Bottom job.. how many coats?

[offline]

So we hauled out last week at Manatee Bay Marine for some required annual maintenance to replace the A/C sea-strainers, properly bond some ungrounded through hulls and do a bottom job.

So Manatee Bay Marine only wants to do one coat of Trinidad SR paint on the bottom. I was surprised since I memory serves that we did two coats last time.

Am I missing something here? Is one coat enough?

[JK n Smitty]

That's because they want you to haul the boat every year to reapply paint. Number of coats should be depend on the paint, your area and how often you plan to haul your boat. I did 4 thin coats and I don't plan to haul again until the end of 2015. I wanted to have enough paint that when I dive on the bottom and clean it there will be paint left after the cleaning.

Fair winds,

Jesse

[fstbttms]

A minimum of 2 coats everywhere, 3 at the waterline and leading and trailing edges of the appendages. The current trend amongst boatyards seems to be recommending a single coat. As mentioned before, the only rationale for this is to ensure you haul again for new paint sooner than you otherwise would.

[Stumble]

This is from the application guide for SR,

Previously Painted Surfaces: If the previous coating is in good condition, thoroughly sand with 80 grit paper then solvent clean with 120 Brushing Thinner to remove residue. Apply two finish coats of Trinidad SR. If the previous coating is soft or in poor condition, remove to the bare surface by sanding or using paint remover. Proceed with appropriate bare system as described below. Old tin copolymers should be removed or sealed with Pettit 6627 Tie Coat Primer before applying Trinidad SR Antifouling.

[gonesail]

2 coats minimum. i always thought 3 coats would be better especially if it is soft bottom paint.

[Steve W]

If you use these guys, you might want to witness the application of BOTH coats.

[JPA Cate]

Fastbttms has it right.

Or at least, his advice is what our practice is. We're using an ablative paint, sail a lot, and generally do annual haulouts.

Ann

[Cuttyhunk]

Trinidad is a hard paint. We use it on our fishing boat that can go 20+ knots. Maybe this yard is trying to keep the coats of paint on your boat from building up too much. Or they know you will faint at the cost of two coats...this is the most expensive bottom paint I've used. It does last and last, however.

[zboss]

When I spoke with Pettit about the same issue of too many coats and it was recommended that I switch to their ablative paint so that the coats do not continue to build up. So, you maintain the hard paint below the ablative to know when to repaint.

I have found that Trinidad SR does not seem to work as well here in Florida as it did in the Chesapeake.

[Cheechako]

two and the remaining paint added near the waterline.

[s/v Beth]

I keep my boat in brackish water, and I get barnacles on the prop and a little moss on the sides. Should I change from the two coats/ annual haul out? I am thinking about going 18 months this time.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I keep my boat in brackish water, and I get barnacles on the prop and a little moss on the sides. Should I change from the two coats/ annual haul out? I am thinking about going 18 months this time.

Where does your boat live? What anti fouling paint are you using?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I keep my boat in brackish water, and I get barnacles on the prop and a little moss on the sides. Should I change from the two coats/ annual haul out? I am thinking about going 18 months this time.

I've went up to a couple years in Puget Sound. The growth is nothing like down south even then. Maybe a few barnacles here and there.