seafordguy

If you are going to bottom paint it plan to be buried in it.....

US1 Fountain

Interlux makes a bottom paint specifically for drives, as do other brands. Comes in a spray can. Many types of bottom paint (anti fouling) can not be in contact with your transom assemblies, require an 1" or so spacing around the TA with no AF paint. Eats up your al. TA if in direct contact, hence the reason for the AF paint made just for drives. Are you going to apply an epoxy barrior coat 1st?

point92mach

Right now I am just trying to gather information about the pros and cons. I don't see how losing 2 mph on a 55 mph boat is that big of a deal.

As for being buried in it, not sure what that means.

It sounds like bottom paint is not that hard to remove, but man I don't have any personal experience with it. That's why I'm asking.

Thanks,

Greg

t500hps

Buried in it means you will never sell it.

These things are hard enough to sell. Bottom paint is rare on a "go-fast" and having it will make it much harder to sell. Your correct 2 mph isn't a big deal, it's just not the type of boat people expect (or want) painted. Getting the paint off is possible, but I'd rather wax the boat with a Q-tip than remove bottom paint!!!!

seafordguy

I would save the first year's slip fee by trailering, and then get a lift - they are the ultimate long-term solution.

cigboat1

Bottom paint is a nasty mess !!! and Seaford guy is right, you will own it forever ! Guys over at the marina have been after me for years to paint bottom of the boat. A bunch of crap ! The only thing that it helps is when the boat is pulled to make it easier for the marina guys to wash the bottom off in the fall and that is ok for the tanks and scow plows but not an offshore boat ...... If you leave it in too long you need to have to have the bottom acid washed with Snow Bowl ,rubber gloves, goggles and old clothes. Acid washing is the only thing that takes the algae and stains off the hull.
That being said ,its still a whole lot better than laying under some boat in 40 degree weather slopping on paint or sanding it off in the spring ..... The paint is toxic and your lungs dont need it!
100 reasons not to paint the bottom and very few to paint.
I know a lot of guys would not leave their boat in th water for very long and salt water is a no no all together; its up to you but I would never never paint the bottom. Good luck

Jim

dogturd21

LOL what a bunch of uninformed poop ( check my name, I know poop ! ). Bottom paint certainly has its place and use, but agreed its not for everybody.

Bottom paint keeps growth, barnicles, weeds, etc. off of any underwater surface. A few weeks of growth is enough to keep a boat from getting up on plane, especially barnicles. I agree that most go-fasts do not have bottom paint, but lets not forget that most of them are also trailered and not left in the water. The problem is not as bad in freshwater lakes and rivers, but its a huge problem in salt water.

There are many different types of bottom paints- IMO the best is the ablative, self polishing type. Lets forget about slime, fouling and barnicles for a second- the other problem with leaving a boat in the water full time is hull blisters, where water seaps into the gelcoat and causes it to seperate from the rest of the laminate. Think of your hull suffering from acne where the pimples are filled with water. Blisters are prevented by using a barrier coat as the first paint layer, then applying bottom paint.

I agree that a lift would be the ideal, but if your boat is 38+ feet long with twin BBC and weights north of 20k lbs, a lift might not be viable. At my marina, there are plenty of 40-60 foot boats that are just too big for a lift- if you could even get one that large, the price would be outrageous. A 8000 lb lift might set you back $12k to $15k on the Chesapeake bay.

For an outdrive, you can either paint it with something like Trilux 33 (black, servicable but not pretty), or get a clear paint so that the factory finish still shows through. Same for trim tabs. Excepting go-fasts, remember that as a boat grows in size and weight, stern drives become less common in favor of inboards. Statistically, the bigger boats are found in salt water, so inboards have an advantage as they have less metal in the water (and its usually not aluminum). The only advantage of inboards is greater reliability and less corrosion problems, and less cost. Handling, fuel economy and performance advantages are definitely on the side of stern drives.- If you want to know more about anti-fouling paint, go to either West Marine, Interlux or Petit websites for more info.

A salt water or bay boat cruiser 27' and larger kept in the water- bottom paint is mandatory- but I would think twice about putting it on a go-fast.

seafordguy

Several things:

1 - I don't think everyone's responses are "uninformed poop" - in fact quite the opposite, there are probably tons of us on here that have boats with painted bottoms AND Go-Fast's which we are smart enough NOT to paint. Most on here have spent some time under a boat with a roller - none have enjoyed it!!

His question was related to his Go-Fast boat so the answers are directed to that boat.

2 - A Nortech 50' with Trips and XR's weighs around 15.5k dry, so his boat with twins and 10' shorter is not going to weigh 20k unless he fills the bilge with Concrete and the cabin with Fat Friends.

http://www.nor-techboats.com/boats.php?id=1&type=vbo

3 - I am not sure what lifts you are using but they must be gold plated. I got quoted just over 6k for the Low-Profile 16k lift from these guys. http://eastcoastboatlifts.com/low-pr...boat-lifts.htm My neighbor had one for about 10 years that worked wonderfully. He now has a 30k lift with a 44 Sea Ray on it that I KNOW he doesn't have $12-15k in.

Point92 - I think that you will regret painting the bottom of that boat. Like cigboat said, lots of "cons", virtually NO "pros"

US1 Fountain

My bottom paint only took 20 minutes each coat to roll on. I have 3 coats on all of it, with a 4th on the chines, keel, and water line (the high wear areas. Waxing the bottom is a whole lot harder and more time consuming.

The ablative type of antifouling wears off as you run. When I brought mine home for winters upgrades, I power washed 75% of the old off, then used easy- off oven cleaner to get the rest. Anyways 100% of it was removed. A good days work. If you were to just put on 1 or 2 coats for just 1 season use, should come off really easy. Just need to read the prep instructions and see if it can be applied right on the gel w/o the need to scuff it up. Mine went over epoxy barrier, so I didn't read up on other applications that didn't relate to me.
A few buddies used to leave their boats in all summer w/o any coatings. Just pulled them ever few weeks to scrub. I will say 1 was a Baja and it blistered bad. The Formula and Power Quest didn't. For a 1 season of undiciscion, I'd just pull and clean. Especially if you are trying to sell it.

6k for a 16K lift seems cheap. My 10k lift was more than that.

seafordguy

Agree - definitely don't rush to paint it this year only to regret it later....