Bottom Paint - is this “Overkill?

[Kaptajnen]

We are going to have our R31 bottom painted for the first time since it was delivered.

On our previous sailboat we always used 2 coats of Pettit Trinidad Copper paint… and would last more than 4 years. It was almost 90 copper.

Now, we are looking at a modified Trinidad Pettit HD paint which has much less copper, and Pettit recommends that 2 coats of Pettit PROTECT be applied first for max protection.

I don’t know if this is a marketing ploy…but it will certainly make the job twice as expensive to paint 4 coats plus materials.

What do you think?

 

[Cutwater28GG]

4 coats seems a lot.

i paint my 28 with 2 coats on top of the barrier coat.

i get 3 years from the paint in the PNW.

 

[B95054]

It has been my experience that whenever I go against the manufacturers recommendations it always comes back to bite me. If I were in your shoes I would bite the bullet and add those extra two coats and do it exactly how they tell you to apply it. There is usually a good reason that quite likely nobody outside of their company would even understand. Think of it as insurance in case something does go wrong. They no longer have the excuse that you did not follow the recommendations

 

[Cutwater28GG]

to clarify my boat has two coats of the Petit Vivid (Red) paint applied and it works well for the PNW

 

[Automaticman865]

why not make your first coat a different color than your final coats. This way you know you always have a full coat of paint when you see the original color.

Stuart

 

[knotflying]

Well, I would first ask people in your area what bottom paint they use and the results. Different waters in different areas sometimes require a different paint. As far as coats go, my rule of thumb has always been you get one year per coat. With that said, I have always used Pettit Vivid, which is an ablative paint. I rarely had an issue with bottom build up of barnacles and growth. As an aside, I have been doing an experiment on my mooring ball bottom for a couple of years. I purchased a bag of copper dust and I pour a bit into the bottom paint that I am applying. Not one bit of growth on the bottom.

 

[BB marine]

I will second the Vivid. I will advise minimum 2 coats of ablative bottom paint with a multi season rating. When I purchased my C26 in 2016 I applied three coats of grey epoxy barrier primer (PETTIT PROTECT) 3 coats was recommended when I applied it.( This is not anti fouling .It is to help protect the hull and to give a better adhesion of the bottom paint to the hull). Then 2 coats of black Vivid bottom paint.) I recoated last spring sanded until I saw a faint color of grey paint because I didn't want bottom paint build up. I like a smooth bottom!!! I repainted in preparation of a planned trip which would be the river system to the Gulf of Mexico and 4 months in Florida waters. After 3 months in the water of south Florida I scheduled to have the boat lifted and set on my trailer. I also told the harbor master I would need a bottom pressure wash cleaning for sure. When the boat was lifted the fork truck operator jumped off the truck to start pressure washing the bottom. He looked at me and said " do you really want me to pressure wash this? There is nothing on it! Me being me I said yes I want the saltwater rinsed off it anyway I can't get to all of it on the trailer. Point is the Vivid worked very good in the warm waters of Florida where many folks have there bottoms cleaned once a month.

I recommend spending the extra money and having the barrier primer applied along with two coats of quality bottom paint of your choice. Mikes suggestion is good. Find out what works best in the area that you boat in.


To add to Mikes suggestion of adding copper dust. I was having cocktails with a fellow boater in Florida. I asked him how often he needed to clean the growth off the bottom.( He said " I use the cheap set paint that West Marine sells. I mix it up good. I use the recommended thinner so it rolls on easy .Before I start applying it I put 8oz of CAYENNE Pepper into a gallon of the cheap paint." )He said an old salt told him to do that and he has never had a barnacle on the bottom. He leaves the boat in the water for 2 years and has it lifted and repainted every 2 years. It was a 40 ' trawler. I looked this up and there is a lot of comments that say it works but the paint manufactures say it is folk remedies!! I'm sticking to VIVID!!!