Trimaran: Painting the Bottom

[josepsaavedra]

I have a Piver AA 43, 24'8" beam. Two years ago had to take this boat from S FL to S NJ for extensive bottom work.
Now i have to paint the bottom. It was suggested i beach it at high tide and do one side at a time (on two tide cycles...) It makes me very nervous. This boat draws 3'9" My area only has 4' tidal range.
1.- If any one has experience doing this on a large trimaran,
2.- Is this LEGAL??
please contact me at my hotmail address. josepsaavedra@hotmail

[SailFastTri]

It's legal. But if you want to do a good job you will not have enough time. "Careening" as it's called, is best for quick patch and slap jobs. If you need to use a sander you'll need electrical power. The bottom needs to dry out before you can prep and paint. You need a larger tidal range and several tide cycles, and a protected place where waves will not damage the boat from pounding while grounded. You should also put some old tires beneath to protect it.

You'd be much better off to hire a crane and block the boat. Proper blocking is different on each boat but you sill find strong-points at bulkhead intersections and the centerboard trunk will be a structural strong point. Support the amas only enough to keep the boat stable. If the boat doesn't have built-in lifting eyes, put the center hull in slings and tie the mast to the crane cable so the boat doesn't rotate in the slings, or sling each cross-beam base individually and join them all at the crane attachment point.