Product Reviews

[captainchetco]

Originally Posted by Gene T

Pettit Trinidad SR bottom paint

2 coats, in the water for 3 years 8 months in San Francisco Bay and all growth just hosed off. Looked like the day it was painted. No barnacles.

I will use it again.

I have had the same result with two coats, and a third along the waterline. One year of the three has been in Mexico

[orthomartin]

Works as advertised. With the two 50 watt panels and the Blue Sky I get from 6 to 8 amps routinely. Also the company has been fantastic. I broke my stik coming out the St Lawrence (due to wrong and poor installation by my yard). I emailed Solar Stik on a Sunday at 7pm and the owner was on the phone with me at 8PM. FedEx'ed all parts and more at no cost to me in Quebec City and talked me though the whole fix. I also use the stik to support a new Furuno radar. Great system, great company

[patrickrea]

ProMariner 12 charger
Picked it up at Bass Pro Shop at the Vaughn Mills Mall for CDN$130 back in September. Hardwired, Fused Lines, Ignition Protected, Dual Banks, Handles Flooded, AGM and Gel batteries. 3 Stage charger.

A great little charger for those who have lower charging requirements. It took me maybe 5 minutes to install into my battery compartment. I'll take photos when I can see the boat under the snow and the island ferries are running.

I was dragged by the admiral to Vaughn Mills Mall (Just north of Toronto for those who don't know) and I actually wanted to see Bass Pro Shop. Turned out to be a decent little store for basic items. Fenders, docking lines and such and good prices. I also fish (Musky only - gotta love a freshwater fish that can take your hand) and they have some decent lures and pricing. Don't bother looking for sailboat hardware, anything bigger than a bass boat and the staff get the "Deer in the Headlights" look.

[harryhoratio]

Always used Trindiad SR but after 6 Months in Mexico I actually had barnacles attached to fresh SR! I think the SR is great in colder water but not so good in warm.

Even with that said, the Micron 66 seams cleaner even in SF.

[broggerp]

This is my first barrier coat job, but I'm more than a little curious.

I mixed some of my first Pettit Protect gallon kit in the 3-to-1 ratio, and began applying to my sanded epoxy coat. By the time I got 'round to the stern again, the paint applied first appeared to be "drying". That is, I could see differences between dull-looking older paint an the newer (or thicker) portions.

Not to mention, it just didn't smell like any epoxy I've used. It smelled very strongly like good ol' oil-based enamel.

Finally, I left a little in the can and sealed the lid. The next morning, it's still liquid -- seemingly unchanged from when I mixed it.

Now, I'd expect an entire thin layer of epoxy to cure at the same rate, and any residue in the can to be hardened after some period, despite the can's closure.

So, what's the grip? How is this highly volatile paint-looking stuff supposed to be an epoxy? I'm not convinced it qualifies.

This is not to say there's definitely any problem. The stuff mixed well (though not by hand -- I had to ask the kind people at Home Depot to run it through their machine for me) and went on nicely, and covered a greater area than I'd have thought. (It did seem to, in about a half hour, just about completely dissolve the West System foam roller cover I was using . . . ) It goes on pretty thinly, so I'm sure it'll take more than three coats to get anywhere near the 20 mils -- or whatever the target thickness is (I can't remember right now).

I worked my tired behind off, spending all my spare time last fall, laboriously grinding away my gelcoat. I guess I expected something more obviously like my epoxy first coat to chemically bond with it, rather than what seems more like a simple paint. If InterProtect 2000 is more like "real" epoxy, I'd probably be feeling a lot better right now, having spent a little more $$ to use that, instead.

Anybody else have any experience around this stuff? (Thanks.)

[sailingdog]

Interprotect 2000E is definitely an epoxy... I have a couple pairs of work pants that are well covered to prove it... It definitely cures faster with higher temps... I used it to barrier coat my boat two seasons ago.

[broggerp]

For what it is, Pettit Protect seems to be fine. It dries as hard as rock and looks to be adhering very well.

Much of my doubt about its "epoxy-ness" stemmed from some small residue of a mixed batch remaining liquid in a closed can overnight. But given that, I got careless and left about 1/3 gallon, mixed & stirred, in a closed can. That stuff had cured to a stiff, rubbery solid in less than 24 hours. The only way I can account for the difference is that the first bit was left out on a cold night, while the larger batch was inside my heated "boat tent" -- and therefore must have cured more quickly.

The stuff does seem to smell like paint, and does seem initially to dry like paint, but it also cures to a very tough coating, and looks like it will do nicely.

[ohaavik]

My latest necessity on board The jacklines are reflective and I love the way they're fastened with a buckle and a screw-on protective cover so they don't come loose.

Expensive yes, but it's safety equipment, no? They look cool and I can fasten them to the mooring cleats so it's even possible they can hold 2 100kg guys falling overboard at the same time as claimed. Any excuse.

[fawcettm]

Hi, talking about bottom paint, has anyone used Micron CSC and how does it compare to Micron Extra for salt/brackish water. We currently have CSC and are planning a south trip and want to know if we need to apply the Extra for salt water.

As well how often do you paint it? we have sections that seem to be pitting and I have to sand those and reapply but if I keep painting doesnt the paint just build up and eventually peel away? and leave craters?

Mark

[Moonfish]

Nice! I just discovered this thread. Good one. So the Froli Sleep System is awesome. We have a vee-berth with original vinyl cushions and fiddle edges that protrud up maybe an inch and a half. When the filler is in, we would end up feeling the wood fiddles in our back. Not very comfortable for sleeping, let alone any amorous activities... I had already done an "I Found it at the Boat Show" video segment with them for our TV show, and they said the video worked wonders. But they were getting a lot of requests for an installation video. So we traded - full disclosure here - an installation video for the Froli system (they got the better end of the deal as far as monetary value, but then we get to sleep without wood in our backs now, so we are very satisfied and happy!). Our friends who liveaboard their Grand Banks are also extremely satisfied. In fact, the few people I've run into that actually have the Froli on their boat are all 100% satisfied.

It was very easy to install, and it made a huge improvement! And it's not very expensive, either. I believe the system we got was worth about $250. Which isn't much considering the benefits (which include air circulation under the mattresses for liveaboards and those in more humid environments). Still, I run into people all the time that ask if the system really works. Now, I don't make any money from it, so I figured it would be OK to post the installation video here. If nothing else, it demonstrates very clearly everything I am talking about...

PS - That's my wife and our boat!