lsmith@ut-ngp.UUCP (lsmith) (03/12/85)
Yes, it's that time again. My bottom is mossy and full of pits. So let's talk about bottom paint. Opinions vary widely, and I'd l;ike to hear everyone's views. The most recent Yachtr Racing/Cruising has an article, by the way. A freind is stripping her boat all the way to the fiberglass, including the gel coat. She'll then coat it with many layers of Mastic epoxy for a super-hard finish, then coat that with a anti-fouling pain that will be easy to remove when it leaches out. Another freind is going to forgo the anti-fouling paint completely and just scrub periodically. He feels guilty about the chemicals going into our lake, which is our drinking water. With the expoy coating, you don't have to worry about slime ruining the bottom, and it slughs off easily. I don't think I'll go that far, but I'm pretty well convinced the epoxy is worth the cost. What about brands and varieties of paint? I was told that Sears paint is great or garbage, depending on who I talked to. I also heard that sears buys from the lowest bidder each year, so it varies considerably. The previous owner left my boat sitting full of water for long periods, so the paint was trashed well above the waterline. I used sears paint to cover that damage with a stripe that goes above and below the waterline and it is holding up great after 3 years. The interlux bottom paint is trashed. I was warned never to used vinyl paint. It holds up pretty well but is hell to get off once it does leech out. OK, I've done my share to get this bb going again. I'm depending on you all to help me make these importand decisions before I spend hundreds of dollars and bunches of hours.
mel@pegasus.UUCP (Mel Haas) (03/16/85)
I had a 26' aux. parked in the Beverly River for a few years. I used the
cheapest red lead bottom paint with copper salts in it, from a local
hole-in-the-wall paint factory that sold through the local boat dealers. I
never had a bit of moss or grunge develop except on the places I missed with
the roller, and up near the waterline. Other boats, even ones in cleaner
mooring places, had horrible problems. Worst of all were the hard "racing
finish" bottom paints - shiny and hard to put on, fancy colors, too, until the
white and green nastys started to grow. The red soft paint was good in that
it mostly wore and washed off each season, so didn't build up. The local lore
was: that the more copper, the better - and the softer, the better - and the
cheaper, the better. One disadvantage was that you were supposed to launch
within a few days of painting, and not haul out without re-painting - and,
you were not supposed to get any of the stuff on your person, or breathe the
fumes.
May your bottoms stay ever clean.