Association Forum - Fresh Water Sailors: Barrier Coat?

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

General Sailing Forum

Fresh Water Sailors: Barrier Coat?

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

Member Avatar

USA
1180 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/10/2005 : 19:31:13

Do those of you who fresh water sail find that you need a barrier coat and if so, is it because of age of the boat, polution in the water you sail or due to organic growth penetrating the gel coat or another reason?
If you have a barrier coat, what did you use and would you use it again?
Thank you.

Rick

Edited by - on

bear
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2005 : 19:43:36

Rick, I am about a hundred miles from you in upstate N.Y. My 1995 C250 which is in the water from May through Sept has never had anything done to the bottom except a good wash at the end of the year and a good wax job in the spring. Still looks brand new underneath

Edited by - on

matsche
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
280 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2005 : 20:09:35

Rick, I assume you're asking about a barrier coat to protect against blisters as opposed to the regular bottom paint. Blisters can happen anywhere, but seem to be more prevalent to warmer waters, like what you would find in southern lakes during the summer. There's a lot of boats in my lake (Lake Norman, NC) with blisters of varying degrees. My boat has a few small cosmetic blisters near the water line that haven't changed in the 3 years that I've owned the boat. As long as they don't get worse, I'll leave them alone. I won't do a barrier coat because of the time and cost involved. I don't think it would be cost justified for my boat. A lot of people on this site have done the barrier coat with great success. Maybe they'll post.

Regular bottom paint retards the growth of organisms and makes the hull easier to clean. You need to have the bottom painted if you boat is in the water for extended periods of time. Old or new boat, salt or fresh water, doesn't matter. A fresh water boat doesn't need to be painted that often, maybe once every 3-4 years if it's constantly in the water.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2005 : 20:35:57

I've heard and/or read that blisters occur more in fresh water than salt, and that temperature isn't that much of a factor (while it most definitely is with regard to fouling). Stories here seem to bear that out. That makes a barrier coat more important in fresh water. The newer gelcoats are supposed to be more resistant to blistering, but it's all relative. The C-250 probably falls into the "new technology" category--the older C-25s may not, and Capris could vary based on vintage. It might be a good idea to ask Catalina about yours.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5909 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2005 : 11:02:48

A long-time boat dealer explained to me that, in about 1984, boat manufacturers began to use a different formula from what they had previously used for their fiberglass, and many new boats began to develop blisters. The problem continued until about 1989, when boat manufacturers began using an improved formula for their fiberglass. Barrier paints were developed to protect boats built during that period, and they seem to be effective in doing so. Blisters were not a serious problem for boats built before and after that period, although they will always be at least a minor maintenance concern. Occasionally, a bad batch or careless manufacturing techniques still result in a boat that blisters, but it is no longer a widespread problem, as it once was.

My boat, built in 1981, has never had a problem with blisters, but, when I stripped all the accumulated bottom paint a couple of years ago, I coated it with barrier coat for two reasons: (1) as a general protection for the bottom, and (2) to seal the cast iron keel and prevent it from rusting and peeling.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2005 : 14:15:11

I use VC Tar2 as a barrier coat with VC 17m w/Biolux as my antifoulant.

I use a barrier coat because I had a blistering problem on a previous boat and also because VC Tar2 is the recommended base (primer) for the VC 17m. I like the performance properties of the teflon paint and the ease of application.

As Steve mentioned, the barrier coat not only waterproofs, but also provides a relatively tough coating that protects the softer gelcoat surface from minor abrasions (If you ever tried to scrape an epoxy barrier coat, you know what I mean

)

Edited by - on

Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1595 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2005 : 19:41:53

The formula change was to make the glass less flamable. The addative was glycaul (spelling). The reason it caused blisters is glycaul attracts water. Any liquid such as fiberglass resin has some water content and also it will absorb more over the years. This moisture is atracted to the area with more glycaul mostly through capilary action along the strands of fibergas. It creates pockets that become blisters. If your going to apply a barrier coat be sure to dry out the boat prior to doing so . Read about the great barrier coat rip off and visit the site . http://www.epoxyproducts.com/barrier4u.html

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

Edited by - on

Charlie Vick
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
423 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2005 : 22:40:14

Nice looking bottom!

Edited by - on

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.