First time bottom painting

[JMN412]

I am in the process of restoring a macgregor Venture 25 and I am going to attempt to paint thebottom this week. Does anyone know how many gallons a 25 foot boat needs? Is there an advantage to doing more than one coat? Any general tips will be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Captainmeme]

The amount of paint required depends not only on the area to be covered but also on the type of paint. Interlux list 5 anti fouling paints with coverage from 320 sq ft to 495 sq ft. But a short answer to your question is 1 gallon.

[MSN2Travelers]

Originally Posted by JMN412

I am in the process of restoring a macgregor Venture 25 and I am going to attempt to paint thebottom this week. Does anyone know how many gallons a 25 foot boat needs? Is there an advantage to doing more than one coat? Any general tips will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Did my Mac 26M a couple years ago with Interlux 2000E. It took two 1-gallon kits to do four coats. I bought one white kit and one grey kit. Each coat took about a half-gallon & alternated colors so I could ensure complete coverage with each coat.

Putting on a layer of anti-fouling paint after that all depends on how you store the boat (ie: in the water or on a trailer).

[JMN412]

I will probably keep her in the water 6 months out of the year. Would one coat be enough or would two be better?

[TQA]

One coat of ablative should do the trick unless you sail it at high speed A LOT!

Get 3 qt tins but you may only need 2. Most chandlers will give a refund on the unused tin if unopened.

Ask around in your local area for what works in terms of AF type.

[Minnewaska]

I'm curious what is on there now? Is it just bare gelcoat? If not, compatibility might be a concern.

If she will stay in the water for the season, you might consider a base coat of epoxy barrier. Not so much for blister protection, but it makes a better base for adhesion. Nothing worse than seeing expensive anti-foulant that is peeling off.

If starting from zero, I would put a base coat in one color and build a different one above it. This way you'll see the base showing through and know you are losing coverage.

Lastly, do you plan to throw a coat on every year or do you want a multi-year paint? Personally, I prefer one fresh coat per year. However, if I was trying to get two or three years, I would probably start with more.

[CalebD]

It also depends on fresh, salt or brackish water.
I've been using the CPP ablative from West Marine (made by Petite).
One gallon a year gives me about 1 & 1/2 coats on our 27' boat that spends half the year in a tidal estuary.
Folks on the Great Lakes seem to prefer VC17.

[JMN412]

As of now there is an old layer of paint that has mostly chipped off. So I was planning on starting to peel and sand off the rest. I will be sailing mostly in brackish waters. And I would like to not have to paint every year. Thanks again for all the help everyone

[Fstbttms]

Two coats always, with three at the waterline and leading/trailing edges of the appendages. Since the boat will be stored out of the water for long periods, you must use an ablative paint.

[CalebD]

FstBttms is a diver who cleans boat hulls in water so his/her recommendation should be noted.
I'd recommend an ablative paint as well for brackish water. Barnacles can be a real bytch to remove and an ablative or 'soft' paint helps minimize their forming.
The bottom paint I've been using (CPP) is one of the cheaper ablative paints out there at about $100/gallon if you can get it on sale. Some may say you get what you pay for but I don't really believe that the more expensive paints (up to $300/gallon) which claim to be multi-season paints hold up any better. I seem to always use up 1 gallon every spring.
You pays your money and takes your chances.