Ken Buck
06-21-2002, 01:33 PM
Some practical questions about the use of bottom paint on small boats which may or may not spend all their time in the water (in this case, we're talking salt water)...
1. Some of the lower-end antifouling paints (such as Interlux BottomKote or Gloucester Sea Jacket) indicate that the boat should be launched within 24-48 hours of painting to prevent exposure the air from affecting the paint and presumably preventing it from working properly. (some of the more expensive versions have less-restrictive time-to-launch recommendations)
So, the question is: how critical is this?
In the Real World, people can't always fit into the time schedules dictated by the Paint Manufacturer Lawyers. If you can't launch for 3-4 days or maybe a week, is everything hopeless, do you need to recoat, or is it not that big a deal? Does recoating even "fix" the problem, and if so, why? Or do you (in theory) need to take the paint all off and start from scratch?
2. What about boats that may be in and out of the water during the season - say, you pull your boat back onto land
for a week or two and then relaunch back onto the mooring. In theory, do you need to repaint the bottom? After all, it's being re-exposed to the air, which was supposedly forbidden in the first place.
3. What about boats that are exclusively sailed from a trailer - anti-fouling supposedly isn't needed in this case, so do you just paint the bottom with the same kind of paint that you used on the hull?
(although one might think that trailer-sailed boats are still being exposed to the Marine Greeblies during the period of time (hours or days) that they are in the water... so maybe anti-fouling is stil a good idea in this case?)
4. This all leads to a question of whether there is a better-suited type of anti-fouling paint for small boats (such as the epoxy-based types or whatever). As long as the cost isn't completely outrageous (I suppose some might say that bottom paint cost is outrageous by definition), does anyone have recommendations for owners of small wooden boat owners (e.g., dories). The low-end paints only last one season, some of the higher end ones may or may not last more than that, but my goal is to do the best thing for the boat with a reasonable amount of effort and cost. I've read some of the text on anti-fouling paints in magazines, catalogs, etc. but it is somewhat confusing, so any remarks based on actual experience would be helpful.
--
For the record, I've owned my boats and have been breaking some of "the rules" for years without apparent harm, but am wondering if there is a better way to do things in the future. Also, I think others may be interested in these kinds of remarks.
Thanks for any comments and suggestions!
1. Some of the lower-end antifouling paints (such as Interlux BottomKote or Gloucester Sea Jacket) indicate that the boat should be launched within 24-48 hours of painting to prevent exposure the air from affecting the paint and presumably preventing it from working properly. (some of the more expensive versions have less-restrictive time-to-launch recommendations)
So, the question is: how critical is this?
In the Real World, people can't always fit into the time schedules dictated by the Paint Manufacturer Lawyers. If you can't launch for 3-4 days or maybe a week, is everything hopeless, do you need to recoat, or is it not that big a deal? Does recoating even "fix" the problem, and if so, why? Or do you (in theory) need to take the paint all off and start from scratch?
2. What about boats that may be in and out of the water during the season - say, you pull your boat back onto land
for a week or two and then relaunch back onto the mooring. In theory, do you need to repaint the bottom? After all, it's being re-exposed to the air, which was supposedly forbidden in the first place.
3. What about boats that are exclusively sailed from a trailer - anti-fouling supposedly isn't needed in this case, so do you just paint the bottom with the same kind of paint that you used on the hull?
(although one might think that trailer-sailed boats are still being exposed to the Marine Greeblies during the period of time (hours or days) that they are in the water... so maybe anti-fouling is stil a good idea in this case?)
4. This all leads to a question of whether there is a better-suited type of anti-fouling paint for small boats (such as the epoxy-based types or whatever). As long as the cost isn't completely outrageous (I suppose some might say that bottom paint cost is outrageous by definition), does anyone have recommendations for owners of small wooden boat owners (e.g., dories). The low-end paints only last one season, some of the higher end ones may or may not last more than that, but my goal is to do the best thing for the boat with a reasonable amount of effort and cost. I've read some of the text on anti-fouling paints in magazines, catalogs, etc. but it is somewhat confusing, so any remarks based on actual experience would be helpful.
--
For the record, I've owned my boats and have been breaking some of "the rules" for years without apparent harm, but am wondering if there is a better way to do things in the future. Also, I think others may be interested in these kinds of remarks.
Thanks for any comments and suggestions!