I have seen postings in other internet forums claiming that there is no need to apply bottom paint to your fiberglass boat as long as it is used in fresh water only and hauled out at the end of each season. Some recommend a good coat of wax only. Anyone have experience with this?
I know people that don't put on bottom paint in freshwater, but they are able to clean the bottom with the boat in the water. Depending on where you are, zebra mussels can be a problem as well.
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John
Ontario 32 - Aria
Free, is the heart, that lives not, in fear.
Full, is the spirit, that thinks not, of falling.
True, is the soul, that hesitates not, to give.
Alive, is the one, that believes, in love. JCP
If the boat sits in the water the whole season, you'll probably wish you had put on some sort of bottom paint.
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Sailingdog Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
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I doubt that wax would do much good if it sat underwater for a season. You need bottom paint in the great lakes.
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Those grand fresh-water seas of ours - Erie, and Ontario, and Huron, and Superior, and Michigan, - possess an ocean-like expansiveness...They contain round archipelagoes of romantic isles...they have heard the fleet thunderings of naval victories...they know what shipwrecks are, for out of sight of land, however inland, they have drowned full many a midnight ship with all its shrieking crew. --from Moby Dick
It's been said numerous times, but yes, you need bottom paint if you want to slow the accumulation of slime/critters/algae. It's also a tremendous help in removing said sludge after haul-out.
I live on a freshwater lake. The only boats that dont grow slime and zebra mussels are the ones that are cranked up on a boat lift every night. All the other ones grow stuff, and do it really fast later in the year when the water gets warmer.
You DO need bottom paint in fresh water! Obviously there are different paints for different regions, but even WITH bottom paint my boat grew algeae in MN 20 years ago.
VC 17m is very popular here for a reason as it's not a great salt-water paint, but it keeps the slime and critters largely at bay. The bottom of my keel is nearly impossible to reach (as the boat sits on it) and the mussel growth there is significant. Elsewhere, we use Pettit Premium Performance liberally, and that does the trick for us. On my FG boat, it's VC 17m, which may change if it's raced next season.
