Alternative to bottom paint?

[pcg]

If I don’t apply bottom paint, do I need to apply something over the epoxy barrier coats, or just leave the epoxy barrier coats as my last last line of defense?

I’m in the planning stage for my boat restoration and hope to have the bottom painted by this time next year. After doing any necessary fiberglass repair I’ll be sanding the bottom (still leaving most of the gelcoat in place) and applying (roll and tip) several layers of epoxy barrier coat. I really don’t want an ablative bottom paint, but am keeping an open mind about this. I don’t want it for environmental reasons and maintenance reasons – I’m not keen on having to repaint if I can avoid it. From what I’ve learned, bottom paint is not designed to last more than a few years.

Except for maybe an occasional trip to Lake Powell the boat will be in PNW waters and always trailered home and stored indoors. We do plan on some longer trips on the Inside Passage every summer, but, being a diver, I’m happy to put on a wet suit and scrub the bottom once a week if necessary.

So, if I decide to forego bottom paint, what should I apply instead. Nothing? …as in just the barrier coats? I do want the bottom to be close to the original green gelcoat color. If the epoxy barrier paint is not available in green, what kind of paint should I apply over it that will be durable and is available in different colors?

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

 

[thataway]

No real down side having bare barrier coat. You may be able to tint the barrier coats with green pigment...but how close to the green of the C Dory is debatable. There is no real downside of using the tint.

Epoxy will degrade in UV light--but the way you use the boat, UV light should not be an issue.

I use Pettit Vivid--it is now at least 6 years since I painted my Caracal--lives on a lift or trailer most of the time--but when we were spending 4 months at the keys, it was in the water--and minimal growth after--with no scrubbing. The amount of "leaching" of the Vivid is minimal--especially if not scraped off.

There are hard bottom paints, They do build up, and eventually have to be sanded down. The Pettit unepoxy is a hard bottom paint which comes in green which is close to the C Dory green. These contain 33.26% Cuprous oxide. Not high by historic standards and even today some paints have up to 80% cuprous oxide. Very little sluffing--the Copper remains in the bottom paint. It is recommended for boats which are trailerable.

There are many bottom paints--of many different types, including some which rely on smooth "thin fluoro microadditive film with metallic copper powder" surface. Interlux VC 17 is one of these--thin coat, eco friendly--but not in green....

 

[pcg]

No real down side having bare barrier coat. You may be able to tint the barrier coats with green pigment..

Thank you Bob!

That's what I was hoping to hear. I think I will plan on putting all but the last epoxy barrier coat on with un-tinted epoxy, then experiment with a final tinted coat. I like the idea of having a single layer of dark paint over lighter layers underneath, so I can see when/where minor damage occurs.

 

[dgeorges]

I have used Revolution 1000 since 2013 and have great success with my CD16 and now my CD22 under the same conditions that you are proposing to use your CD.

I got the paint at the Bottom Paint Store. Here's the skinny on the paint: https://www.bottompaintstore.com/revolu ... order=DESC

I used an etching primer from the same store. Here's the skinny on the primer: https://www.bottompaintstore.com/boat-b ... order=DESC

You can thin both as needed.

I spent a lot of time on the removal of the old paint and surface prep right down to the gel coat. In the CD22, I had a dustless blasting shop remove all of the layers of ablative and primer right down to the factory gel coat.

The 185 SF on the 22 (estimated) took the technician exactly 3 hours and cost $385 Including the removal of lots of barnacles). Money well spent as I would have laid on my back for three days applying stripper and scraping/sanding.

I only use one coat of the etching primer because the paint is so tenacious. I do use two coats of the Rvolution 1000 paint and find that the surface is as smooth as glass with only a foam roller for application.

Your speed will increase and your fuel consumption will drop with this paint because it is so smooth.

Good luck with your project.