bottom paint

capedoryus · #1 (**permalink**) 01-01-2003

Anyone have a site where i can compare bottom paints and their effectivness. I am in a sub tropic enviorment and the boat will be sitting most of the time. All personal suggestons are welcome.
John

tsenator · #2 (**permalink**) 01-01-2003

I would look into Practical Sailor''s back issues. (http://www.practical-sailor.com).

They annually do tests on bottom paints in waters up in northeast (Southern Conn) and in Florida. I beleive "Trinidad" was one best for Florida.

From what they say in the April 2002 issue "Micron Extra from Interlux and Pettit''s Trinidad SR are still top-notch paints"

http://www.practical-sailor.com/pub/28_7/features/4658-1.html

The 10th annual rating in March 2001 is here
http://www.practical-sailor.com/pub/28_7/features/4658-1.html

peterpan2k · #3 (**permalink**) 01-01-2003

Hi
I got alot of info about bottom paint and studies on google just by typing in "bottom paint". A very interesting test was done by a leading university that was trying all the best brands of bottom paint. They''re spacific purpose was to control zebra muscles on power plant discharge gates. Of all the major brands they found that none were signifigantly better than any other. More suprising were the studies that discovered that capsasin (an ingredient in cayanne pepper) signifantly increased the potency and longevity of any bottom paint. Nearly all good bottom paints are heavily ladden with copperous oxide. The higher the content the better. Adding a cup of cayanne to a gallon of paint worked great for me. The real nut is, that for all the technical hoopla, read the ingredients of these so called special paints and you''ll find that there the same as regular exterior flat house paint accept that they have copper oxide in them. Even dingy paint is an exterior flat latex paint that is just loaded with the stuff. The catch is, that if you plan to have your boat haulled out in a comercial yard, they will force you to buy your bottom paint from them at usually exhorbanant prices.
Good Luck, Jim

Hobgoblin · #4 (**permalink**) 01-07-2003

Hi,

Why don''t You check out:www.sealcoats.com,
the system consists of resin coat in which they apply glassfibres, it does look like a Seals furcoat.I''ve seen ships who have this system for over 7 years and have been lifted out twice with only a good powerwash to remove dirt etc. and few minor "patch ups".
And absolutely enviromentally safe.
My vessel will be done this winter.

Grtz.

Marc
SV. Hobgoblin