[Rhodes22-list] Bottom Paint

[Bill Effros]

Daniel,

Don't remember how many answers you got to this.  When I day sailed in
Long Island Sound I just waxed the bottom of my boat, and hosed it down
when I took it out.  This worked fine.

But one day I left it in the water for 3 days, and the bottom was never
the same again.

After the EPA forced us to change from bottom paint that killed
everything within a 15 foot radius of the boat to kinder, gentler bottom
paint, nothing worked for a while.  It was a joke.  But over the years
the paint companies have developed bottom paint that works better than
it ever did before.

The earlier good stuff killed the hard things until it got overwhelmed
by slime in some environments at which point it stopped sloughing off
paint layers to expose new biocide, and the build up began.

Now they have developed great bottom paint that allows me to take the
boat out of the water with the bottom in exactly the same condition it
was when I put it in, 6 months earlier.  The paint has a green tinge.  I
think this is because the algicide has a green color, and I don't think
it is stuff that is growing, although it would be easy to think that's
what it is.  I use Black Bottom paint because it hides the green tinge
the best.

The paint is designed to ablate.  You can knock it all off with a
pressure washer if you choose to do so.  Nothing will grow where you do
this for a while.  As mentioned earlier, I just slap on new stuff every
year, and let the water smooth out my paint job for me.  I don't sand.
I don't prep. I only have to pressure wash above the water line, and on
lines that trail in the water if I don't plan to replace them (think
rudder lines).

Bill Effros

daniel snyder wrote:

> Bob K.
>
> My new Rhodes, due in May, will mostly stay on it's mooring ball from 
> May thru Oct. here on a fresh water lake in NH.  The water is 
> extremely clear, although there is always an amazing amount of algae 
> and slime buildup below the waterline...which if allowed to dry after 
> hauling is a real chore to get off.  I have a pretty red West Wight 
> Potter and was surprised to see the level of fading that hit the red 
> color below the waterline after scrubbing off the scum in October.
>
> I'm trying to determine with Stan what, if any, bottom paint might be 
> applied.  Stan says check with the locals.  I did and the answer is 
> nothing. My new Rhodes will have a red hull also, and I'd sure hate to 
> see the color fade like the Potter.  So, I would like to minimize the 
> slime build up if possible.   You mentioned the use of Petit Trinidad 
> and that you are moving to a saltwater environment....was this bottom 
> paint used for fresh water? If so, how did it help?  Thanks
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Keller" 
> <r22yankeeclipper at hotmail.com>
> To: <rhodes-list at sailnet.net>; <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 9:33 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Bottom Paint
>
>
>> Just brought Yankee Clipper to the marina (Big Water Marina) for a 
>> bottom job - it's been 4 years since Stan used Petit Trinidad on the 
>> bottom and it held up very well.  The bottom looked great when I 
>> pulled the boat. I'm getting a "salt water" bottom job since I will 
>> be moving to Savannah, GA next spring/summer.  So, what should I do 
>> with the bottom?  I called the marina in Savannah and they 
>> recommended that I go with an ablative paint instead of hard paint 
>> like Trinidad.  They use and recommended a sanding job and then two 
>> coats of Petit Ultima Pro (with biocide).  This can supposedly only 
>> be bought by boat yards, but the Petit Ultima is likely not much 
>> different.  High copper contect and biocide and using ablative paint 
>> will prevent build-up of bottom paint that will eventually have to be 
>> dealt with. They said a sanding and two new coats every 12-18 months 
>> does the trck on the coast.
>>
>> Just wanted to share this with the list and see if anyone has any 
>> similar experiences.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Bob K
>> s/v Yankee Clipper
>>
>>
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