Haul Out Frequency

My boat is located in southern calif.* My bottom paint has lasted 4 years so far and the bottom cleaning guys tell me the bottom paint is still "fair".* They change the zincs once in a while and my corrosion control system and meter seem to all be working well.
My question is:* How often to haul out?* If bottom paint can last for 5 years or more, then why not wait to haul out?* I usually dive the boat in the summers to check things out.* Everything looks good thus far.

Any suggestions on how frequently one should haul out??

Thanks for any input.

Steve

I'd think 5 years is a good number but if you dive under it and eveything looks good I don't see
anyreason you could keep going. As long as your thruhulls and stuffing box is in good
condition Id think you could make it 10 years or
more

Up here two years seems to be the average time between haulouts for bottom painting. It will depend on the type of paint as well as the environment in the marina, but most boats, regardless of the type of paint, start to look pretty raggy on the bottom after a couple of years in our marina. We went three years once and would probably not attempt it again.

It also depends on how much one uses their boat. We run it year round which helps cut down on the barnacle growth on things like props, shafts, and rudders. Boats that just sit get more bottom fouling faster. On the other hand, we use ablative paint, so the more we run it, the faster the paint comes off. It's a Catch-22: the more we use the boat the faster the paint sloughs off so the better of an anti-fouling job it does but the faster the paint goes away. But if we didn't run the boat and slough off the paint, it would lose its anti-fouling effectiveness relatively fast, so even though the paint stayed on it wouldn't retard growth very well.

But if you have the boat dove on periodically and everything looks good, than as Jakob says, why not keep going? No sense in fixing something that ain't broke yet

We're in the PNW too and we have the bottom cleaned by a diver every three months then haul and paint the bottom every two years. In our marina boats with ablative paint can not be scrubbed by divers. I use a hard bottom paint and have had good luck with the dive team that cleans the bottom and replaces the zincs.

The USCG has a five year inspection on commerical vessels so around here alot of the boats only come
out when the inspection is due. Liveaboards usally do around 5 years. One guy is on about 10 with a steel boat. But like Marin said there's alot that can be different in different areas.
I'd think you could go longer in fresh water then salt.

As needed!!!! If it looks good, leave it alone!

One advantage Steve has is that he can have divers clean the bottom of his boat periodically. Our marina has gone one step farther than Step's and does not allow any in-water bottom cleaning at all regardless of the type of paint. So we have divers replace zincs and check the condition every six months but they cannot do any wipe-downs.

Your marina does not allow any bottom cleaning?
That's the first I have heard of that.
Is that due to the potential environmental damage that the paint can do?
How do you keep the bottom clean?

Steve

It's a rule that was put in place in our marina about three or four years ago. The reason is environmental. Wiping down a bottom with ablative paint on it puts large clouds of "stuff" in the water, some of which is the copper in the paint. So from a strictly environmental point of view the restriction is probably a good idea. So far as I know these rules are set by the individual marina operators--- I don't think there is any sort of state requirement (yet).

Apparently some marinas up here differentiate between ablative and hard bottom paints. Ours does not.

Eelgrass, which grows in waters less then about 30 feet deep around here, is a critical element to marine life in the PNW, sheltering fish and providing a breeding ground for the little shrimp and other critters that provide food for everything from Dungeness crabs to young salmon. Given the damage done to the native salmon and steelhead populations for a whole host of reasons, there is much more awareness in the region now of what affects marine life. One result has been a number of new regulations aimed at protecting existing eelgrass beds and promote the formation of new ones.

Pollutants like copper and other heavy metals getting into marina waters as the result of cleaning activities is seen as another threat to the life in nearby shallow marine zones.

Divers in our marina can change zincs, do underwater repairs on hardware, and remove barnacles from props, shafts, and through-hulls. But that's it. I don't notice any growth on our bottom in the normal 12 to 18 months we go between haul-outs. We use Petit Ultima SR on our bottom, which has a very high copper content. At every haul-out the bottom is basically clean other than whatever barnacles have managed to attach themselves to the prop hubs, shafts, and rudders. We have a large, full-service yard attached to our marina (Seaview North) so hauling out for us is matter of untying the lines and idling about 200 yards into the Travelift so it's not an inconvenience.

Mpre than you wanted to know probably, but that's the deal up here. Given California's general attitude toward environmental issues like this I'm surprised this restriction hasn't been put in force down there, too.

We been hauling out every three years.**I would check with your insurance compnay what they recommend as they usually like to have the hull inspect/surveyed when it hauled.*

Marin wrote:Given California's general attitude toward environmental issues like this I'm surprised this restriction hasn't been put in force down there, too.

Click to expand...

It's coming! I hear rumors of "copper contaminants" increasing in San Diego Bay and some marinas have conducted surveys on the bottom paints used.

*

Marin,
I see you are active. I just read your older post on bottom paint. Your post interest me for the following. I have purchased my first (Last Boat?) fiberglass. With my older wooden trawler I hauled and painted once a year and changed zincs. This is a normal happening with wood boats up here.
Now with the fiberglass the sense is to use fiberglass bottom paint which is very very expensive. Perhaps two years without a in the water scrubbing, which is possible yet not a service here, perhaps a friend with gear type of thing.
So. with your mentioning sluffing off of your bottom paint, I sense that you are using the same product that wood and commercial fiberglass boats use (Slow hull speed). Is this acturate or is there more than I am seeing in the post.
Thanks,
Al Johnson
Marben 27' pocket trawler

I replied via PM prior to seeing the above post.

We haul every 2 years to check the bottom, and get our boat surveyed every 4 years while on the hard.

For boats over 27' and older than 10 years of age, most insuring companies want to see a new condition and valuation survey every 5 years.

Annually haul outs is what we'll be doing.

Hendo78 said:

Annually haul outs is what we'll be doing.

Click to expand...

Same. I like to just keep tabs on what is going on under there.

I tend to get two and a half to three years between haul outs here in Queensland, and the water is warm most of that time. That's using Micron Extra hull and Propspeed on the running gear, and we don't do a high mileage either.

Greetings,

Gee, I hadn't thought there would be a reactivation on the thread! Enjoy each and all. Again, we don't have the diver service readily available, it has to be a friend with gear who will do it for his friend type of service.
Our harbors are very active with electrical defects that eat up the zincs requiring prudent annual replacement.
One can use the harbor girds and do both bottom cleaning, painting and zincs. It is a economical advantage for the healthy, young, elastic boaters, which I did in my earlier boating day. Now- Not so much. The yard haul fits the physical view, particularly as I stand by and watch!!
To the insurance fellow. No need for survey- only carry liability insurance to protect me from those bad things that go bump in the night!.
I use our boat quite a bit during the open months so the sluffing of soft paint would be accomplished. In the end I will listen to my Yard owner who interacts with all forms of hulls and conditions.
Again, thanks to all, been fun.
A.M.Johnson-Ketchikan
27' Marben pocket trawler

Phil Fill said:

I let my diver tell me when its time. Every 5 months I have a diver check, replace the zincs, prop/running gear and the hull.

Click to expand...

Phil,

You have a name to recommend? We're on the Freemont cut.

dhmeissner said:

Phil,

You have a name to recommend? We're on the Freemont cut.

Click to expand...

Greg, Professional Dive Service - 206-723-4857 cell 206-724-8128. Use my phone if you dare! We been neighbors/friends since we bought the boat, 18 years. Delta Marina uses him quite a bit.

Tom.B said:

Same. I like to just keep tabs on what is going on under there.

Click to expand...

A good diver will tell you that. I have to have my boat bottom and especially running gear cleaned every month, probably should go to three weeks in summer. We just pulled the boat to do some work on the exhaust system, came up clean as a whistle. About 5 guys asked me, who's your diver?

Our vessel is in San Diego and we get a max of five years between haul-outs. The wacko-eviros are pushin' for a non-copper bottom paint but do not have a viable alternative. We have a diver clean the hull once a month.

Hendo78 said:

Annually haul outs is what we'll be doing.

Click to expand...

As often as required dose it for me

I tend to get three years here in Queensland with Micron Extra, and Propspeed on well..the prop. Depending on haulout this winter I might have it put on the rudder as well.

Depends on your location. I have a diver who checks the hull twice a year and replaces the zinks as needed. Boat US doesn't require surveys very often, over ten years now, so no urgency to haulout in that regard. On average, I usually go 5 years between haulouts and use an ablative paint. In my experience, it's not a good idea to clean an ablative painted hull. Wears out the paint more quickly and contaminates of the boat harbor.

LB

Edelweiss said:

Depends on your location. ..... In my experience, it's not a good idea to clean an ablative painted hull. Wears out the paint more quickly and contaminates of the boat harbor.

LB

Click to expand...

Of course on the Great Lakes boats get hauled every season. As far as I was able to determine, the only paints that would reactivate the anti-fouling feature after a haulout are ablatives. So we painted the bottom with Micron Extra. Most storage facilities/yards in our area power wash after the haulout in the Fall. The low person on the yard's totem pole wields the wand. After watching these unfortunate and inexperienced souls knock off a hundred dollars worth of bottom paint within a few minutes....I became the exclusive wielder of the wand...the low man on the totem pole. If you're very careful you can blow off the crud and only lose a minimal amount of paint. I completed the third bottom cleaning last year and the ablative still looked good (two layers of black ablative over one layer of red hard bottom paint as a guide coat).

Don't know about SoCal, but down here it seems the rule of thumb is every 2-3 years depending. I have a diver do zincs and a wipe down every 6 months or so. We talk after each event. Using Trinidad bottom paint. I'll probably haul the old girl later this summer and redo bottom paint at approximately 30 months. 80-85 degree water promotes a lot of growth and critters.

The best bet, as others have already stated, is to see what intervals seem to work for other boaters in your area with similar equipment. Talk is pretty cheap around the marina, but, if you listen critically, you'll soon figure out who knows what they're talking about and who's blowing smoke.

Annually (even though the boating season is twelve months long). If nothing else to check on hull and zinc "health" and bottom painting if needed.

With a timber hull I'll haul out every 12 minths - there's a lot to keep an eye out for!