How long with no bottom paint

S

SeaSpray

Active member
How long can I cruise the PNW without bottom paint and not have a problem? I have done trips of less than 3 weeks and been fine.

If I will be cruising for 6 or 8 weeks should I head back to the trailer to haul and wash after 3 weeks or maybe 4 weeks?

I don't want to have to get a high pressure wash to get the critters off. Your opinions and/or experience please.

Thanks,
Steve
 
After 8 weeks of PNW cruising, my C-Dory needed a pressure wash. It could have been cleaned by hand, but that's a lot of elbow work!

A lot of the growth occurs on the sides of the boat where the sun shines on the underwater part of the sides. It is possible to use a pressure washer to clean the sides and transom while the boat is in the water at a dock. I used an 1850PSI electric. You need electricity and water of course. There is no environmental problem with washing off sea water growth back into the sea using just water.

Boat yards can haul you out and pressure wash the bottom but that would cost as much as or more than buying a pressure washer of your own.
 
This is a timely topic for me! I bought a Karcher electric pressure washer at Costco a couple of weeks ago and have been washing, cleaning and waxing the Tom Cat.

Here's the question relevant to this thread: the top four inches or so of the bottom paint has a greenish copper mottled appearance, even after pressure washing and a brush session. I discussed this with La Conner Maritime, the company that initially bottom-painted the TC, and they agreed with my suspicion (but since they did not see the boat they are not sure) that the bottom paint layer was thinning at the waterline due to wave action, etc. They found and gave me the half-full can that they had used on my boat and were nice enough to also give me a couple of brushes and masking tape to use when I repaint those top inches. But I would like to confirm that what I am seeing is paint wearing off and not scum or just simple discoloration.

Thanks,
Warren
 
Thanks Larry,

This gives me a reference point and is about what I was thinking. I don't really want to carry a pressure sprayer on the boat. If I am going to be cruising for more than 4 weeks I will need to head back to the trailer and haul and wash before it gets too bad. Maybe I can carry a pressure washer in the truck.

I guess if you are going to do the Great Loop or any other extended cruise the only way to go is with bottom paint.

Steve
 
Since most of teh growth will occur on the hull sides- can you use your wash brush to keep this area relatively clean? I imagine that the amount of running you do will affect growth, as well as the depth and temp of the water.
 
About pressure washing on the trailer:

I was in Olympia after my cruise when I needed to wash. I purchased the power washer and thought I should wash at the dock, but being at a guest dock I decided to not do the wash there, but to haul out and go to a friends place.

What I discovered is how much of a mess the pressure wash creates. There was bottom growth all over his driveway! And all over me! And all over the side of his garage! And all over my trailer!

I strongly recommend doing as much of the wash as possible while the boat is in the sea water! An electric washer usually has wheels and can be hooked up to the dock water and power. Careful use washes the growth down into the water where it came from.

If you decide to wash on the trailer, think about where you can do it, where you can plug in (15 amps-120 volts), where you can hook up the hose, and how you will clean up afterwards.

Larry H
 
Hi Steve,

When we first picked up Wild Blue, we did just over 6 weeks in the PNW. I was surprised at how clean the bottom was when we pulled out. I was able to hose it off. This was in July to early September. We were moving a lot and the boat was fresh from the factory, so there was still wax on there from the mold. There was no need to pressure wash.

Now, do that same thing in the Gulf and you will have a forest growing under your boat.

For Warren - every boat we've owned has been bottom painted and all have discolored at the waterline. Without seeing yours, I would be inclined to think it is simply a scum discoloration. Assuming it is ablative paint, it is easy to touch up... but expect it to look about the same after a week or so in the water. At least that's been our experience.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Thanks all for the reply's.

Going 6 weeks and only having to brush it off sounds good. I think I will be able to watch for and take care of it before it becomes a problem.

Steve
 
Hello,
Do I need to bottom paint for annual trips of 1 to 2 weeks in mostly salt water on the Chesapeake and possible the outer bank areas to the south?
Right now I'm planning to circumnavigate the Delmarva peninsula in summer and I am hoping to avoid bottom paint. Plan to go south from Annapolis MD to Cape Charles VA, north up the Virginia Inside Passage and Delaware Bay, then south through the C&D canal and down the bay to Annapolis. Brackish and salt water for the most part. The rest of my use is daily in nature, and the boat is kept on a trailer.

Thank you in a advance for your thoughts.
Regards,
Ron
 
I would not do bottom paint on a trailered boat. Most of the paints will loose their effectiveness if not in the water and then need more maintenance.

You should do the cleaning asap when trailered so the growth does not dry out and become more difficult to remove.

Locals spray the hull with a bleach solution before spraying off. The car wash is located near the docks and a lot of boats get cleaned there. Some of the boat ramps have a station for cleaning before you leave. I would also have some stiff brushes and plastic scrapers to help with the more stubborn stuff which is also a lot more stubborn when dried out. I doubt if you will have barnacles in that time.

It will also be beneficial if you wax your hull before your trip.

Have a great trip.
 
Ron & Others: I will follow James' lead/response to boating over here on the eastern side.... Time of year for sure makes a difference...or...more accurately, temperature of the waters.

I will always have all my hulls bottom painted with the ablative bottom paints. Just too many things can happen to change your plans and things grow fast....very very fast over...and down here. In one week when I first brought a new boat home, I was delayed enroute and lost my reserved spot at the bottom paint shop. So, I dropped the boat in the water for about 4 days prior to taking the boat up river to be pulled and brought to the shop. Basically lost about 30% speed/efficiency of the hull. After about 100 miles, I pulled up on a sand bar with some scotch bright pads, rubbed and stretched and got as much ....gunk... off that my little short arms could reach. Got about 15% efficiency back... and, was charged a bit more from the bottom paint shop to first clean the gunk off prior to starting the sanding needed to get the job started.

So...watch the water temps...and, as others have stated...even in the cooler waters.... the water line where the sun shines is still effected.

If you are not going to stay moving....or put your boat back on the trailer each evening, stay bottom painted. If something happens and your boat has to sit...as in waiting for a new lower unit due to a log/rock strike.... something happens at home and you have to just leave the boat in the water a week..... you are going to get gunk.

Just my thoughts.

Byrdman
 
I had the C-Dory in the water for a month without too much growth. Granted, we were moving pretty much every day, which helped, and we also anchored/docked several times in almost fresh water at the bottom of waterfalls. Not sure if this had any effect, but we didn't get much growth. Bring along a brush and scrub the sides every couple weeks and you'll be fine.
 
I don't think the PNW waters being colder are as bad as down here in the south for barnacle growth. I know for me without bottom paint on a 12 day trip up the ICW all in salt water I had small barnacles slightly smaller than a BB forming. I did spend about 6 of the days anchored up. Fortunately I did have a good coat of wax and they came off easily.
 
Ron - Albury 23:

Don't worry about bottom paint for your planned trip. If you want extra protection, throw on a little wax. If you put on bottom paint for what you've got planned, my experience (and opinion) is that you're throwing money and time down the drain. Use it to buy gas instead.
 
Thanks for all of your thoughts. Sounds like I can get along fine without the bottom paint, which is what I was hoping to hear. I will wax the bottom before departure, and power wash on return. I expect the boat to move each day, and will be in trailer distance of a friend if I cannot complete trip.

Regards,
Ron
 
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