Painting at Waterline

[SuzySailor]

We're painting our boat now-- the bottom has one coat of three of antifouling (over many coats of fairing, CPES, bottom paint)---and we're getting ready to paint the hull (above the waterline). What we're wondering is, how do you handle the waterline area? We have a kind of blurry line right now where the antifouling paint comes to-- do we need to sand that down to a clear line and then what??

[Freesail99]

Paint a 3 or 4 inch boot stripe. Whatever color matches the boat or that you like.

[Faster]

If you've lost the original waterline, it's going to be difficult to re establish it in the correct place. I'd think you should sand off the antifoul before you start painting, and probably should have kept the water line masked or marked all along.

If the boat is level (also tricky to be sure of) you can use several tricks to lay out a good line. A transparent water hose can be used as a level guide, or nowadays a laser level tool can be used to generate your new line (but the laser tool has to be on the same plane or level with respect to the boat on both axes - for and aft and athwartship)

Perhaps if you can find a sistership you can take some measurements off of it to re establish the proper line.

Once you've found the line, do your topside paint and then follow up with a boot stripe of your choice.

[SuzySailor]

Okay, but does the boot stripe go over half the anti-fouling and half the topside, or?

[Freesail99]

the boot stripe separates one from the other. So it is on to it's self.

[SuzySailor]

Okay-- We do still have the waterline visible, and did take measurements before starting just in case, so that's good. But I'm still not clear about what's under the boot stripe-- bottom paint, fiberglass or gelcoat?

[sailingdog]

What is under the boot stripe will depend on how it is applied. If you are using a vinyl boot stripe tape, then it might be worthwhile to overlap the bottom paint a bit...to clean up the edge as much as possible. If you're painting one one, then it is usually what ever is covering the topsides... if your topsides are painted, then it is the paint used on the topsides, otherwise it is just gelcoat.

[Faster]

You said you were getting ready to paint the hull (topsides).. A boot stripe looks best if there is some hull colour between the antifouling and the boot stripe itself.

So paint the hull as you planned, then mask, scuff sand, and paint the bootstripe over the hull paint (once the paint has cured) in the colour you like. Getting the boot stripe a visually uniform height above the antifouling edge will be a challenge, esp around the counter.

BTW - what boat are we talking about here?

[SuzySailor]

Thanks. Peterson 44 is the boat. And leaving a little hull color showing through is an idea I like- kinda crisper, with a more interesting reflection too, if we ever get her back in the water.

[Faster]

Big project! We did a 40 footer (Choate 40) a few years back, which had a very flat counter and reverse transom. A 2 inch wide bootstripe needed to be about 10 inches wide under the counter to "look" 2 inches wide all around. Are we talking a Kelly Peterson 44 or a Peterson 44 IOR style ex racer? If the latter you'll have the same problem. It should be a bit easier if its the KP 44, as the counter is less extreme.

Also - if you do a cove stripe (below the sheer) remember to compensate for the change in hull flare fore and aft - if you measure down from the sheer and make that a uniform measurement, the stripe will appear to "kick up" and get narrower at the ends.

It's all in the visuals and how it looks from various angles all around the boat. It's worth taping off a few tries or options till you get something you like the look of. Also in a shop it's sometimes tough to get that "distance" view of everything. The viewing angle from the shop floor is nothing like that from a dinghy, dock or another boat.

Good luck - it's tons of work but you'll appreciate it all in the end.