Association Forum - bottom paint

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

bottom paint

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

julie 50
Deckhand

Member Avatar

20 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/14/2013 : 13:29:25

Hi all,

I need bottom paint info. Is there a bottom paint thread I should look at?
Our 250 WB has old bottom paint on it from a PO, so don't know what it is, but know it's not working. It looks rough and we got a few barnacles after a couple of weeks in the Texas gulf.

I called Catalina direct and they recommended I talk to a local to find out what they use around here in the Northwest, but I don't know any other trailer sailers with bottom paint here.

The boat stays on the trailer unless we are on it, which can be 3 weeks in the San Juans, or a couple days on Lake Coeur d Alene. Whaddaya think - do we need bottom paint? Any particular paint recommendations? Thanks!

C250 WB

Edited by - on

Ape-X
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
662 Posts

Response Posted - 08/14/2013 : 13:39:37

Catalina direct is correct: Use what is prominent in your locale: interview a few sailors in the area and get their input. What they use, if it works and what others use that may or may not work. For us, VC-17 is king. From there, West marine or another local chandlery may be able to help you identify what you have, and how tom change over (if necessary) For your boat being in the water for short periods, it would seem you wouldn't beed paint !BUT!... I can't speak by knowledge, but if you are getting barnacles aready, you likely need bottom paint.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/14/2013 : 14:26:50

If you're trailer sailing your boat, and it won't be in the water for very long at a time, I wouldn't worry too much about paint on the bottom.

We keep our boat in the water pretty much year round on the Duwamish River, so we've gone with Pettit Trinidad SR which while expensive, I can't recommend enough. I dove on the boat a few weeks ago and was stunned at how clean the bottom was. However, it's a hard paint, and if it's out of the water for more than a short time, you have to repaint the hull. That's obviously not what you want.

The PO of our boat kept it on a fresh water lake in OR, and occasionally out to the San Juans, so very similar to what you're doing with yours. He used VC-17 on the hull as Ape-X recommended which worked well for him. VC-17 has some nice characteristics, but anti-fouling is not one of them ([url="http://catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=20899"]ask me how I know[/url]). It's easy to maintain, easy to go on, and a quart will cover the whole bottom after you have a base coat on, which will probably take 2-3 quarts the first time.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9087 Posts

Response Posted - 08/14/2013 : 17:55:18

This is tough... Some paints should not be put on over other particular paints. The general rule is ablative paint over hard paint is OK (although not ideal), but hard over ablative is disaster. Also, ablative paints can be kept out of the water almost indefinitely without losing their antifouling effectiveness, but hard paints, as Dave indicates, should not. So an ablative seems like a better bet... (I like Pettit Hydrocoat SR--a water-based ablative that protects from plant as well as animal life.)

The downside of an ablative is that when going on and off a trailer, some of it will wear off when sliding on the bunks.

Three weeks in salt water is marginal--without a good paint, you'll get some growth (maybe less in your cold water), but you should be able to scrub or pressure-wash it off fairly easily on the trailer if you get it before it bakes on. The lake will kill the barnacles from the salt water, but won't take them off.

Local knowledge is always best, although it sounds like you have several locales.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/14/2013 17:56:57

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

2272 Posts

Response Posted - 08/14/2013 : 18:31:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 ...Also, ablative paints can be kept out of the water almost indefinitely without losing their antifouling effectiveness, but hard paints, as Dave indicates, should not...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
One exception to this is Pettit Vivid, which is a hybrid paint that has some of the properties of hard and some of the properties of ablative. It retains its effectiveness even in dry storage, and its durability makes it less resistant to wearing off on trailer skids (though you will see some of it chalk off onto the carpet).

I cannot vouch for how effective Vivid's antifoulants would be in your waters, but its other properties would be a good fit for a trailer boat. Vivid has gotten pretty good reviews in Practical Sailor.

If you can confirm that your current paint is stale hard paint (which a white-glove test would tell you real quickly), then Vivid might be a viable option. It's also available in white if you'd like that "unpainted" look.

FWIW, I painted my bottom with Vivid Blue in spring 2011 (over top of WM Bottomkote hard paint), and repainted with Vivid White this past spring.

Edited by - TakeFive on 08/14/2013 18:33:02

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.