Is it time to paint?

[flojoboy79]

I'm new to this forum and I just bought my first boat this summer. It's a 1983 Tanzer 27'. It had a bottom job 2 years ago and I'm starting to wonder if it is time to haul it out and have a bottom job done. I was swimming next to it the other day and used my hand to rub off some of the salad growth. I was surprised to see traces of blue paint in my hand after a few seconds of rubbing. It raised a few questions:

Does bottom paint normally rub off in the water?

If I decided to use a brush and scrub the bottom, will all the paint come off along with the algae?

Doug
Tanzer 27'
Lake Ray Hubbard, TX

[MarkCK]

If it is an ablative paint it is designed to rub off and it sounds like it is. The paint is designed that way to keep the fuzz stuff from attaching to the boat.

You really dont know for sure if it needs new paint until you haul it. But if it has been on there two years you probably need new paint. If it has that kind of growth on it... Worse case scenario you haul it out, power wash the growth off of it and then repaint the leading edges where the paint is most likely to have worn off.

I went a couple of years before I cleaned and repainted my boat. After I put it back in the water this spring I couldnt imagine the difference that it made it the way that it sails. Its like it was a totally different boat. I tried using a brush the previous year with the boat still in the water. It probably helped to some extent but nothing like doing the job right.

[MarkCK]

If this post shows up twice I appologize.

If the paint is two years old you probably need to do something about the bottom paint. Especially if the boat has been in the water for two years. Worse case scenario you pull the boat out, power wash it down and repaint on the leading edges where the paint was most likely to wear.

To answer your question, yes it is supposed to wear off. The paint is designed to slowly wear off to keep the funky stuff from growing on it. The more the boat is out of the slip and moving the less growth on the bottom of the boat.

Using a brush and scrubbing the bottom is a second best option. I tried that one year thinking that would be the easy way. I am sure that it helped but it was nothing like pulling the boat and doing it the right way. Of course I have a 20 foot boat so pulling it out in the fall and launching it in the spring is a whole lot easier that with a 27 footer.

But to answer your question, all of the paint shouldnt come off with a brush.

[MarkCK]

I dont know what happened to my first post, but it finally showed up.

[jpcook]

I am buying a boat with an ablative paint that has been on the hard for months. It has turned a copper patina. Does this need to be sanded before I repaint? If the paint is in good shape, does it need to be sanded to be effective as an anti-fouling surface?

[CharlieCobra]

It depends on the paint. Some ablative paints die if left on the hard for more than a month. You could give it a good rub down with Acetone and recoat it with fresh bottom paint. One good solid coat with two coats on leading edges should get ya two years service unless in the tropics.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by jpcook

I am buying a boat with an ablative paint that has been on the hard for months. It has turned a copper patina. Does this need to be sanded before I repaint? If the paint is in good shape, does it need to be sanded to be effective as an anti-fouling surface?

The ablatives I'm familiar with don't change color...I'd question if it is ablative paint.

You need to figure out what paint it is and go from there. I would not repaint without determining what paint you have, and how much paint is still there. Putting two new coats on a build up of any paint will result in the paint starting to chip and flake off.

[MarkCK]

Originally Posted by CharlieCobra

It depends on the paint. Some ablative paints die if left on the hard for more than a month. You could give it a good rub down with Acetone and recoat it with fresh bottom paint. One good solid coat with two coats on leading edges should get ya two years service unless in the tropics.

I always thought that ablatives could be left out of the water for extended periods of time. In a couple of months I am going to pull my boat out for the winter. My paint was new last spring so I wasnt planning on doing anything to the paint this spring when I put it back in the water. Do I need to do something to the paint?

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by MarkCK

I always thought that ablatives could be left out of the water for extended periods of time. In a couple of months I am going to pull my boat out for the winter. My paint was new last spring so I wasnt planning on doing anything to the paint this spring when I put it back in the water. Do I need to do something to the paint?

Not all ablative paints are "multi-season" paints.

[CharlieCobra]

Mark, it depends on the paint. If you know the brand, contact them about leaving it on the hard. You may have to change brands or paints if it's not an all-season paint.