Haul Out Interval?

[vabiker23518]

Thanks for Inputs

Didn't realize "periodicity" would be such a hit...guess it's my Navy background:-)
Thanks for some good ideas. Looks like 3 years is too much, but the annual the boat yard recommends (vested interest!).
And yes, we do need to get out more often!
Keep sailing!
MERLION

[sastanley]

I'm not sure I understand the cleaning the bottom idea, at least with ablative paint. My understanding is that ablative paint works by producing a sluffing surface that, if freshened adequately (we use one coat a year) sluffs growth along with paint. On the occasions when I have rubbed up against it under water, clouds of paint come off, as it was designed to do. If you "clean" it, you rub off oh, say, $60 dollars worth of paint each time, and eventually rub off the protective coating of the stuff. Hard bottom paints do not rub off like this underwater, and are advertised as being able to do for more than one season. We have not tried them.
Bill and Jeanne
T34C #453
Otter

Bill, Dan's right..sailboats are too slow. Ablative paint works great on powerboats. All that being said, I have the 'cheap' West Marine CPP Ablative on the boat. My buddy has Trinidad SR on his Beneteau..he is a diver and cleaned both of ours a few weeks ago (first time out this season after both boats sat all winter), I'll have to ask him what he thought of the difference between cleaning the two paints.

I use a plastic putty knife on the prop & also treat the prop /shaft with Petit Zinc Spray (#1492 if I recall) - It definitely helps, but there was some small barnacles on the prop this spring.

[OT] Dan - I raised my daughter in cloth diapers too, in the 90's when it was out of fashion. - We even hung the diapers on a clothes line to save money! - After she was done, they made great buffing rags!

[JOHN COOKSON]

When To Paint The Boat Bottom?

I don't guess or have a schedule when I haul. When my diver tells me my bottom paint is getting weak I plan a haul out. I uauslly haul in the spring or fall. I keep my boat in the water all year long and use it most during the primo summer months so if possible I try to avoid haul outs during the summer.

If you don't have a diver you can trust get a new diver.

TRUE GRIT

[Mo]

Every year due to winter.

Took the bottom down to gelcoat and painted with 2 coats epoxy paint (not bottom sealer). Then a coat of red ablative; then a coat of black ablative. When I see red I touch up that area.

I have to haul my boat every year because insurance doesn't cover from 31 Oct to April 1st...even though it's ice free here. I believe it's a broad coverage thing they do for pleasure boats in Canada. Although the bottom gets clean and dries out, the down side is it's usually too cold to do the work you want during this period.

Last year I had a spot about the size of two hands...barnacles. I must not have had the paint stirred well enough when I did that area...almost like there was nothing in the paint to kill (or keep off) the marine life. I use ABC #4 from Americoat. It's commercial use stuff and this past year was the first time I had a problem.

[JOHN COOKSON]

Boxed Paint

Last year I had a spot about the size of two hands...barnacles. I must not have had the paint stirred well enough when I did that area...almost like there was nothing in the paint to kill (or keep off) the marine life. I use ABC #4 from Americoat. It's commercial use stuff and this past year was the first time I had a problem.

Do you box your bottom paint before applying? It is the best way to assure even mixing.

Pour the ~top 1/2 of the gallon into another bucket. Stir what is left in the original can untill all the copper and other goodies are throughly mixed into the liquid part. Then pour the two buckets back and forth untill the whole gallon is mixed. Finally pour off the portion you want to use.

This is SOP for me with any paint.

TRUE GRIT

[Mo]

Do you box your bottom paint before applying? It is the best way to assure even mixing.

Pour the ~top 1/2 of the gallon into another bucket. Stir what is left in the original can untill all the copper and other goodies are throughly mixed into the liquid part. Then pour the two buckets back and forth untill the whole gallon is mixed. Finally pour off the portion you want to use.

This is SOP for me with any paint.

TRUE GRIT

Hi John,

First I'd heard of it. I remember being in a hurry when I painted it last year. Will take your advice......thanks!

[dvd]

I try to do it every year. Maybe 2 years sometime but that is about it. If you wait anymore than 1 to 2 years the prep work increases exponentially.

[fstbttms]

The last guy whose advice I'd heed is the guy whose business it is to haul and paint boats. The truth is it depends on your area. For us here in Southern California we can do with 2 or 3 years but after that we're pushing it. I think the best advice would come from your diver. He sees more boat bottoms in a month than you'll see in a lifetime.

+1

Boatyards like to portray themselves as the experts on every maintenance task. But if I had a dollar for every piece of bad information I've heard come out of a boatyard about hull cleaning, well, I'd have a bunch of dollars. Boatyards are experts in painting hulls. Your diver is the expert on cleaning them. And which anti fouling products will work well in your region. Boatyards will sometime push the paint that they got a good deal on, regardless of whether or not it is particularly effective or appropriate for the customer's needs.

[fstbttms]

I'm not sure I understand the cleaning the bottom idea, at least with ablative paint.

They haven't yet invented the anti fouling paint that does not require periodic cleaning in regions of moderate to high fouling. Well, actually they did, but they banned it 20 years ago.

That being said, typically, a knowlegable hull cleaner will not destroy an ablative bottom before it has reached the end of its usual lifespan. But there are ablatives, and then there are ablatives. Some should not be cleaned at all.

[fstbttms]

Wouldn't the diver want you to use the worst possible paint?

The diver wants the client to use a paint that provides good anti fouling performance and lasts a long time. This makes his job easy and reduces the number of times the cleaning schedule is interrupted for haulouts. Further, the good diver has a professional reputation to maintain. How professional does he appear to the customer if he recommends products that do not work well?

[Marian Claire]

Fstbttms: Welcome to the forum. Have enjoyed your posts elsewhere. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[fstbttms]

Thanks. I can't resist poking my head in wherever I see people discussing hull cleaning.

[ndutton]

You'll be a welcome authority on such matters, a great asset to the forum. Until you modified your profile mentioning the Bay area I thought you might have been Shane Falco. nan des' ka!

[fstbttms]

You'll be a welcome authority on such matters, a great asset to the forum. Until you modified your profile mentioning the Bay area I thought you might have been Shane Falco. nan des' ka!

Ahh, yes. An accurate portrayal of hull cleaners. How many times have I kept in shape by throwing a football underwater?

[Crash]

Shane Falco!? Love that movie, watch it ever time it's on! Good info on bottom cleaning here too....and Fastbottom's in my neck of the woods too..