[abrahamx]

I am painting my tartan 30 for the first time. I will be using vc17 and I swear someone told me that they use 2quarts but the chart for the product says I will need a gallon and a half. I dont want to buy any more than I need. I guess it could not hurt to buy a little at a time and just paint till I'm done? Or is a dry edge a problem. Either way if you have a similar size boat and have done this before, please let me know how much paint you use.

 

[capt jgwinks]

Never been able to figure that one out myself. My 36 Columbia should take a gallon or more, but I get decent coverage with 2 quarts. Your supposed to put on 2 coats which would almost be the amount they recommend, but I never do. In the fall at haul out there is just a little slime and a zebra mussel here and there.

 

[Gladrags1]

It matters where you boat. In the warmer Chesapeake, you would need more paint than in cooler waters. So you have a fellow Michiganer there who also states 2 quarts is sufficient. I hope you are using an ablative as paint piles up and then flakes off in chunks, causing a total redo of the bottom. So I would get 1 gallon and use what you need. Quarts are more expensive than gallons.

Tod

 

[scratchee]

My 27-foot boat takes a little more than a gallon, so I get a gallon and a quart. If you can buy it locally, I'd get a gallon and then see how much more you need after the gallon is gone.

Be aware that two quarts costs almost as much as a gallon.

EDIT: Maybe VC17 only comes in quarts anyway?

 

[TQA]

VC 17 is thin and goes on thin so you need MUCH less than conventional ablative..

I used it on my 22ft trailer sailor

 

[jann]

My 45 footer takes 2 gallons for the first coat. 2nd coat goes on thinner than the first.

 

[zeehag]

1-2 gallons is what i have always used on 30-35 ft boat with 2 coats on bottom and 2-4 on waterline and leading edges.

 

[TejasSailer]

Page 37 of the Interlux guide has an estimation table.

http://www.yachtpaint.com/LiteratureCentre/boat-painting-guide-14-usa-eng.pdf

Our Beneteau First 36.7 takes 7 of the 3/4 quart cans to just cover.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

All boats take one more tin than you can afford, a quarter gallon more than is sold in the gallon can.

My boat takes 2 1/4 gallons f'ing waste lol

 

[SchockT]

I use 1 gallon for 2 coats of Petit Horizons on my 30'er. I only have to paint every 2 years. I also put it on thicker in areas that I scrub such as the waterline and the rudder. 1 coat definitely isn't enough; I am sure if I only applied 1 coat I would have to haul every year, which is much more expensive than a half gallon of paint!

 

[Sanduskysailor]

VC-17 is a different animal. 2 qts is all that you need if you apply it right. 1st you need a solvent. Interlux has one called VC thinner which is relatively expensive. The rest of us use 95% isopropyl alcohol which is less than $2 at CVS. The trick is to roll it on with a 7" west systems foam roller. Don't use a hardware store roller it will disintegrate and it will make a mess. Mix up the whole can at once and keep the lid on. Only pour small amounts into the roller pan as this stuff evaporates quickly. Use the solvent to refresh the dried stuff in the pan. 10% is all that you want to dilute this stuff. Use the alcohol for clean up. When masking some people use 3m 355 electrical tape for fine edge then 2" masking tape. VC17 will go right through normal masking tape if get enough of it on the tape.

A really good alternative to VC-17 is Petit SR21. Chemically the same as VC-17 and compatible. West Marine rebrands SR-21 as FW-21 which starts on sale Thursday at WM for $45/qt.

Good luck!

 

[algee]

Listen to Sandusky Sailor!!! He knows what he's talking about.

 

[SloopJonB]

I just finished the bottom of my 30'. I got almost two full coats from a gallon of West Ablative.

It has lots of surface area too - a light fin keel would easily get two coats.

 

[Sanduskysailor]

The obvious confusion by the some of the posters is that they are not familiar with VC 17. It is not the same a traditional bottom paint. It has the viscosity of water and goes a long way. Quite the opposite of an ablative paint. It should be a clue that VC17 is only sold in qts. At a cost of $240 per gallon and yearly application nobody would buy it if you needed 2 gallons for a 30 ft boat.

 

[abrahamx]

VC-17 is a different animal. 2 qts is all that you need if you apply it right. 1st you need a solvent. Interlux has one called VC thinner which is relatively expensive. The rest of us use 95% isopropyl alcohol which is less than $2 at CVS. The trick is to roll it on with a 7" west systems foam roller. Don't use a hardware store roller it will disintegrate and it will make a mess. Mix up the whole can at once and keep the lid on. Only pour small amounts into the roller pan as this stuff evaporates quickly. Use the solvent to refresh the dried stuff in the pan. 10% is all that you want to dilute this stuff. Use the alcohol for clean up. When masking some people use 3m 355 electrical tape for fine edge then 2" masking tape. VC17 will go right through normal masking tape if get enough of it on the tape.

A really good alternative to VC-17 is Petit SR21. Chemically the same as VC-17 and compatible. West Marine rebrands SR-21 as FW-21 which starts on sale Thursday at WM for $45/qt.

Good luck!

Thanks for the detailed reply. So I cant just use my green frog tape? that is what I would have used otherwise. Glad you brought it up.

 

[eherlihy]

I think that the answer is; it depends.

Four years ago I did the bottom of my O'day 35 (5.7' keel). It took almost 2 gallons of West Marine's CPP paint.

The next year I had the bottom soda blasted, and painted with 3 coats of Pettit Hydrocoat professionally (1 coat red, 2 coats blue). I supplied the paint, and the yard returned half of what I gave them.

Yesterday I did the bottom with Pettit Hydrocoat. I was very (pleasantly) surprised when it used less than a gallon for 1 coat. My helpers and I used two roller trays, and two 9" x ¼" nap rollers and a small brush.

 

[abrahamx]

Yea, but I'm using vc17 remember?

 

[TomMaine]

I am painting my tartan 30 for the first time. I will be using vc17 and I swear someone told me that they use 2quarts but the chart for the product says I will need a gallon and a half. I dont want to buy any more than I need. I guess it could not hurt to buy a little at a time and just paint till I'm done? Or is a dry edge a problem. Either way if you have a similar size boat and have done this before, please let me know how much paint you use.

I used VC17 for years on a similar sized boat. 2 quarts would be max. It's very thin and unless your bottom is extremely rough, 2 quarts is plenty.

 

[SloopJonB]

Is VC17 strictly a racing finish or is it anti-fouling?

 

[TejasSailer]

From the Interlux Guide Previously mentioned.

http://www.yachtpaint.com/LiteratureCentre/boat-painting-guide-14-usa-eng.pdf