Bottom Paint

[Guster]

Hello everyone. I trying to be proactive this year and get some work done on the boat before the sailing season kicks off. I pulled the keel a few weeks back and will be making a new brackets/pin assembly. With that off, it is time to do the bottom paint. I'm looking for advice on what kind of paint to use. The boat will be living on the trailer for the foreseeable future. There is a slight chance we will get a slip in two or three years. Otherwise the boat will only see a few overnights and a dozen or so day sails a season. All in fresh water. Would you guys use a real antifouling paint, if so what kind. Or go the cheep route and use some other system?

Thanks,
Dan

P.S. A few low quality cell phone pictures of the Keel removal.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ercoupedan/C22Keel

I own a machine/fabrication shop and had a small overhead crane and two forklifts at my disposal. I thought I would have it off in two hours.. well.... I tip my hat to you guys that do this on your driveway.

[J. Austin]

Dan,
I used this stuff and it is great. It was on sale at WM. You will still want some protection and an ablative nature to your paint. The other thing I would say is while u have the keel off, wheel it down and put POR 15 on it then, if u want bottom paint over that to match the hull. Make sure all layers fully harden before another layer is applied, it seems to help with the bits that contact the trailer. Just my 2 pennies.

[Chrysler20%26]

My C-26 is docked in fresh water all summer. What I have been using is ( Pledge Floor Care) the same thing I use on the tile floor in my bathroom. Cost $ 6.58 I spray it on, let it dry, an spray it on one more time, an let it dry good be for putting the boat in. In late fall when I take the boat out, the bottom is not as clean as when it went in, but it is not any worse than the other boats that use bottom paint. I bring the boat home an the next morning I power wash the bottom. Nothing sticks, not even zebra macules, the only thing is the water line, I have to give it a lite sanding. When I got the boat it had about 13 layers of bottom pant, with the first layer flaking off. Took me years to get most of the old bottom pant off, so I am not in a big yank to put more paint on.

[N41EF]

My boat is a trailer rider and I'm painting as we speak. I sanded the dozen or so layers of three different colors. The last layer was years old that was some sort of anti fouling stuff.

I sanded and used bondo to fill any dings, then sanded again, and wiped down then painted with Valspar enamel. I masked the black waterline and then used a 4 inch foam roller to roll on two coats of enamel. Valspar makes an enamel hardener that you pour in paint to give it a hard coat. The boat looks incredible, almost too shiney because it shows ever bump and dip in the boat. It should be faster with much less drag, and like you I may spend a few weekends in the water but typical will be a day trip and back on the trailer. The enamel is easy to touch up and repair.

Here's a few pictures in this thread:
http://www.chryslersailors.com/discussi ... 4501#24501


I'll let you know at the end of the season how the paint held up.

[Banshi]

I used a two part interlux paint called VC Performance epoxy with Teflon, it's like polarized hull plating and slick as grease. 4 years of trailering and it is still in good shape.

[Guster]

[lecker68]

2 Quarts does my C-26.

[hp18carr]

Dan

I've not painted my bottom yet, but have used Rustoleum topside with no problems to date. Rustoleum bottom paint should work just as well... be looking for a post with photos on how it all comes out.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler C26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

[tgentry]

I've been having good luck with Hydrocoat. Easy to apply and trailer friendly too.