Paint dinghy bottom?

[angus99]

We have a Bluewater Baby hard shell that’s never been in the water but we’ll likely be using it in Florida next winter. We’ll mostly raise it out of the water on our davit when it’s not in use, but may trail it for a day or two at a time. Our Carolina Skiff has barnacles growing on it within a week when we keep it in the water near Charleston. S.C. each year.

All that said, I don’t see a lot of dinghies with painted bottoms but would appreciate the pros and cons of painting vs not painting.

 

[rslifkin]

I think a lot don't paint because they don't leave it in the water enough to need to. I see no reason not to paint it, but personally, I'd be a bit selective about what paint to use. Ablative has the downside of being easy to get paint on you and the boat when pulling the dinghy out. Most hard paints can't handle being in and out of the water all the time.



Personally, of the paints I've played with, I'd consider Pettit Black Widow. It's a hard paint, but can handle being out of the water. It's a cool looking color too, not quite black, more of a dark gunmetal grey. And if you're really motivated, you can polish it shiny so it looks good with the dinghy on deck. Biggest downside of the stuff is the price. It's also not the strongest antifouling out there, but for a dinghy that's only in the water a few days at a time, that's likely not an issue.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I paint mine because I like the nautical look. I paint it to match my trawler, both bottom and accents. The problem is that I am always dragging it onto shore, docks, etc. and the bottom is generally pretty scratched. Not a big deal to touch up though..

pete

 

[Woodland Hills]

I just painted my RIB this winter after it became heavily encrusted. I used ablative paint and painted the tubes and the fiberglass bottom using the waterline as a guide. I hauled it today after over a month in the water here in Marathon and the bottom was clean!
The paint flaked off of the tubes a bit from them flexing, but overall I’m happy with the results. The outboard mount where it bolts to the transom was left unpainted and was heavily fouled where it was underwater.

 

[Group9]

We bottom painted our 11' Whaler and our 13' Del Quay, but we cruise a lot and like to leave our dinghies in the water a lot when we're on a trip. It sure makes it nice to not have to scrub the barnacles off.

But, if you are religious about hauling it out when you're not using it, I don't suppose it would really be worth it.

We use Pettit Vivid, because it is made to be exposed to air a lot between immersions.

 

[koliver]

Mine tends to be left in the water for over a month in the summer. After not painting for several years, I now paint with the same antifouling as the boat. Not much effort to recoat, Much less effort keep its bottom clean.
I find the Fibreglass parts need the paint more than the Hypalon parts.

 

[Alisske]

I think most folks paint their dink after a while because they leave it in for a bit once or twice and it gets fouled.

One thing to consider is once you paint it, you cant “unpaint it”. Maybe see how it goes. if its starting to look bad and get fouled, hand sand and paint. You can just keep a few sheets of sand paper, can of paint, masking tape, and a brush on the boat. Flip it on the beach and paint it.

That being said, bottom painted dinghies can look great (if you don't screw up the waterline, lmao). If you screw up the waterline, well, you can just imagine looking at your mistake for years. And every-time you go into the dock from your boat, people will see your work and may make assumptions about you, lmfao

 

[Group9]

The good thing is, painting your dinghy, is probably the easiest bottom job you will ever do.

We always just flip our fiberglass dinghies over, and and put them on saw horses in the back yard, so we don't have to bend over while doing it.

We even did the 11 foot Whaler with it sitting on the foredeck of our boat in Hurricane Hole marina in Nassau, once.

We always put a barrier coat of Interlux e2000 on first, if we're not just recoating it.

 

[angus99]

I think most folks paint their dink after a while because they leave it in for a bit once or twice and it gets fouled.

One thing to consider is once you paint it, you cant “unpaint it”. Maybe see how it goes. if its starting to look bad and get fouled, hand sand and paint. You can just keep a few sheets of sand paper, can of paint, masking tape, and a brush on the boat. Flip it on the beach and paint it.

That being said, bottom painted dinghies can look great (if you don't screw up the waterline, lmao). If you screw up the waterline, well, you can just imagine looking at your mistake for years. And every-time you go into the dock from your boat, people will see your work and may make assumptions about you, lmfao

Thinking this is what we’ll likely do. Our new transom davit will be finished soon and will make getting the dink out of the water drop dead easy. If it gets fouled with crustaceans, I’ll go the barrier/bottom coat route.

Thanks all.

 

[sailormike]

I am thinking about trying some ceramic coating I have left over from a customers boat I want to try on ours

 

[Capn Craig]

im sure your old costomer will be happy with his paint leftover check.

 

[sailormike]

im sure your old costomer will be happy with his paint leftover check.

I offered it to the customer they did not want what was left. Not much was left and the shelf life of it is very short. finally i only charged them for the product used.

 

[Capn Craig]

Sounds like an upright answer. Im sorry for the smart ass question.

Craig

 

[sailormike]

Sounds like an upright answer. Im sorry for the smart ass question.

Craig

its ok i can see how my answer could make you wonder.