Deck painting while at dock??????

[Oldwheels]

Tell me your experience, opinion,savoy advice and criticisms.

I am wanting to paint my deck while at the dock. Been reading all the paint manufacturers technical data sheets. Prefer a 2 part polyurethane but may be forced to rethink this.

May be able to spray but seriously roller and brush may be easier.

The questions I have are exposure to elements during drying. Sun, dew, etc.
How do you second coat when you have to walk on first coat?
This is a 43 ft sailboat.

[anotherT34C]

I roll and tipped 2-part at the dock. I did the actual painting at dawn before the sun came up. Multiple coats over multiple days. Maybe not ideal, but it worked well enough. 10 years on and 2-part perfection still looks great.

[Jammer]

Finding a marina that will allow it may be the gating item.

[Rumrace]

There are about 3 environmental laws broken painting anything over water without a permit. I watch a dude do it in a woodie on a covered slip and a bird reminded him was a poor choice of locations.
When Home Depot bought Aikenheads the Mayor of Mississauga refuse to let them paint the new building their colour for 10 years due to environmental impact.
There is one member in this group very allergic to epoxy. You could cause harm to neighbours and be liable. It’s boat yard work on the hard with a proper respirator and enclosure.
I watched a boater set up a tent to refinish parts wood and glass. They went back on the boat with a perfect finish.
Some clubs would consider it an eviction notice to do any major work on the dock. Having lost two boats in marina fires the “ I fixed it club” has cost me enough boating hours to head the committee to remove you. Or help you move it to a safe place and loan you a compressor and gun.
It’s reasonable to repair you boat with in your scope of skills, but not reasonable to subject other folks to any affect.

[Sailmonkey]

We painted at the dock in August using interlux bright side single part. The key was lots of thinner, followed by more thinner, and painting in the golden hour in the morning after few dries and before the deck is blazing hot.

As far as walking on the areas…ours was bright areas first, three coats. A day of rest, then roll on non skid areas. These were trickier as I needed to be sure to walk gently on the previous coat to not twist the paint off.

Turned out great!

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

There are about 3 environmental laws broken painting anything over water without a permit. I watch a dude do it in a woodie on a covered slip and a bird reminded him was a poor choice of locations.
When Home Depot bought Aikenheads the Mayor of Mississauga refuse to let them paint the new building their colour for 10 years due to environmental impact.
There is one member in this group very allergic to epoxy. You could cause harm to neighbours and be liable. It’s boat yard work on the hard with a proper respirator and enclosure.
I watched a boater set up a tent to refinish parts wood and glass. They went back on the boat with a perfect finish.
Some clubs would consider it an eviction notice to do any major work on the dock. Having lost two boats in marina fires the “ I fixed it club” has cost me enough boating hours to head the committee to remove you. Or help you move it to a safe place and loan you a compressor and gun.
It’s reasonable to repair you boat with in your scope of skills, but not reasonable to subject other folks to any affect.

Paint on a sunny day while at anchor in a well protected anchorage.
Don't drip stuff into the sea.
No problem, I would slightly more worried about the sanding dust getting into the water, but it can be avoided too.
Paint early to avoid condensation in the evening..

[ItDepends]

Maybe there is something I am missing here...

I am wondering what you mean by "at the dock." Are you proposing doing this project in a regular marina? With boats docked within 5 feet of you? If I saw the boat next to me in the marina prepping to sand their deck, and ESPECIALLY to spray paint, that would be WAR.

We have all been in boat yards, and we all know that even the best dust collection systems are NOT perfect. Asking me to clean up after your sanding is...and I'll pick the most polite word I can here...inconsiderate.

And spray paint??? Are you serious, or are you just trolling? Aside from the damage drifting paint spray can cause to your neighbor's boats, uncured airborne polyurethane paints are extraordinarily toxic by inhalation. Exposing your neighbors to such a thing is...I can not come up with an even remotely polite word for this...

Have some consideration. Just NO!

[BobFord]

I repaint non-skid quite often, approx 2-3 years . Recently at marina. My thoughts - use same type of paint , my case 2 pac. re-paint whilst the previous coating is sound and only needs a thoro' clean. I prefer to start with an International gloss white and then add my own flattener ,non-skid and tinter. Keep a bin liner handy for all tape stripping and rubber gloves. Start at sun up or when dew is dried up and work in dedicated areas for approx (2) hours per section/s. Use non melting roller , no tip off. Marina seemed happy with my plan.

[c.K.]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

There are about 3 environmental laws broken painting anything over water without a permit. I watch a dude do it in a woodie on a covered slip and a bird reminded him was a poor choice of locations.
When Home Depot bought Aikenheads the Mayor of Mississauga refuse to let them paint the new building their colour for 10 years due to environmental impact.
There is one member in this group very allergic to epoxy. You could cause harm to neighbours and be liable. It’s boat yard work on the hard with a proper respirator and enclosure.
I watched a boater set up a tent to refinish parts wood and glass. They went back on the boat with a perfect finish.
Some clubs would consider it an eviction notice to do any major work on the dock. Having lost two boats in marina fires the “ I fixed it club” has cost me enough boating hours to head the committee to remove you. Or help you move it to a safe place and loan you a compressor and gun.
It’s reasonable to repair you boat with in your scope of skills, but not reasonable to subject other folks to any affect.

Right or wrong , the public is far more sensitive to such issues, myself, owning a generator, sailed to a quiet area and did my noisy sanding and planing from there
Will do the same once my cockpit is due for a repaint,

same with a power wash ,I take the boat to the gas dock during after hours and do the work there

[carlosproa]

Roll and tip is not an issue
Spraying is big no for too many reasons explained here.
If lots of sanding is required, and you cannot take your boat somewhere else, then get tarps to cover and isolate your boat from others, sand in a windless day with a vacuum hose attached to your sander.
Watch out for humidity levels as some paints are very sensitive to this

[Oldwheels]

Spraying is out. Overspray would be a problem though it certainly not hurt the 77 morgan next to me, the $9 mil fishing boat might have something to say.

I have done all my wood work at the dock with no problems.

Now as usual, paint choice. Interlux single part urethane was recommended with two coats of primer by interlux.

[Jammer]

Depends what you want. I have had good luck rolling and tipping with both Awlgrip and (Interlux) Perfection. The two-part systems are expensive, and there is inevitably more wasted paint. But they are more durable, generally more predictable in their behavior, and require less sanding overall.


Toxicity is a consideration as the solvent system and the hardener/activator/whatever are both more toxic. I use a half-face respirator, and gloves, when rolling and tipping outdoors. Your approach and risk tolerance may be different.

[thinwater]

Lots of good reasons not to. Humidity and dew are more of a problem than just a short distance away in the yard. Sanding dust, even with a vacuum sander is a non-starter in most marinas, IMO (but not all).



Motion. Wakes and just the slow motion of the boat would be really annoying trying to do some of the tricky bits.



No ladder option to work corners and work your way off the boat. No space for all the "stuff." You can't leave your tarps and trash bags cords piled on the dock.


I've done touch-ups and re-bedding, but I'd save the whole-deck project for when you haul out. This is not the time or place. I've painted whole boats several times, and this just sounds like a pain.

[Chotu]

I’m the first guy to do something crazy like this. Ask anyone. Ha ha

But I wouldn’t even think of doing this. It’s not a good idea. If you spray you can kill people nearby. That’s really not a smart thing to do.

Even rolling on two-part linear polyurethane paint creates a stink that can give everyone nearby an awful headache. I painted my deck at anchor. I tried to sleep on the boat and it was nearly impossible. The fumes were just awful. And they lasted about 24 hours. I rigged up my breathing apparatus so it was up wind of the paint and I had to sleep with that on all night. That’s how bad it was. And that speaks nothing to any chemical sensitivity. It was just awful you couldn’t sleep it smelled so bad.

That type of work has to be done in a proper shop or on the hard tented. If you do it at anchor, you have to do it really, really really far away from anyone else. So far that they can’t smell it.

And even if you do that, I would recommend leaving the boat at night and going to a hotel. Otherwise you’ll be awake all night with a headache like I was.

Basically, just don’t do this at a dock near anyone

[dkenny64]

hum..
I am against spraying in a marina... over spray...to goes everywhere...
I hand brushed my boat( not rolled and tipped) in our marina. no problems
I used Rustoleum marine paint. cheaper and easier to use than

2 part paints. sure it might not last as long a 2 part interlux..but at 70$ a qt vs 15$ painting is easy..



-dkenny64