Painting motor bracket - how important?

C

curioustraveler

New member
Good morning C-Brats.

Well this lock-down has really delayed the launch of my new boat. She's sitting up at the yard, halfway through a fiberglass repair and the marina shut down. I'm thinking about bringing her home to knock out a few other projects while the marina's closed.

How important is painting the portion of the motor bracket that stays submerged? I've asked around and no one seems to think it's crucial. The one's I've spoken to, and that I've read about on here, say if I'm going to do it I need to follow a complicated process of removing the factory paint, prepping the surface, priming, and painting. Other's just tell me pressure washing it when I haul her at the end of the season is good enough. If this is the case, I'd rather just do that.

The only experience I have with this is a little runabout I used to own. I painted the bracket with Trilux 33 and it was absolutely covered in growth at the end of the season. Had to pressure wash anyways.

How many of you paint your bracket and is it really that important?
 
curioustraveler":w30z1xkx said:
Good morning C-Brats.

Well this lock-down has really delayed the launch of my new boat. She's sitting up at the yard, halfway through a fiberglass repair and the marina shut down. I'm thinking about bringing her home to knock out a few other projects while the marina's closed.

How important is painting the portion of the motor bracket that stays submerged? I've asked around and no one seems to think it's crucial. The one's I've spoken to, and that I've read about on here, say if I'm going to do it I need to follow a complicated process of removing the factory paint, prepping the surface, priming, and painting. Other's just tell me pressure washing it when I haul her at the end of the season is good enough. If this is the case, I'd rather just do that.

The only experience I have with this is a little runabout I used to own. I painted the bracket with Trilux 33 and it was absolutely covered in growth at the end of the season. Had to pressure wash anyways.

How many of you paint your bracket and is it really that important?
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For bottom paint on alu. if you don't follow the prep. might as well not do it. :thup
 
I just had the bottom paint done on SleepyC for the first time. It was done at Bitter End Boat Works in Bellingham. Jessie has a good reputation and knows what he is doing and they do things right. He told me they could paint it, but did not recommend it. When they did the barrier coats, they painted right up to the brackets, but with the bottom paint (Petit Vivid) they left a 1" space all around. On the trim tabs, they painted the actuators, but not the stainless fins themselves. They did not paint the outboard legs. My boat does not live in the water year around or full season, but lives on the trailer, however, I intend to be in the water for extended, (3 weeks plus) time blocks, up to 3 months so the painting was done with Jessie knowing that and applying his expertise.

He did agree that some diaper rash ointment (Desitin) on the Trim tabs seemed like a good idea.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Why is your outboard bracket in the water unless you're using the kicker? Are you talking about the main engine?

I have an outboard bracket on Journey On and the outboard bracket is never in the water, up or down. Neither is the main engine. Journey On is a 25 but the relative placement of the bracket is the same, dictated by the outboard motor.

Boris
 
Boris, on my boat I raised the waterline about 4.5 inches from where the factory line was, up to the next chin bottom, and so that puts the brackets for the twin Yami's well down into the water. On the transom, the line is up to the trim tab actuator brackets on the transom.

This pix is from before the waterline was raised.
IMGP6699.sized.jpg

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_070.thumb.jpg
 
Harvey, if you're going to hang that much weight on the boat's transom, I believe it would be underwater.

Just sayen.

Boris

PS Sorry I couldn't resist. I know how much you love your twins.
 
I haven't seen her in the water yet but I assume, based on the bottom paint, that the lower four inches of my bracket will be in the water at rest. I don't know if it's worth all the effort of painting just the bottom few inches or if pressure washing will suffice?

IMG_20200403_140847.jpg
 
journey on":3sxfvd3u said:
Harvey, if you're going to hang that much weight on the boat's transom, I believe it would be underwater.

Just sayen.

Boris

PS Sorry I couldn't resist. I know how much you love your twins.
Click to expand...

Oh no, not underwater, I still have 6 inches of freeboard 8) at the splashwell.

On the transom, the line is up to the trim tab actuator brackets on the transom. That would be the top of the bottom paint waterline. In actuality the water should be below that 1-2 inches.

I wish I could see the actuator bracket on that photo but your apparent waterline is, like mine, way above the factory line. But that is not unusual. I would highly recommend raising your line a bit. Boats gain weight with age, just like (some) people.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Curioustraveler,
Do you intend to leave the boat in the water throughout the season, or will you trailer it and only leave it in for a day or so, when being used?
 
Living in SW Florida we keep our boat in the water for 10 months a year .ive been painting the engine with WM special paint for engine and out drives I usually paint about an inch higher then bottom paint .much easier to pressure wash the gunk off BTW the Salinity in SW Florida is probably the worst in the USA
 
Curioustravler,
Okay...With keeping it in the water in the Chesapeake Bay, the zincs will aid in prevention of electrolysis the the (seawater exposed) painted bracket that is in the water, but overtime, the marine growth, will cause the paint system to fail, then there will be no barrier to the exposed metal. Over time the bracket will start looking pretty bad, by future growth and eventual electrolysis.
Stay diligent on the zincs on the bracket, lower unit and in the engine cooling system. Prime and paint the lower few inches of the bracket, with an antifouling paint designed for aluminum surfaces.
 
I grabbed some PropCoat based on a recommendation from the marina. The application instructions say to sand down to bare metal and then apply. I'll see what I can do with my Dremel and little electric sander but a good scuffing may be about the best I'm going to get.
 
Sorry to keep this thread going, but, I would never recommend removal of the factory paint from an outboard. The factory coating has multiple layers of paint to protect the aluminum from ware and corrosion.
Not saying that Propcoat, will not work, as I had had success with it on a bare inboard propeller shaft. Prop shafts are bare metal and they have other challenges as well.
Use something like Interlux Trilux 33 or Petit Alumispray Plus. Using these type of paints, will not require the factory paint to be removed. Preparation is usually cleaning the surfaces to be painted, with a solvent (to remove dirt and grease), lightly sanding the surfaces to improve paint adhesion, then a final wipe down with solvent to remove paint dust. Of coarse tape all surfaces with painters tape and newspaper, to prevent overspray on the outboard parts that are not to be painted, as well as the hull of the boat.
 
Steve,

I still have a can of Trilux 33 from last year if you think that'll work better. I just didn't have great luck with it on the outboard bracket on my last boat. It was covered in growth by the end of the season.
 
Curioustraveler,
The GOOD stuff that worked very well and prevented all growth was banned in the early 80's, because is killed any organisms that were even near it, including that paint that wore away, damaging the ecosystem anywhere in its path.
What is available now is about as good as you will find, anywhere in the US. Yes it is not as great as sliced bread, but it is the best that can be done at this time.
Do follow the directions with a minimum of two coats, followed by the minimum drying time before launch.
 
"... The GOOD stuff that worked very well and prevented all growth was banned in the early 80's, because is killed any organisms that were even near it, ...."

That good stuff was largely copper, and it worked. But then there was "Ecology" and we are dealing with that. I had friends who sailed to Australia several years ago, and brought back enough bottom paint from there to do their boat for about 10 years. That was after it was banned in US but still available there.'

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Harvey,
The really Great stuff was Tributyltin (tin) antifouling. I put it on my Mako in 1983. I could spell it, while the boat was on the trailer a week later and about a half of a block away. I painted the bottom white and left it in the water for 2 seasons and zero growth. Even when I took the boat out of the water after the second season, I could still smell on my porch and the boat was over 60 feet away in the driveway.
Too bad that stuff that work so great is SO unfriendly to our ecosystem.
We did get to continue using Tributyltin on the ships, but eventually we had to stop that as well.
Of course now the paint companies are continually reformulating their parts to comply with EPA regulations. There have been numerous paints made over recent years without copper and some have success, but most of the copper free paints require that the boat move pretty quick often, otherwise, soft growth starts, then hard growth follows.
I got an opportunity to mess with some of this super smooth copper free paint with the Navy special ops boats. Prep, environmental conditions and application has to have all of the stars aligned, to have a successful application. Any flaws and the paint system will peel right off. Lastly, if the boat sits at the dock too long, soft fouling, then had fowling take over the bottom paint.[/u]
 
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