Do all boats need antifouling bottom paint?

AllThumbs · #1 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

Or can you just leave the gelcoat alone in some circumstances. For example a does a boat that is slipped on an inland lake for 4 months a year be left alone? The worst accumulation I saw on a boat last year at our sailing club was some green algae below the waterline. I am not sure if the boats had antifouling paint applied or not. I don't seem to think so.

If it doesn't need antifouling paint, what type of paint does it need?

Eric

Fstbttms · #2 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

Any boat that lives in the water should have anti fouling paint on the bottom. That's just proper boat maintenance. Trying cleaning one that doesn't sometime and you'll understand why.

timangiel · #3 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

If you are going to leave your boat in the water for 4 months, you are probably going to want antifouling. If you trailer your boat you can probably get away with out it.

junkmeister · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

Thumbs - I use VC17 on my boat and it works well for our water. As I advised in another of your threads we sail in Long point bay out of Turkey Point Marina. Because the water gets so warm in the summer, the boot stripe turns nasty green very quickly. I just keep the boot stripe scrubbed whenever we anchor for swimming. The bottom because it has the VC17 antifouling doesn't gather any greenstuff. Last winter I scraped, and scraped, and scraped,then sanded down the bottom of my boat and checked for any blisters because it had many coats of old ugly anti-fouling on it. It had no blisters so I then sprayed on 5 coats of InterProtect barrier coat, then 3 coats of VC17. It survived the summer well.

DAW14126 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

We use it on our MN lake due to the warmer temps. the water reaches. However, a prior owner kept the boat on Lake Superior, very cold water, and never needed the paint.

bljones · #6 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

On Pittock, anti-foul it. You'll thank me in the fall.

CalebD · #7 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

People with Flying Scotts, Lightnings, Sonars etc. at our club who 'dry sail' their boats generally do not use anti-fouling paint. 'Dry sailing' means they pull the boat out of the water after each use. Even in our part of the Hudson (which is brackish to salty - tidal) we can get nasty barnacle growth that without anti-fouling paint would be a major headache. VC 17 seems to be the paint of choice for fresh water but we use an ablative paint that discourages barnacles.
Paint the bottom with VC 17 per directions on can. You will be glad you did.

travler37 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fstbttms

Any boat that lives in the water should have anti fouling paint on the bottom. That's just proper boat maintenance. Trying cleaning one that doesn't sometime and you'll understand why.

Did that for beer,
In the 70's as a high schooler made a good amount of realy cheap beer free diving and cleaning bottoms in Duluth/souptown harbor....Did prep work on a few to.Emron{sp} paint by dupont and probably spelled that wrong to.

Now i have ben out of the boat industry for a long while...and the paint industry for longer.......

You say"That's just proper boat maintenance" to put a antifouling pain on the botom.I ask if just a good paint and a few hours a month cleaning it yourself or paying a few beers and lunch is ok?Or have i ben out of the industry to long?
My Question
Mark

bljones · #9 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009

What's your time worth?
In a freshwater lake with seasonal mooring, you don't have to deal with barnacles, but you still have to deal with algae and GAS (general aquatic scum). Best case, you have to scrub your hull regularly to get a couple more knots of performance. Worst case you haul your boat out at the end of the season and have discoloured gel coat and a hull that looks like don johnson's chin, and you have to spend a few hours scrubbing it down and hoping the murky green colour disappears as you scrub. Or spend a hundred bucks and a couple of hours on anti-fouling in the spring, and an hour or less pressure washing in the fall.

travler, something to think about- zebra mussels weren't an issue in the 70's, like they are now.

travler37 · #10 (**permalink**) 02-02-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bljones

What's your time worth?
In a freshwater lake with seasonal mooring, you don't have to deal with barnacles, but you still have to deal with algae and GAS (general aquatic scum). Best case, you have to scrub your hull regularly to get a couple more knots of performance. Worst case you haul your boat out at the end of the season and have discoloured gel coat and a hull that looks like don johnson's chin, and you have to spend a few hours scrubbing it down and hoping the murky green colour disappears as you scrub. Or spend a hundred bucks and a couple of hours on anti-fouling in the spring, and an hour or less pressure washing in the fall.

travler, something to think about- zebra mussels weren't an issue in the 70's, like they are now.

Time worth?
Yup...Proper maintence is about 6 hours a month with good paint doing it your self.25 to 30 ft boat as long as you keep with it.

Aprox $200 for antifouling paint/materials it you do it yourself. Plus a haulout and storage while it dries.

your choice
Mark