Haul out impact on bottom paint

[Dr. D]

I am having my boat hauled and blocked until Hurricane Matthew is past. The boat has an ablative type bottom paint. If the boat is out of the water for, say, five days, then what happens to the bottom paint? Does it loose its effectiveness?

[Boatyarddog]

If you like you can rough it up with scotchbrite pads to reactivate it.
Just scour it a bit.
It shouldn't matter to much.


Sent from SV Cloud Duster

[FSMike]

That's an advantage of ablative paints, a little scuffing will reactivate them. Some ablative paints can stay out for months.

[Orion Jim]

If you know the maker of the paint just check their website or helpline. I've used Interlux and Sea Hawk for several years. I haul every winter in New England. No prep is necessary in the spring. I have a coat of red ablative over my barrier coat and two coats of blue ablative over the red. When I see red I touch up or add a new coat of blue as necessary and I'm good for another season.
All bottom paint performs differently in each location so you have to gain some experience in your sailing area.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Dr. D

I am having my boat hauled and blocked until Hurricane Matthew is past. The boat has an ablative type bottom paint. If the boat is out of the water for, say, five days, then what happens to the bottom paint? Does it loose its effectiveness?

Your are fine. Don't waste your time and paint by hitting it with an abrasive pad. One of the few advantages of ablative paints is that they can withstand prolonged exposure to air and five days is nothing.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Your are fine. Don't waste your time and paint by hitting it with an abrasive pad. One of the few advantages of ablative paints is that they can withstand prolonged exposure to air and five days is nothing.

Yep, other than possibly taking advantage of the haul to clean any growth, don't waste your time scrubbing it if it's already clean. It will just waste paint.

Ablative works by wearing away. Scrubbing wears it away at a rapid pace.

[Ardbeg]

Try to make sure the slings do not slide around when touching the hull. That will wear off ablative paint faster than anything. I use Pettit Vivid 1161 and it stays on over winter to -25deg C on the shores of Lake Ontario. There is no effect other than slings rubbing off paint if badly placed. What I sometimes do is cover the slings with a sheet of plastic. Much less abrasive than the sling itself. Also I have white ablative so dirty slings make a mess of the white paint.

[knockabout]

too late to worry about paint you are already out / concentrate storm prepping the boat and your safety / the paint will look after itself

[doublewide]

Your paint will be fine. Don't let anyone pressure wash your bottom when you are hauled. Pressure washing will remove hundreds of dollars of good paint. If you have marine growth, use a bit of terry towel and a garden hose and gently wipe the marine growth off the bottom. Try not to remove too much paint.

We use Islands 44, the "hard" ablative paint that ablates a bit more slowly than the soft ablative. We haul out every May and re-launch in December or January. Our paint lasts for years and never stops inhibiting marine growth in spite of drying out all summer and fall. As it ablates, it keeps revealing fresh paint.

Every year we sand about a foot of the bottom right at the waterline and we put a gallon of fresh paint on the waterline and the leading edges. We only have to paint the whole bottom every 3-4 years. Just don't let anybody near the bottom with a pressure washer and you are good.

[Dr. D]

Thanks for all the input!

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by doublewide

We use Islands 44...

And you admit this?

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

And you admit this?

I think he has his boat in the Lesser Antillies. I may be wrong. The rest of the world allows TBT antifouling, as we should.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

I think he has his boat in the Lesser Antillies. I may be wrong. The rest of the world allows TBT antifouling, as we should.

I don't know where you get your information, but most of the seafaring nations on this planet have ratified the ban on tin paints. There is no excuse to use this horrible poison, regardless of whether or not it is legal in whatever third world sh*thole you keep your boat in.

[fatherchronica]

I don't see the problem, your paint is going to be soaking wet anyway. I would fear that 100 mph winds may ablate the paint faster than 7 kts through a saline solution. I do not know what paint was on my boat when I bought it in Washington State, but after 3 or 4 days out of the water in So Cal. the paint began coming off in sq. ft. sheets. It was a blessing in disguise though as it revealed the 3000ish dime sized blisters that I got the opportunity to repair. Since then I have never been able to get Mana to half as fast as before the repair though. Though we have not been able to surf down apartment sized breaking waves with a 45 kt breeze pushing us since then.

[tsell]

Originally Posted by doublewide

Don't let anyone pressure wash your bottom

I would say this is great advice.