Bottom Maintenance

This past weekend did a quick haul and pressure wash on the bottom and had new zinc anodes installed. While watching the work began to wonder what most others do. Quick haul and pressure wash or diver who scrubs the hull and why?

It will certainly depend upon location. In Florida, growth appears VERY quickly during the summer months. I have a diver clean the bottom every month, and I haul out the boat for bottom painting every year or two. Zincs are replaced as needed by the diver or during haul out.

We never have a haul for a pressure wash. We have the bottom cleaned every three weeks in summer and four in winter. We then have the bottom painted periodically. We're actually going nearly 3 years between cleaning.

Why we do the bottom cleaning is South Florida makes it necessary and by keeping it current then the performance stays constant and the paint lasts longer.

dkasprzak said:

This past weekend did a quick haul and pressure wash on the bottom and had new zinc anodes installed. While watching the work began to wonder what most others do. Quick haul and pressure wash or diver who scrubs the hull and why?

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As others have noted, it depends on your own location and situation.


I'm in the PNW so am sitting in cold water year round. I have a diver clean the bottom and inspect/replace anodes every 3 months.



I have had the boat hauled twice times in the 2 1/2 years that I've owned it. Once was to replace the engine, and the second was to do some minor repair work on the swim step. Those two times were within a few months of each other and I paid the yard to do a pressure wash on the first one.


Paint seems to last a very long time here. I bought my Sailboat used from CoCal in 2010. It was 5 years old at the time and I don't recall if/when it had been repainted. In the 7 years that I owned it, I never needed to have the bottom repainted.


I also don't recall when the PO painted the bottom of my current boat so far it is still in great shape. I will only paint when necessary. It appears that it isn't necessary very often up here.

We’re in SC, immediately off the ICW.
I have a diver check the bottom and zincs every year, since, at this time, we haven’t been doing cruising.
If bottom painting is not an issue, why haul-out?

I have a diver clean the hull and replace zincs as needed about every 3 months. Haul and recoat bottom at about 3 years. At that point, there are a few small (qurter/half-dollar size) and localized barnicle accumulations on struts and shafts. The bottom would probably go 4 years on the basis of coating alone, but I check other aspects as well.

The boat slip is in brackish, not salt, water. Spends 6-8 weeks per year in saltwater, but transits back each trip in at least 30 miles of brackish. I don't know if this makes a difference versus full time saltwater exposure.

A diver cleaning job is much cheaper. For a routine every other month contract I have paid $50 each time in NC, but $100 for a one shot job in Ct.


A haul out and pressure wash at a yard will be 3-4 times more.


David