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CommodoreDoug · 30-03-2019, 13:55

Happy Springtime from the Salish Sea. And Spring means bottom paint and I am badly in need of advice of which paint to use.

Firstly let me state I rarely if ever ask for advice, so you know I'm in a serious quandary.

Washington has postponed banning copper-based anti-fouling so copper won't be a barrier (sorry) to which paint I choose.

The situation:

Here in Washington, we can no longer clean our boats in our slips if we have ablative bottom paint as we're not allowed to "cloud" the water in the marina.

I no longer wish to dive my own boat and my 37' sloop will never achieve the speed required to effectively use self-polishing bottom paint.

I have never used a non-ablative and want a product that will last multiple seasons but would like to avoid a major bottom prep project to be able to apply the new paint.

The cost is irrelevant. I will spend what takes to obtain the best paint for my needs.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you in advance and anxiously await your wise recommendations for choosing a hard shell bottom paint for a cruising sailboat.

rbk · 30-03-2019, 14:29

We had good luck with interlux bottomkote on our last boat in the water for 7-8 months then hauled and cleaned for winter. We were getting 6 + seasons out of it and fouling was limited to algae (no muscles or barnacles) I see they have a few bottomkote options now.

Delfin · 30-03-2019, 15:25

After discussion on site with the Interlux technical rep who works with the US Navy, I opted to take his recommendation on Interlux Interspeed. It is a hard ablative, meaning it is harder than BottomKote, but after than a hard paint. He said the Navy uses it on a number of vessels. To soon to give personal information on success....

Sand crab · 30-03-2019, 15:43

Doug, I'm confused, I had my bottom cleaned all the time. I know 3 professional divers and they do (or used to do) a s#*tload of cleaning all the time. Is this a new thing like in the last year? Did I not get the memo?

Bobber

Gig Harbor, WA

CommodoreDoug · 30-03-2019, 16:37

Hey Sand Crab,

It's the Clean Marina program implemented by the state dept. of ecology back in 2005. Slowly but surely more and more marina are signing on to the program, it's well over 1/3 of marinas in the state at this point and growing rapidly.

It seems all or most of the marinas I frequent have signed on and no professional divers will scrub your hull if you've got an ablative bottom because they're hit with a $1000 fine if caught. They can still scrape off large growths and grass but won't do anything that can cause cloudy water from ablative layer coming off.

Cat36Mahalo · 30-03-2019, 17:18

I’m have two seasons on Sharkskin and will probably get 3 seasons. Cleanedquarterly by diver. Everett

Sand crab · 30-03-2019, 18:59

I guess it hasn't caught on down here or maybe it's the non-ablative ones they are cleaning. I can't remember exactly what I had on my boat. Thanks.

Paul L · 31-03-2019, 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommodoreDoug

H.....
....

I no longer wish to dive my own boat and my 37' sloop will never achieve the speed required to effectively use self-polishing bottom paint.

I have never used a non-ablative and want a product that will last multiple seasons but would like to avoid a major bottom prep project to be able to apply the new paint.
......

Not sure why you think an ablative paint won't work on your speed boat. If it goes 5 kts they work. Where they don't work as well is if the boat never leaving the berth.

The hard bottom paints like Trinidad are better if you can get an occasional scrubbing. They tend to build up on the bottom over the years and eventually need to be sanded back.

wtmf · 31-03-2019, 01:57

My cousin mixed 5oz. of hot chilli pepper and 5oz of round up to every gallon of paint. after 2 years all he had to do was wipe the bottom. my plan is to use 10oz. , no round up , of Carolina Reaper per gallon, it is about 1000 times hotter than regular chilli.

PNWSalmon · 31-03-2019, 08:37

We’ve had great experience with SeaHawk cucote , we sail in salt water. It’s a hard ablative. My diver cleans it every six months. Last job last 4 years. We used the boat a lot though.

GWilly · 31-03-2019, 08:59

Commodore Doug, I have a power boat here in the Salish, run from Edmonds. FWIW, I had my hull painted with Sharkskin last December.

guyrj33 · 31-03-2019, 09:10

i suggest using a soft sailboat ablative like Interlux Micron, 5 knots for an hour is enough to clean the growth off.
harder ablatives made for power boats are too hard for sailboats.

senormechanico · 31-03-2019, 09:25

If you use your boat a lot, then soft ablative stays clean.
If you don't use your boat often, hard paint is better.
Pettit Trinidad SR with Irgarol stays clean a lot longer than anything I've tried.

Years ago, I effectively did an A/B test with a friend who keeps his boat at my dock right ahead of mine. I used Interlux with Irgarol, and he used Pettit Trinidad.
4 years later, I had to paint.
3 more years (last year) and it was getting to be time to paint, so I stripped it and used Pettit Trinidad with Irgarol.
My friend still has his original paint from 6 years ago, and it's just now beginning to see small signs of grass at the waterline, but only in mid summer.
He has a diver de slime it once a year, just before going on vacation, and it rarely moves the rest of the year.

I also have an ultrasonic antifouling system which effectively keeps away barnacles etc. and kills slime.

My friend's boat has gone 8 years with the Trinidad SR.

BTW, I think that Washington State is being run by the eco crazies !!