Time for a bottom job already?

[sv lark]

We put 2 coats of Trinidad on about 9 months ago. Today I see 8 or 10 baby barnacles at the waterline. Do you think it's time for a brand new bottom already?

[monte]

Probably not. How often do you clean the bottom?

[sv lark]

Thanks monte.

It's been 3 months since we had it cleaned. I thought that was just for soft stuff though. Should that take off barnacles too?

I was surprised to see those suckers growing right on the bottom paint. Is that common?

[Greenhand]

Originally Posted by sv lark

It been 3 months since we had it cleaned. I thought that was just for soft stuff though? Should that take off barnacles too?

The longer you wait, the harder the soft stuff gets and cleaning often involves scraping.

We left our kayak in the water for awhile. Baby barnacles just look like sand or salt crystals that don't just rinse off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlFd0sbT2r4

[monte]

Yeah I think the key is regular cleaning unfortunately. We had bottom paint that lasted quite a while in the med, but in the Caribbean it fouls pretty quickly. So it depends a lot on your location, water temperature, water quality, how often you sail etc.
A lot of yachts have monthly bottom cleans. The paint should last a couple of years I'd think.

[sv lark]

Thanks so much you guys. I should be able to get our local diver down next week so I'll report back on how it goes.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by sv lark

We put 2 coats of Trinidad on about 9 months ago. Today I see 8 or 10 baby barnacles at the waterline. Do you think it's time for a brand new bottom already?

Anti fouling paint doesn't eliminate growth, it merely retards it. Regular in-water hull cleaning is a normal part of boat maintenance and you are shortening your paint's lifespan and hastening the time when you will have to haul for new paint by neglecting it.

[sv lark]

Noted. Thanks!

[malcolmlj]

Next time use Coppercoat, costs three times as much as paint, lasts 10 to 17 years with just light scrub/power wash periodically.
Did my Moody 38 in the UK, sailed to the Med, Canaries, Caribbean, USA, up to Canadian border. Sold the boat after 5 years bottom still clean and smooth. No annual scraping and painting on anti-foul.
Just bought a Saltram 31 cutter rigged double ender, will coppercoat this winter.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by malcolmlj

Next time use Coppercoat, costs three times as much as paint, lasts 10 to 17 years with just light scrub/power wash periodically.
Did my Moody 38 in the UK, sailed to the Med, Canaries, Caribbean, USA, up to Canadian border. Sold the boat after 5 years bottom still clean and smooth. No annual scraping and painting on anti-foul.
Just bought a Saltram 31 cutter rigged double ender, will coppercoat this winter.

Right. Coppercoat is a great product.

[Tayana42]

Lark, I use Trinidad also. I don't know where your located, I'm in Southern California. I have a diver clean my hull every month. Just hauled and repainted after 3 1/2 years. Paint was still mostly good except on the top of the rudder which on my boat gets a lot of sun light and the paint there was gone. I agree that proper regular cleaning is the key to long term success of you bottom paint.


S/V B'Shert

[MIRELOS]

I was using Trinidad on my LN35 in the LI sound area and it would last two yrs.
It's good paint but it depends where you are

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by MIRELOS

I was using Trinidad on my LN35 in the LI sound area and it would last two yrs.
It's good paint but it depends where you are

You will find very few people who have anything negative to say about Trinidad, regardless of where it is used. I consider it to be the best hard anti fouling paint available in this country. My twenty years of professional experience with it has been so overwhelmingly positive that I tend to discount any anecdote citing its inadequacy.

[monte]

Does trinidad work over an ablative paint? We have international ablative I think and need to repaint in the next few months. Primarily will be in the Caribbean and maybe galapagos and pacific.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by monte

Does trinidad work over an ablative paint?

Yes.