Hull construction

[carlschlueter]

when did Ranger Tugs start using vinylester as opposed to polyester? Here in midwest we tend to dock the boats on the river. Polyester = blisters!

carl schlueter

 

[commander bill]

I believe the R25, R27 & R29 models has always been the better material. I can not speak for the R21 since that boat has been around for many years having been manuafactored by a previous owner. I know of no Rangers including R21s with blisters. I have been told by those that know more than I that newer boats constructed of polyester resin which used the "vacumn bag method" do not blister. Most boats that I have sen with blisters were built before 1990.

Also, the Ranger has no wood coring. The hull is solid glass and the upper section has foam coring.

 

[Andrew Custis]

We have been using vinyl ester resin on the hull portions of the boats since I have been with the company. (About 5 years)

 

[carlschlueter]

I was hoping for that answer! I am planning on purchasing an 07 21EC for the mississippi! There is a Gibson (50') pretty new as in 3 years, and owners pulled boat for paint. The shop stopped counting the blisters after 250! Holy Cow.

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

Regardless of the resin used in construction, I would highly recommend several coats of an epoxy barrier such as Interlux Interprotect compatible with your choice of finish coat. I have moored my boats in salt water, including my 1972 Stamas with the barrier system and an ablative bottom paint. There are no blisters on the Stamas after all these years. I did put five coats of the barrier on and I used Micron CSC for a number of years. My R-29, Ladybug, Too, has the barrier primer with SeaHawk Cucote and is presently moored at the same dock where the Stamas was moored. SeaHawk recommends their F-35 in lieu of the Cucote so that may mean a change for next year for Ladybug, Too. Our warm water is hell for marine growth. I do a bottom sweep once a month with an aqualung. If the barrier starts to show through, it is time to pull and paint. Pat, Ladybug, Too.

 

[sleepyboat]

FYI regarding barrier coating. Before I bought my R27 I was told that I should put a barrier coat on before the bottom paint. After several inquries at the Boston Boat Show from paint manufacturers and a chat with Winter Island Yacht Yard, where I bought my tug, I was told that the process that Ranger uses does not require a barrier coat. Works for me.

 

[rt11002003]

Better construction yields better resistance to osmosis blistering. Combined with better material gives even better results. Put on a barrier coat and experience even better results (if done properly).

For 35+ years I've had one, or more, boats in fresh water, a deep lake which rarely has ice. My Ranger R21EC spent two years in the water without a problem. That boat used vinylester resin; I put a bottom paint on it to cut down on the slime formation.

Another boat I owned, with vinylester resin, blistered after one season. I've also used barrier coats over vinylester resin and expereinced blistering after three seasons.

With the Rangers, I think a good strategy is to examine the bottom with boat every year, out of the water. At the end of the second season, pull the boat and let the hull dry out for a few weeks. Renew the bottom paint, if needed. Check the hull again the following year. Repeat.

Barrier coats are worse than useless unless applied by knowledgeable, skilled craftsmen. Even then, barrier coats can suffer osmosis blistering. Blistering is a hazard of laminate construction.

gene

 

[Levitation]

Gene, I suspect that you are making a point, but to say that only skilled craftsmen can roll three coats of epoxy primer onto a boat bottom is a bit over the top... Pettit has good instructions on their web site for their epoxy based primer coat... I suspect that every person on this forum is capable of following those directions...

Also, I refer the group back to the statement that there has not been any blistering of a Ranger Tug bottom reported.. Couple that with an epoxy based primer and you should be good to go...

One hazard of doing the bottom of your own boat turned up when we did ours... Turned out that the entire marina was closely watching us and when we left for the day they came around to inspect our work... Launch day came and while I was waiting for the lift crane to set us in the water we had multiple offers to work on their boats...
They said that the yard crew just whipped in, ran the sander over it, threw two coats on, one right after the other, taped a big bill to the cabin door, and were gone in a few hours...
But we did the initial sanding, wiped the bottom with solvent to remove loose dust, let it dry, put on fresh tape at the water line, then put on a coat, pulled the tape, and let it dry over night. The next day we went through the whole exercise again, a light sanding, wipe, etc... I declined to take on any bottom painting jobs - I told them it was too much like real work...

 

[rt11002003]

Denny-o,

Sounds like you're a skilled craftsman I was referring to. Almost all the better barrier coat jobs I've seen were done by the owners, who read and followed the mfg.'s instructions exactly.

I assume you did a final sanding to fair the barrier coat's surface. Rollers don't allow fair surfaces.

Cheers,

gene

 

[JamesTXSD]

Denny-o,

Sounds like you're a skilled craftsman I was referring to. Almost all the better barrier coat jobs I've seen were done by the owners, who read and followed the mfg.'s instructions exactly.

I assume you did a final sanding to fair the barrier coat's surface. Rollers don't allow fair surfaces.

Cheers,

gene

I don't recall if Denny-o's bottom paint is of the ablative type (it's what we use for being able to trailer the boat and still have it effective, Micron CSC Extra), but sanding the final coat of that would remove what the paint is supposed to do. Our ablative paint gets smoother with time and use.

We did have a sailing trimaran that we used to race, and had the ablative coats sprayed on by a pro - that was nice and smooth right from the get-go! Haven't noticed any performance difference with our roller applied bottom paint on our C-Dory.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[rt11002003]

I thought we were discussing barrier coats, such as Interlux 2000, epoxies, etc. and construction materials. My first exposure to Interlux 2000 was on a new Olson 25; a friend who did a lot of bottom work for me rolled it on and didn't check with me to see if I wanted it sanded fair. It looked like a giant orange peel. 😱 He then put a growth retarding bottom paint over it. Since I wasn't racing the Olson, I left the barrier coat alone. Sold it to another friend a year later. He decided to fair the barrier coat. Told me it was like sanding steel. :shock: My understanding is final sanding of Interlux 2000, for fairing, is not too bad, if done according to instructions: shortly after laying the final coat.

There are some of us, especially newcomers, who think what we refer to as "bottom paint" adds to the resistance of osmosis blistering, a sort of barrier coat. Not so. It's primary purpose is to retard growth of varmints in the water. 😉 Even the "hard" paints erode as they do their job.

I haven't personally done a bottom job for about 20 years; I have horrible cervical, all seven of them. But, I'm fortunate to have good friends who do great work at reasonable prices. 😀 My R21EC had an ablative bottom paint sprayed on, worked great, almost as smooth as the original gelcoat. My Rossi has a hard bottom paint, nice and smooth, but doesn't seem to resist the slime as well as the paint on the R21EC. But, it came up from FL; bottom paint that works well in one place may not work as well in another.

Nice smooth bottoms, fair and free from growth, yield better performance and save fuel (in power boats).

I've learned to not be too concerned with blisters. The real concern is delamination. I bought a S2 7.9 that had ablative bottom paint so thick one couldn't see or feel the blisters. When I had a bottom job done, there were several hundred small blisters found. They were opened; after letting the hull dry for several weeks they were repaired and Interlux 2000 was applied. Five years later, still no re-blistering. 🙂

One person's experiences/opinions, well some of them. 😀

gene

 

[Levitation]

We do not sand the ablative paint layers - mine is Pettit Vivid... They are simply rolled on... If someone is picturing a mirror bottom as on a racing yacht, wrong paint for that... The ablative paint must be simply rolled on, two or more coats, for proper antifouling...
Now if you have old paint on the bottom, then before putting on a fresh coat on you most scrub it free of growth, then sand it to expose a fresh layer of paint before rolling the first "new" coat
(wear a fresh air SUPPLY respirator - MOST ANTIFOULING IS TOXIC IF INHALED)...
After that just roll additional layers... This is for ablative... If you are preparing a hard coat racing bottom, it is a different story...

My aching shoulders well remember the annual sanding ritual on our Pearson (ritual is pronounced, agony) in order to get that magical last one quarter of a knot...