Bottom paint recommendations

[Robjen]

I have a R29CB 2017. I am getting ready to paint the bottom with antifouling paint. We are in Kentucky and boating in fresh water and usually take the boat out of the water every week. It is usually only in the water a week or so at a time. We also plan to go to Pensacola this summer and take a 14 day trip to New Orleans. We trailer the boat and store it in a building.
There is no bottom paint at this time.
What grit sand paper to use to scuff the bottom?
Do I need a primer?
I see a lot of people recommending Pettit Paint - Vivid.
Would you recommend this paint or another type from Pettit?
Has anyone used the “blue” Pettit Vivid, the blue dos not look like it matched the blue color of my bottom?
Thanks for any advice!

 

[Red Raven]

I wouldn’t paint it all in your situation. You shouldn’t have much growth if any in 14 days. The paint slows the boat a bit and once you paint you are committed to repainting every few years. Just wash it good after each use.

 

[scross]

I second Curt’s recommendation to not bottom paint. Keep the hull waxed and do a good power wash at the end of the season.

 

[BB marine]

Our first year of owning our 26C we did not paint the bottom. We launched on Friday and loaded it on the trailer on Sunday. We stored the boat during the week in a building that had a wash station that we used before storing for the week. We left the boat in the water (Lake Michigan) for 2 weeks while on vacation. There was no growth on the bottom just a little on tabs and Sten thruster housing and a little below boot line to chine. It all cleaned up easily. After that first season of dry storage we decided to leave the boat in the water all season and also planned to do our first segment of the Loop. We painted the hull. The process we used was Dewax, DA sanded with 80 grit, Dewax again, applied 3 coats of Pettit Protect High Build Epoxy Primer 4700/4701 then 2 coats of Pettit Vivid bottom paint. Vivid is a hard finish ablative bottom paint. It works well with trailerable boats. I did not notice any performance change. Most likely there was a slight change. It was real hard to start grinding on that shiny bottom.

 

[Jeff58]

We are in fresh water on Lake Erie. We use Pettit Vivid - Black on our Blue hull C28. We do not have a trailer so bottom paint is a must. Works well, and we have not repainted the entire bottom....just touch-up the thin or stripped spots after power washing each year. The black looks good for the little that shows.