New boat. No bottom paint.

Tows in the sand

Tows in the sand

Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2024
Messages
11
Location
South Carolina
Fluid Motion Model
R-25 (Outboard)
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2509H425
Vessel Name
Nauti Dream
Greetings,
First post so be gentle...
We will be picking up our new R25 in a few weeks. It has a beautiful red hull that we hate to cover up with bottom paint. IMO it's ugly, once you do it you are kind of stuck with it, and some say it even decreases the value of the boat. We live on a fresh water lake and plan to keep the boat on a lift or on the trailer when not in use. However we do plan to do some traveling up and down the lower east coast and possibly over to the Bahamas. Unless there is an issue with the weather we don't plan to stay in one place for more than a week. My question is, are we making a mistake if we decide against the bottom paint? Could we get some type of clear coating instead? I don't mind going over the bottom with a brush or a sponge every week or 2.

Thank you!
 
We keep our boat on its trailer except when we are using it. Never painted any of our boat'
20210527_170759 (1).jpg
s bottoms. The longest we have ever been in the water without trailering it and wiping down the bottom is 4 weeks. Two week trips were very common. Bottom paint has a tendency to take about a mph off of top speed and I never wanted to give up any performance or fuel efficiency. Our Hulls generally looked like new whether we owned the boat 5 years or 17 years. We always boated in fresh water, most often in the great lakes.
 
A better picture of the bottom after three seasons.
Starboard side in garage.jpg
 
Some thoughts

1. you can get bottom paint in some pretty awesome colors. so it doesn't have to be drab black. - I have a bright red against my blue boat.
2. if the boat is in the water for a few weeks you will need paint unless you like wasting $ on fuel and struggling to get good boat performance
3. There is a product from France they use in NZ that is a vinyl-like product that sticks on like film and lasts about 5 years as opposed to paint. its not common in the US though as it's not tolerant to scraping
 
Performance figures for 2021 R29S (Volvo D-4 320) in August of 2024 - loaded to cruise for two weeks, two adults, 2 dogs (total weight for them 120 lbs), no current, no bottom paint, slight tail wind, fresh water (West Arm Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan).
25 MPH R29S Loaded to cruise with slight tail wind, Trsvers Bay August 2024.jpg
 
Cutwater28GG said:
Some thoughts

1. you can get bottom paint in some pretty awesome colors. so it doesn't have to be drab black. - I have a bright red against my blue boat.
2. if the boat is in the water for a few weeks you will need paint unless you like wasting $ on fuel and struggling to get good boat performance
3. There is a product from France they use in NZ that is a vinyl-like product that sticks on like film and lasts about 5 years as opposed to paint. its not common in the US though as it's not tolerant to scraping
Click to expand...
Thank you for your thoughts! We are wide open to suggestions. I'm wondering if a good ceramic or epoxy would be slippery enough to be able to just wipe off the growth once a week or so..
 
I had my previous boat for 19 years with no bottom paint. Trailered it all aver Michigan. Previous owner kept it in the water all summer (fresh water) and lifted it once a season to clean it. He used a wax on the bottom he claimed was specifically recommended as a substitute for bottom paint, but I have not found such a wax. Maybe another Member does know of such a product. That boat looked like new when I sold it, (still does). I wish my Tug had not been bottom painted. Maintaining the bottom paint is much more expensive and time consuming than maintaining the gelcoat in fresh water if you trailer and may be the same if you are willing to do the cleaning even if kept in the fresh water for 6 months. With a classic tug, the hydraulic drag is not really an issue but may be with a planing hull. Obviously, this does not apply to salt or brackish water. In your case, with occasional saltwater exposure, you might do well to look at a hard finish bottom paint that will provide some protection but power wash well and reduce drag. If you try to go with no bottom finish and go with bottom paint later, you are really not out much since the prep would remove whatever growth you had gathered. IMO complete sanding or blasting and proper application of 2-part primer won't be much different, later than when new.
I agree that Audrey Rose is beautiful and kept that way. Hope to see her in Mackinaw this summer.
 
On our prior boats I just waxed the hulls with whatever wax I was using at the time. I decided to try ceramic coating this boat. I used Glidecoat for this boat. (I must confess that I still need to do the fiberglass area above the rub rail and the bottom of the hull where the axles on the trailer are.) Boat now sleeps 8 eight hours from home and getting there to do these chores is not super convenient, especially during the winter months and the cold.
Garage January 2025.jpg
 
PanaSeaAh said:
I had my previous boat for 19 years with no bottom paint. Trailered it all aver Michigan. Previous owner kept it in the water all summer (fresh water) and lifted it once a season to clean it. He used a wax on the bottom he claimed was specifically recommended as a substitute for bottom paint, but I have not found such a wax. Maybe another Member does know of such a product. That boat looked like new when I sold it, (still does). I wish my Tug had not been bottom painted. Maintaining the bottom paint is much more expensive and time consuming than maintaining the gelcoat in fresh water if you trailer and may be the same if you are willing to do the cleaning even if kept in the fresh water for 6 months. With a classic tug, the hydraulic drag is not really an issue but may be with a planing hull. Obviously, this does not apply to salt or brackish water. In your case, with occasional saltwater exposure, you might do well to look at a hard finish bottom paint that will provide some protection but power wash well and reduce drag. If you try to go with no bottom finish and go with bottom paint later, you are really not out much since the prep would remove whatever growth you had gathered. IMO complete sanding or blasting and proper application of 2-part primer won't be much different, later than when new.
I agree that Audrey Rose is beautiful and kept that way. Hope to see her in Mackinaw this summer.
Click to expand...
That is very true. If we go with the bottom paint later we are not out anything. Thank you!
 
S. Todd said:
On our prior boats I just waxed the hulls with whatever wax I was using at the time. I decided to try ceramic coating this boat. I used Glidecoat for this boat. (I must confess that I still need to do the fiberglass area above the rub rail and the bottom of the hull where the axles on the trailer are.) Boat now sleeps 8 eight hours from home and getting there to do these chores is not super convenient, especially during the winter months and the cold. View attachment 24692
Click to expand...
Yikes. I remember those days from when we lived in Michigan. Ironically we now live in South Carolina and have an inch of snow on the deck this morning.
I think we will start out with something slippery (ceramic, epoxy, or lots of wax) and see how it goes. Again. Audrey Rose is beautiful. I hope to see her in person some day!
 
Our R25SC lived on a trailer. No bottom paint. Our max time in salt water was 4 weeks up in the sound. No problem cleaning the bottom after the salt water soak. Our R27OB also lived in the barn on a trailer. Again, max of 4 weeks exposure to salt water with no bottom paint. I ceramic coated the 27 and that made the post cruise hull cleaning a breeze. Our R31 lives in salt water moorage, therefore bottom paint is a must.
 
zekeandboone said:
Our R25SC lived on a trailer. No bottom paint. Our max time in salt water was 4 weeks up in the sound. No problem cleaning the bottom after the salt water soak. Our R27OB also lived in the barn on a trailer. Again, max of 4 weeks exposure to salt water with no bottom paint. I ceramic coated the 27 and that made the post cruise hull cleaning a breeze. Our R31 lives in salt water moorage, therefore bottom paint is a must.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information!
 
S. Todd said:
A better picture of the bottom after three seasons.
Click to expand...
For those who may not be familiar with S. Todd, if you’re going to be reincarnated as a boat, be his boat.
 
great thread. I don't plan on painting my new rt25.it spends most of its time on the lift.i did coat the entire boat with ultimar https://www.ultimarinc.com/
will see how it goes.
IMG_5198.jpeg
 
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