Bottom Paint

[camman73]

I tried the search function but that thing frustrates me.

This is my first year storing in a slip. Ablative paint supposedly loses it's effectiveness if out of the water for more than 3 days. For those of you who use ablative bottom paint and haul out for the winter months, do you do a complete recoat if the paint is in good condition visibly? It doesn't seem like the majority of the boats in our yard do. How much of the effectiveness of the bottom paint is lost by leaving it out of the water for extended periods?

 

[Audrey II]

Multi season ablative paint does not lose it's effectiveness out of water. At least not three days you just touch where it's getting thin.

 

[rduhon]

I have had mine out of the water for more than 3 days with no problems.

 

[marineman]

Most ablative paints are good for two seasons, i just recoat the bottom every other year.

 

[New2Me34C]

Not all ablative paints are multi-season. There are single season ablatives which can not be "dry" for very long. A bottom done with a true multi-season ablative can be out of the water for months and not lose it's anti-fouling charactistics. Each manufacturer may be different so be sure to read the directions on the can.

Erich

 

[BJL]

My neighbors insist they don't completely bottom paint their boats every year. They claim all they do is touch up some spots and that's it. Doesn't non-ablative paint lose it's effectiveness after one season?

 

[Gregory S]

I don't know of any hard (not ablative) paints that continue with antifouling properties after 1 year. Just because there is still paint on the bottom, doesn't mean it's still effective. I think a lot of hard paint users don't realize that. Once the copper leeches out, it's done.

 

[king5899]

I use Micron Extra. I put a base coat of green, followed by 2 coats of black. I never had a growth problem and only required minor touch up painting for 2 seasons and hopefully at the same at the end of this one. I only touch up where I see the green showing through, and that was only a few spots. The boat sits on a trailer for 6 months and in the water for 6 months, so no concerns there.

MJK

 

[CurrentSea]

Guy in my marina buys the cheap west marine hard bottom paint. He paints it every few years and touches up every year and it works for him.

I think it depends on where you boat and how often you use your boat.

I did the double coat of micron 4 years ago with a signal orange coat then black and just did touch ups every year and never had a issue. I see very few boats on the south shore of long island come out with very dirty bottoms. Mostly unprotected running gear or unpainted outdrives have growth.

There is probably so much leeched copper in the water that we have killed all the barnacles!!