of Wind Lass. I put on a new Epoxy bottom and then anti fouling paint. The hard part is removing all the bottom paint. Once its done though you feel soooo good about the new bottom. I picked up 1 to 1 1/2 kts of boat speed. Most of my work can be found in archived data on this site.

Doug&Ruth
Boatless in Seattle
Tacoma Wa.

Edited by - on

Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2002 : 14:00:39

Just a few pics of how nice it all came out.<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dd04b3127cce9d4cdf96ce5f0000005410" border=0><img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dd04b3127cce9d4cdf974f6e0000005410" border=0><img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dd04b3127cce9d4cdf94ce5d0000005410" border=0><img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dd04b3127cce9d4cdfa8ce610000005410" border=0>

Doug&Ruth
Boatless in Seattle
Tacoma Wa.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2002 : 15:34:49

Refer to your Boating Accidents thread...

Dave Bristle - 1985 C-25 #5032 SR-FK-Dinette-Honda "Passage" in SW CT

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Phredde
Navigator

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125 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2002 : 19:01:15

Wow, what a job. The yards around SF bay quoted me around $900 to pull, wash, scrape and paint. Phredde hasn't been done for 5 years, so it's overdue. Any advice on what to ask and look out for from a pro?

Phredde
Catalina 25
San Francisco

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coldducks
Captain

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USA
342 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2002 : 20:56:47

we have a 99 wk also. in our marina, it is about 800.00 to pull, presure wash and rent the stands. that includes the winter storage. in the spring we light sand and paint ourselves. other than the cost of the paint, about 90.00 a gallon, which is all we need, the only other expense is a few masks, sandpaper and tape. it comes out great an the edges are so crisp that we have others asking us who we had do our bottom paint. its really not a bad job to do yourself. (providing you haul every year) here in the northeast, we pretty much have to. a wise woman once told me,"TRY IT YOURSELF FIRST, IF YOU SCREW IT UP, THEN HIRE SOMEONE!"

COLDDUCKS
FANTASY #409 C250WK

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ssteakley
Captain

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USA
467 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2002 : 22:18:12

I have not dealt with a pro yet,
however, here at Canyon Lake I have heard horror stories of $1500-$2000 being charged. Some people take their boat all the way to Corpus Christi where they can get it done for around $500 (which is a 5 hour drive towing a boat. If I could find a boatworks that could do it for $1000 here close I would take them up on it, otherwise I will be doing the next one myself again!,
Steve Steakley

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2002 : 22:26:17

I'm just gonna fly Doug out from Tacoma to do mine!

Dave Bristle - 1985 C-25 #5032 SR-FK-Dinette-Honda "Passage" in SW CT

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coldducks
Captain

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USA
342 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2002 : 23:10:45

we have done ours 3 times on this boat and 2 times on the old boat. never had a problem. why dont you try it yourselves. its not as bad as you think!

COLDDUCKS
FANTASY #409 C250WK

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Phredde
Navigator

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125 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2002 : 15:01:50

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Refer to your Boating Accidents thread...

Dave Bristle - 1985 C-25 #5032 SR-FK-Dinette-Honda "Passage" in SW CT
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

I just got your joke. Very clever, both beautiful bottoms!

Phredde
Catalina 25
San Francisco

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TIM KEATING
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2002 : 21:26:30

Q

TIMKEATING

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TIM KEATING
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2002 : 21:30:27

I think the trick is to tip the guy with the power washer before he starts.It saves tons of work. after that I sand the loose spots then wash the hull several times then paint away. Here in Annapolia Md. there are pros that will haul and block your boat in Your driveway for $150 each way. That is the best was to travel.

TIMKEATING

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