To Paint or Not to Paint

[bfarrow]

So the boat I'm getting is new to me but is an older boat that currently has never spent more than a few hours in the water at any one time.  There was one prior owner who was a machinist who took the boat to Keuka lake usually, dropped it in, took it back out and then washed and waxed the bottom a few times in a pole barn where the boat was always kept.  Needless to say, the bottom of the boat is bright white and no issues. I live on the lovely brown waters of Irondequoit Bay and dock the boat here.  My prior boat had a soft paint on it that was a mess every two years to repaint and I was a DIY first timer and i did a...."Ok" job at best.  Where I live is a boating community - most people seem to NOT bottom paint but then everyone gets nervous talking about it and it is causing me to lose sleep.  HA!  Do I paint or don't I?  I would like to put the boat in ASAP and use it the year.  Having it painted now is NOT popular in my mind, but I want to protect what I bought too and not cause a bigger problem later.  Do most people paint the hull?  If yes, why - if no, why not?  And if painting is so important - why do manufacturers NOT paint the bottom when they sell the boat?  Thanks for the input!

[Trouthunter]

do not paint take it out every so often & give it a good power washing

[guffins fisherman]

Bottom paint is like the Yankees. Everyone loves 'em or hates 'em. Pros: with the right paint, better fuel economy after prolonged mooring, easier clean up upon taking it out of the water for the season, no need to pull it and wash it every so often, which by the way only gets the crud off. It will still be stained unless you acid wash it, which is highly corrosive to everything it touches(your trailer, driveway, your skin, your gelcoat, etc). Cons: PITA to apply correctly, $$$, needs to be touched up regularly, basically is permanent, potential retail negative, and I am sure others will chime in.

I bottom paint my boats due to being in the water a solid 5-6 months. I went with a slick coat (vc-17 or fw-21) this year and love it. I just pulled up to a beach and inspected the bottom side. It has held up well, holds no slime and is just as slick as the gelcoat. My last boat, I used an ablative and it was rough. It took some of my top end away, and effected my fuel economy.

Mind you, there is a big difference between bottom paint and a barrier coat. The bottom paint simply retards the growth of slime, where the barrier coat is an epoxy that seals your gelcoat first, then you apply the bottom paint over it.

Good luck. Research, research, research is my best advice. Some marinas will let you use their lift for a day to paint your hull for a small price too.

Matt

[Gill-T]

You are asking for trouble leaving a fiberglass boat in the water without a barrier coat. Fiberglass can absorb water and cause blistering. Since the bottom of the boat is pristine, now is the best time to bottom coat. Go to Jamestowndistributors.com for their tutorials on how to do it.

[drlfc]

I leave my boat in the water all season and I would't be without bottom paint. Last fall I had the hull stripped down to the gel coat and before splash down this spring I applied 4 coats of a barrier coat (Interprotect 2000) and 2 coat of bottom paint (VC 17M). You need to waterproof that gel coat or water will get into the fiberglass and rot what ever wood the hull has in it. I vote for bottom paint in your situation.

[W.W.IV.]

bottom paint.

[GAMBLER]

Vapor barrier paint then anti fouling paint.  You do not want blisters on your hull.  It can be very expensive to get them removed and fixed properly. 

[UNREEL]

You are asking for trouble leaving a fiberglass boat in the water without a barrier coat. Fiberglass can absorb water and cause blistering. Since the bottom of the boat is pristine, now is the best time to bottom coat. Go to Jamestowndistributors.com for their tutorials on how to do it.

Excellent advice.

[Chas0218]

You can get that bottom paint that is hard and matched to the color of your hull. I would personally go that route. If I had no choice but to leave s fiberglass Boat in the water I would most definitely bottom paint my boat. Fiberglass is porous and not 100% waterproof the water will permeate thru the hull and saturate the glass if not painted/sealed. I think the hard bottom paint is an epoxy based.

Sent from my thinking chair...

Edited July 28, 2016 by Chas0218