Need Bottom Paint?

[Phil Nersessian]

Hi, I just purchased a new Cutwater 30 LE (command Bridge) I am very new to boating and this is my first boat. I just heard about bottom paint and doing research including searching this thread am very confused. Do I need bottom paint? I live in mass. and the boat will be in the water about 4 months a year, no trailer. Does the boat come painted(I read somewhere on this forum that they do). If I need to paint what should I use? Thanks Phil

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

You should bottom paint your new boat, if not you'll have barnacles growing on your hull and all sorts of marine growth. Marine growth will not only cause damage over a long period of time it will also affect the speed of your boat in a negative way, which in turn will reduce your fuel economy. After we bought our R27 I wanted to wait a couple of months to bottom paint our boat. After 5 weeks in the water, in Florida in February, the hull bottom was covered with barnacles. This became its own problem as I had to get them off of the hull before I could prepare and paint the bottom.

Check the link out below to see what I'm talking about and how I prepared and painted the bottom.

http://trailertrawlerlife.com/?s=bottom+paint#.Vs4dWzbpWRs

If the above link does not work go to our blog http://www.trailertrawlerlife.com and put bottom paint into the search field and you'll find the two posts.

Jim F

 

[ttlmac]

Phil, good luck with the new boat. We're almost neighbors, I keep my R31 in Scituate. Where will you keep yours? You will definitely need bottom paint, and you'll also get growth on the trim tabs.
Tom
Indian Summer

 

[wincrasher]

I went ahead and had my dealer paint my new boat. Not cheap, as it was $1800. It is cheaper than having a heart attack cleaning off a bunch of growth. Check your local dealer on what paint is recommended for your area - it's not a one size fits all kind of thing as I'm told.

They are telling me my next project may be in Cape Cod. So maybe I'll see you cruising around.

 

[Levitation]

Bottom paint does not know what brand of boat it is on. If your boat will be out of the water part of the year as many Tugs are, Pettit Vivid has been working very well. My paint is in it's 5th year and I am now just beginning to think of a fresh coat.
Pettit is not the only manufacturer. I have found by calling them that I get straight answers and no baloney.
On your trim tabs the best solution I have found so far is spray coating with cold galvanizing. I have 5 or 6 coats on mine and it helps. I looked at the expensive stuff made for marine use and by comparing the MSD published by the manufacturers I could not see any difference between the $25 marine spray can and the $6 hardware store can.
Use tape to protect the zinc anode on the tab when you spray it.

ymmv bni sar :mrgreen:

 

[ronnieg]

First off I want to welcome you to the cutwater family
If your boat is going to be in the water for any amount of time, We recommend that it gets bottom paint.
our bottom painter uses
Seahawk paint
AF33 non ablative
please feel free to contact your dealer for help and I am always available to talk or answer an email

 

[nzfisher]

The guys in Des Moines swear by Petit Trinidad. Just asked everyone I could find at the Seattle boat show. Time to do my boat again.

 

[Gin]

The Seahawk bottom paint put on by the factory did not do the job well at all for us in the freshwater environment of the Columbia/Willamette Rivers (and and around Portland). We put on a different product early within the first year. After considering several recommendations by those with some good local knowledge, we went with Vivid Hydrocoat Eco, which is especially easy on the water, environmentally. It held up well for us. We have gotten some growth on the bottom, but most of it comes off right away with some cruising, and what little may remain doesn't cause any significant drag (based on RPM at WOT). We had a diver go down to knock off growth and replace zincs last fall, and he declared the bottom paint to be working well. Now, after two years, it is time for a renewal coat. Subject to inspection when we haul out, we plan to stick with it.

In the end, you have to pick a bottom paint based in large part on the water and conditions your boat spends the most time in. So check out local knowledge and experience. And my two-cents' worth is to go for an environmentally responsible option if local knowledge and experience suggests that it works well enough in those local conditions. Why not do the most we can to preserve the environment we buy our boats to enjoy? (This after being a devoted Interlux Micron CSC user in the salt water of the puget sound for many years, but that paint doesn't do the environment any favors).

Gini

 

[Phil Nersessian]

Thank you all for the advice, looks like I'm bottom painting the boat.Now I have more research to do on paint. I haven't made a final decision on the slip but the front runner is Zecco's in Wareham,Ma. Seems to be a good combination of close to home and easy access to Martha's Vinyard, Cape Cod, Ptown etc.. and the boatyard seems to have a good rep. Probably move in a few years to hit the Boston Area.