Bottom paint for club racing.

[zz4gta]

Currently there is nothing on the bottom to my knowlege. I do know the previous owner raced this boat, but I'm assuming they dry sailed it. I'm looking into different brands of paint and trying to decide weather or not to use a hard, modified, or ablative paint. I really like the speed of the boat which is why I'm shying away from the ablative, however the hard paints seem to require scrubbing, sometimes every 2 weeks. If I'm going to scrub that often, I'd rather not put anything on it. I'd like to go 2-3 months w/o having to scrub the bottom if it was possible.

Also, I've heard people say anywhere from 2-5 coats will be ok. Can we narrow that down any? I'd hate to buy 2 extra gallons if I didn't need to. Also, how much does one gallon cover for a 25' boat?

[SEMIJim]

N.B.: My comments apply to a fresh-water boat, so I don't know if they'll apply to you.

We used just plain old VC-17. That's that the PO used, and he raced the boat. (And never lost, apparently.) That's what all the other racers in our sail club used. So I figured it was good enough for us .

We just painted-over last season's paint. VC-17 is semi-ablative, so you don't get a lot of build-up, doing that.

After the paint had been on a couple days, we lightly scraped the hull with these things that look a lot like large razor blades in holders. (You can get them at Home Depot, etc.), then burnished the hull with crumpled-up newspaper. The bottom ended-up smooth as a new-born baby's backside .

Next spring we'll wipe her down with acetone, which will remove any paint remaining from previous seasons, lightly sand a couple small areas, here-and-there, then do the above. I also have a couple small bubbles in the keel that need looking-after.

Two extra gallons?!?! For a 25' boat? We covered the entire hull of our 30' boat, with a bit left over, with two quarts.

Jim

[zz4gta]

Obviously I'm very new to this. I had no idea how far this stuff goes and didn't want to buy more than necessary. How many coats did you put on? Thanks for the reply, I saw the price for a gallon of this stuff, and got a little worried.

[JimsCAL]

For club racing, a hard modified epoxy is the way to go in salt water. A gallon should be enough for 2 coats on a 25 footer. A botttom scrub every week or so is needed is you are serious about racing. Once a month is fine for cruisers. Don't even think about keeping the boat in salt water without bottom paint.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by zz4gta

Obviously I'm very new to this.

So are we .

Originally Posted by zz4gta

I had no idea how far this stuff goes and didn't want to buy more than necessary. How many coats did you put on?

One. But remember: We're in fresh-water. What works for us may not work for you.

Originally Posted by zz4gta

Thanks for the reply,

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by zz4gta

I saw the price for a gallon of this stuff, and got a little worried.

Heh, given what the quarts of VC-17 we bought this spring cost, on sale and with a club discount, I imagine so!

Jim

[blt2ski]

I use 5 qts for a double coat in a 24' WL 6500 lb Disp fin keel boat. I would imagine a smaller 25' long boat would only need 2 qts at best, maybe 3 if a fixed keel of some sort.

I use an ablative in Puget sound. Some locals use a hard paint, and have a pole with a scrubber to do the bottoms with. Here we can not scrub down ablative paints in Wa St per state law.

A good version of either, will help the speed initially no matter the variaty. Ask what locals are using. The type will depend on if you haul in the winter, I do not have to, vs how warm/cold the water is too, what demons are trying to get on your bottom also make a difference as to what you want, how often you use the boat etc.

There are plus's and minus's to both.

marty

[JimsCAL]

Another thought zz4gta. Since there is no bottom paint on currently and you are planning to put some on and keep her the water, now is the time to put on a barrier coat to prevent blisters. A quick search of this forum will produce lots of info on this.

[jfdubu]

I just switched from ablative to hard (Vivid) paint this season and it has made a noticable differance in speed. I use 1 gallon and got two coats on a 28' fin keel boat. I recoomend this to everyone interested in speed. The engineer in me has come up with a reason why hard paint is better. It has to do with conservation of energy.

The boats been in the water since May 25 and I haven't touched the bottom, salt water.

[Fstbttms]

Originally Posted by zz4gta

Currently there is nothing on the bottom to my knowlege. I do know the previous owner raced this boat, but I'm assuming they dry sailed it. I'm looking into different brands of paint and trying to decide weather or not to use a hard, modified, or ablative paint. I really like the speed of the boat which is why I'm shying away from the ablative, however the hard paints seem to require scrubbing, sometimes every 2 weeks. If I'm going to scrub that often, I'd rather not put anything on it. I'd like to go 2-3 months w/o having to scrub the bottom if it was possible.

Ablative paints are not inherently slower than modified epoxies and all paints require cleaning in areas that experience moderate to high fouling. That being said, the advice given that you should ask around and find out what particular product other club racers use and like is good. My personal opinion is that Petit Trinidad is hard to beat. A modified epoxy, it has excellent anti fouling properties, can be burnished to a very smooth and fast finish and is as durable as any anti fouling paint available.