What does the bare bottom of your boat look like?

T

tparrent

New member
Here's a strange question for you:

What color was the bottom of your C Dory when it came out of the factory?

My boat has bottom paint so I am not sure what it looks like underneath. What I do know is that I have some reddish color showing on a very small spot where the boat may have bumped or rubbed on the taillights.

I don't think I breached even a millimeter of hull - I really think it is just a rub but I wanted to make sure before I put her in her slip.

I know that most of you would slap on a quick repair of epoxy or some other mysterious substance but I ain't most of you and mysterious substances and I do NOT get along. I just want to make reasonably sure that I can put the boat in for a couple weeks without soaking up water.

I cannot see any thing that looks like fiber and there is no indentation where the color shows through.

Normally, I wouldn't have even noticed this but I did take out two very small knicks in the hull on the previous trailer trip when the boat bounced slightly and must have come down on the tail light. Qualified Marine Technicians repairs those dings properly and slapped on some fresh bottom paint.

The current "rub" does not look like the early ones.

Somebody just tell me to launch the dang boat and get afloat!

Thank you very much :)
 
So you want to know what our bare bottoms look like :lol: . Oh, the boat's bare bottom. Straight out of the factory, they're fiberglass gel coated white (e.g. the same color as the majority of the hull). I don't know what the red color is from - perhaps is a color that transferred from something else or perhaps the barrier coat that was applied prior to the bottom paint was red. However from your description of no fibers, no obvious gouge, you don't have anything to worry about. Put it in the water where you can't see that red spot.
 
You can get colored gel coat on the bottom if you order it that way. At least you used to be able to. Or leave it white (or gel coat white) or have it bottom painted. Would do the latter if it's kept at a mooring or at a pier in salt or brackish water, or if you leave it in for lengthy periods of time. Thataway is white, no bottom paint and lives on a lift. Captain's Cat has blue ablative bottom paint only because it had it on there when I bought it. Have had it painted 2X in 4 years (every other year).

Put it in the water Tom!

Charlie
 
tparrent – Larry is right about the color. The bottom is the same color as the stripe and the front of the visor. Looking at the photo in your album it appears the color is black. If the nicks are just small gelcoat nicks, go ahead and enjoy the boat and fix them this winter.


Dave dlt.gif
www.marinautboats.com
 
The hull color below the waterline is the same as the trim color on most hulls. In fact, the way it was explained to me is that the entire hull is the trim color if you rub through the white. The way I understand it from visiting the old factory during the Reynolds era, the part of the mold that is to be the trim color is masked off and then the entire inside of the mold is sprayed with white gel coat. The the masking is then removed and the entire hull is sprayed the trim color. Or something like that. I believe that contributes to the white being somewhat darker than true white.
 
The bottom of the boat is colored the same color as the stripes on the hull and hardtop. If your boat is red, the bottom of your boat would be red.

It is also possible, especially with ablative paints, that a red bottom paint was applied as a base coat under the final color as an indication when the outer coatings ahve worn off.

The bare fiberglass can look pink before the color is applied to the inside of the boat.

Is this spot basically smooth, slightly rough like the bottom paint, or very rough and with loose fibers?
 
Our boat originally came with the bottom the same color as our stripe (blue). When we bottom painted the boat, I put an epoxy barrier coat first, then went with black ablative bottom paint. When I see the color show through from the black, I know it's time to touch it up.

If you aren't seeing a gouge where the other color is, I would sure guess that is the situation on your boat. Hard to tell without seeing it, but from your description, sounds likely.

Enjoy the boat.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
JamesTXSD":yfio8uos said:
Our boat originally came with the bottom the same color as our stripe (blue).
Click to expand...

And aren't you glad it was blue? You would sound pretty silly calling yourself Wild Seattle Grey or something on the VHF.
 
Most fiberglass boats have a coat of dark color sprayed inside of the outer white gel coat--fiberglass, with just gel coat is translucent--and folks don't like seeing light thru the sides of their boats. Some factories use a grey gel coat, others use the same color as the stripes or accent--which I believe is the case in most C Dories. I have seen some with colored bottoms and some with white bottoms, but if you scratch off the white, you will find the same color as the "stripes".
 
After careful consideration of the facts, I have concluded that my boat is unlikely to sink or become waterlogged simply because some bottom paint rubbed off :)

The boat's accent color is maroon and so is the stuff showing through the inch long rub. Running a finger over it, I find that it is as smooth as gelcoat and, in fact, probably IS gelcoat without even a scratch - certainly no gouge or fibers sticking out.

I no longer have any (boat related) excuse keeping me from floating this puppy :)

The ramp and marina are five minutes from the storage yard. I think it is time to go boating.

Thanks for all the responses!
 
Good for you, Tom! Even a short "excursion" of a couple hours can refresh and renew... take care of yourself so you can TCB.

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TyBoo":3ag2pl5r said:
JamesTXSD":3ag2pl5r said:
Our boat originally came with the bottom the same color as our stripe (blue).
Click to expand...

And aren't you glad it was blue? You would sound pretty silly calling yourself Wild Seattle Grey or something on the VHF.
Click to expand...

I lucked out on that one, Mike! 8)
 
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