bottom paint - critical?

0verdrive · #1 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

So I'm getting closer and closer to buying a boat! At this point, it's coming down to getting everyone's schedules to work out, and then the results of the survey.

And knowing myself - once I make the purchase, I'll want to take her out ASAP! The weather here in Kansas is still nice - I went out with a friend on his sunfish yesterday, and shared the lake with quite a few other sailboats. We had a really good time!

But the boat I'm looking at needs bottom paint. My plan is to buy the boat, and paint the hull in the spring. But I'm hoping that I'll be able to take the boat out at least a few times this fall. How detrimental would that be to the boat? I don't know if it makes a difference, but it's obviously fresh-water. And as it's a trailer-sailer, I wouldn't be leaving it in the water - we'd only be out a few hours at a time.

Here's a picture of what the hull looks like:

Thoughts?

tommyt · #2 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Go sailing, you don't have much season left. Just rinse it off when you pull her. Your biggest issue on any fresh water lake today is zebra mussels, and they are not going to attach to a hull in a days sail.

hellosailor · #3 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Trailer sailing? No problem, just wash it down once in a while.

0verdrive · #4 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Man, that's just what I wanted to hear! It would have just taunted me otherwise, to have it sitting in the driveway, without having put her in yet!

RAGTIMEDON · #5 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Just wash it now and then. I used my 14 foot daysailer off and on for 15 years without bottom paint with no ill effects. You need bottom paint if you leave your boat in the water for weeks at a time or if you are in salt water. If you sail in fresh water and only leave it in occasionally, you should have no more problems than I did, unless you crack the gel coat! Clean the old paint off and wax the hull! I used to take mine on family camping trips and leave it in the water for a week, and three or four weekends every summer. In some areas of salt water you could get a few barnacles that way, but in fresh water it's only a few lakes infested with zebra mussels that could be a problem.

0verdrive · #6 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAGTIMEDON

Just wash it now and then. I used my 14 foot daysailer off and on for 15 years without bottom paint with no ill effects. You need bottom paint if you leave your boat in the water for weeks at a time or if you are in salt water. If you sail in fresh water and only leave it in occasionally, you should have no more problems than I did, unless you crack the gel coat! Clean the old paint off and wax the hull! I used to take mine on family camping trips and leave it in the water for a week, and three or four weekends every summer. In some areas of salt water you could get a few barnacles that way, but in fresh water it's only a few lakes infested with zebra mussels that could be a problem.

Wow! I had no idea it could be put off that long in fresh water! I'll probably go ahead and paint mine before too long, but it's really good to know that I have some flexibility!

RickQuann · #7 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Overdrive, for some reason I'm not able to view your link, so I'm not sure what your boat looks like. As a rule of thumb thou, if it's a trailer sailboat, you'd be better off just waxing the bottom. Bottom paint will slow your boat down and it's really not needed if all you're going to do is day sail.

djodenda · #8 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

My personal advice is that you take care of any critical safety issues and just go sail your boat!

Winter is fast approaching. You'll have all winter to figure out what improvements you'll want to make on your new boat, but for now...

Go Sailing!!!

David

Jeff_H · #9 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Putting most waxes on the bottom of a boat are also thought to slow a boat down as well but not as much as bottom paint.

Jeff

J36ZT · #10 (**permalink**) 09-22-2008

Overdrive,

SHORT VERSION: GO SAILING...do it NOW...don't wait!

LONG VERSION: Think of it this way: If you washed the hull, wouldn't it get wet and stay wet for an hour or more? It's not likely you'll be able to do any damage to the bottom simply by putting it in fresh water for a few hours at a time each week...it is a boat after all! I couldn't open the link to actually see the condition of the gel-coat. As long as the gel-coat is intact enough to keep water out of the core, I wouldn't think a few hours in the water could be enough to allow osmotic penetration...and that's if there's no paint or wax. I also doubt you'd have any growth to worry about by a few hours either.

I wouldn't paint or wax the bottom at this point. If anything, I'd lightly sand with a very fine wet/dry paper...unless there's anti-fouling/copper paint (then I wouldn't touch it without protective gear). Waxing it may cause more problems than it's worth if/when you do paint it. I would spray off the entire boat as soon as possible after she was out of the water each time. You should do some research into what paint to use...if any! Then, you'll know what products will work best for you for the rest of the sailing season.

BOTTOM LINE: Enjoy the boat!

Skipper, J/36 "Zero Tolerance"