bottom paint application options

[fstbttms]

Your choice of anti fouling paint should be made based primarily on the fouling conditions you experience where your boat lives. Where does your boat live?

[CnC40sailor]

West river MD; chesapeake bay

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by CnC40sailor

West river MD; chesapeake bay

So, I'm assuming brackish water? Both the products you have mentioned, VC17 and Baltoplate, while being popular amongst racers, have poor anti fouling properties and if fouling is any kind of an issue at all where you live (and I suspect it is), you will need to have regular hull cleaning if you used either of these. Here's what I'd suggest; call a well-established hull cleaner who is familiar with your region and ask him what he recommends. Nobody knows better what works and what doesn't than the guy who is in the water cleaning these products every day.

That being said, you pretty much can't go wrong wherever your boat lives if you were to spray your boat with Pettit Trinidad SR. Trinidad is a hard paint with superior anti fouling properties and durability and if sprayed on, will be as fast as anything else out there.

Pettit Marine Paints - Browse Catalog

[minaret]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

So, I'm assuming brackish water? Both the products you have mentioned, VC17 and Baltoplate, while being popular amongst racers, have poor anti fouling properties and if fouling is any kind of an issue at all where you live (and I suspect it is), you will need to have regular hull cleaning if you used either of these. Here's what I'd suggest; call a well-established hull cleaner who is familiar with your region and ask him what he recommends. Nobody knows better what works and what doesn't than the guy who is in the water cleaning these products every day.

That being said, you pretty much can't go wrong wherever your boat lives if you were to spray your boat with Pettit Trinidad SR. Trinidad is a hard paint with superior anti fouling properties and durability and if sprayed on, will be as fast as anything else out there.

Pettit Marine Paints - Browse Catalog

Sprayed Trinidad will not give you a race bottom anything like VC or even Baltoplate. Serious racers use VC for a reason, it wins races. Especially in one-design classes, where the slightest advantage makes a huge difference. You can wet sand a Trinidad bottom, but it wont stay that way for long. Too soft. I've done VC bottoms that came back to me years later still glowing shiny. But it is definitely for race boats, with fairly poor anti fouling. Not for people who are afraid to get out their wallet either.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by minaret

Sprayed Trinidad will not give you a race bottom anything like VC or even Baltoplate. Serious racers use VC for a reason, it wins races. Especially in one-design classes, where the slightest advantage makes a huge difference. You can wet sand a Trinidad bottom, but it wont stay that way for long. Too soft. I've done VC bottoms that came back to me years later still glowing shiny. But it is definitely for race boats, with fairly poor anti fouling. Not for people who are afraid to get out their wallet either.

The OP by his own admission is not a hardcore racer. Therefore, he likely needs to find a product that will not only be reasonably fast but have decent anti fouling properties as well. VC17 or Baltoplate may not be appropriate anti fouling paints for him, regardless of how fast they are.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

....if sprayed on, will be as fast as anything else out there.

Agreed, I just had to object to this part of your statement because it's not true.

[fstbttms]

I have plenty of fairly serious race clients who use Trinidad or Micron 66 with great results. Is it strictly true that these paints are as fast as VC17 or Baltoplate? Perhaps not. But how fast is a bottom that has terrible anti fouling properties going be in areas where fouling is an issue? In California, for instance, Baltoplate quickly reaches a state where getting it truly race clean is virtually impossible. A product that does not keep fouling growth at bay is next to useless for boaters in regions of moderate to high fouling.

[minaret]

Unless, like many race boats, they are not kept in the water between races or at least between seasons.

[fstbttms]

Maybe things are different in the PNW, but very, very few raceboats come out of the water between races here unless they are trailerables or very high-end race programs. And again, the OP is much more casual than that and does not have a trailerable boat.

[fstbttms]

The bottom line is there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to anti fouling paint, which is why I advised the OP to ask a local hull cleaner what works well in his area.

[CnC40sailor]

I keep my boat in a slip year round. Even in Annapolis I don't see many boats that are hauled after races. That kinda money, its just in another class. I would like a paint that is more a racer paint, with a compromise for those who are mearly human.
I appreciate the advice but I think your clients who use the vc paint are entirely different from me (I'm no Bruce Wayne).
I do believe though, I will follow the advice of fst... And ask about which works well.
Thank you all for your knowledge!

[CnC40sailor]

What do you guys think of the vinyl paints?

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by CnC40sailor

What do you guys think of the vinyl paints?

We've been discussing one of them- VC17.

[CnC40sailor]

Well yes, but in general. I realize their application is more difficult than others, but does this difficulty equate to better performance vs other types of paints?

[sabray]

I'm thinking you would do well with ablative. I use Trinidad but I cruise having movement with varried salinity and water temps kills off alot. I put vc in my dinghy and it's better then nothing but it gets growth after a few weeks in the water.