DIY Bottom Painting

[KlaassyC]

The time has come to add another coat or two of bottom paint and fix a few minor scraps in the bottom of the hull. I would like to do this in my driveway but cannot see a way to get decent coverage while on the trailer. Has anyone successfully transferred the boat to stands from the trailer or do I need a travelift for this? I'd really prefer to do this at home as the nearest boat lifts are several hours away.

 

[bob daily]

I used a set of boat lifts that fit on the trailor and worked fine for me. You only need to lift the boat a few inches. I did notice the price of the lifts that I have almost doubled in price since I bought them.
You can also use the trailer jack and blocking, lower the Jack all the way down to raise the aft end of the boat, block aft end then raise Jack all way up to raise the front of boat and block then lower the boat Jack. Best of luck. Bob

 

[Full_O_Fish]

A couple years ago I purchased a Brownell BLT4 for around $800, works like a charm. It's a set of 4 boat stands/lifts which just bolts onto the trailer and lets you lift the boat in place to paint or clean the bottom, no need to hassle with trying to transfer the boat onto fixed stands. Only downsides are that it doesn't work with aluminum trailers, so you need a galvanized or painted steel trailer, and since the trailer is still under the vessel it takes a bit more work to paint but I'd say it's well worth the extra effort as it's still so much easier than transferring the boat off the trailer.

Probably the same system Bob has.

 

[Red Raven]

Ditto. I lift our R27 Classic off the trailer about 4 inches each winter while in our garage using Brownell Boat trailer stands.
In addition I use hydraulic jacks on the keel from the floor (with some custom steel plates I made to protect the keel) and use the trailer mounted stands to keep the boat stable. The stands also push down on the trailer springs while the hydraulic jacks lift the boat to give the needed spacing. The stands could probably be used alone but the hydraulic jacks make the lifting easier and adds a “belt and suspenders” approach to make me feel more confident no disaster can occur.

Curt

 

[scross]

Our R-25 Classic and new to us C-28 are in the driveway all off season.
I did the bottom paint on the R-25 in two steps. First I did as much prep work and painting on the trailer as possible. Covered the I-Beams and fenders with a tarp. Got about 50-60% done with the boat on the trailer but that part was by far the worst part for wear and tear and algae growth. Took about 18-24 hours of work each year.
The flat bottom of the hull was prepped and painted on jacks in a do it yourself boatyard. Took less than 8 hours because the prior bottom paint was in much better shape.

 

[KlaassyC]

Our R-25 Classic and new to us C-28 are in the driveway all off season.
I did the bottom paint on the R-25 in two steps. First I did as much prep work and painting on the trailer as possible. Covered the I-Beams and fenders with a tarp. Got about 50-60% done with the boat on the trailer but that part was by far the worst part for wear and tear and algae growth. Took about 18-24 hours of work each year.
The flat bottom of the hull was prepped and painted on jacks in a do it yourself boatyard. Took less than 8 hours because the prior bottom paint was in much better shape.

Thanks everyone, didn’t know about the trailer boat lifts. They are $1200 CAD so I may fabricate something similar myself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[piglet 2013]

Just finished my c28 bottom. I used 4 regular boat stands and two keel blocks. I first lowered the tongue of the trailer all the way down put two small bottle jacks under each rear corner of the trailer and lifted the back of the boat about 4 inches. placed blocks under keel at rear and a stand at rear corners of the boat. I then raised the tongue with tongue jack and bottle jacks place under the trailer where the i beams are bent. Lifted the front of the boat up as high as the tongue jack would go. placed keel block under front and two more stands then lowered the trailer. Process took about an hour I have a triple axle trailer so there were a lot of obstacles to crawl around.