Do We Need Bottom Paint?

[DarrenCharles]

Do we need bottom paint? Can we just wax the bottom? After years of reading this forum and looking for the perfect trade-off cruising boat, my wife and I recently purchased a 2011 Ranger Tug R25. It appears to be a good boat - one owner who has aged out, all fresh water usage, 150 hours. It has never had bottom paint. Do we need it?

It will be on a trailer in our climate controlled large garage when it is not in the water, which will be most of the time. It will be used almost exclusively in fresh water in New York State - Canals, Hudson River, Lake George, etc. However, my wife and I plan to haul it to Florida this Covid winter and travel around in salt water for approximately 2 months. I estimate it will be in the water an average of 2 weeks at a time, then trailer to a new location. We would clean the bottom when we trailer from site to site. I dive so I could wash the bottom in the water weekly if that helps.

We welcome your comments.

In this photo, I have pressure washed the bottom. I could get it cleaner if I applied some elbow grease and a mildly abrasive scrubby pad as shown in the first couple of feet of the bow.

 

[fstbttms]

The owner of any boat without anti fouling paint that spends any amount of time in the robust fouling conditions of Florida will come to regret it- guaranteed.

 

[Comodave]

I think that you may tire of doing all the cleaning, certainly as you get older. Right now it sounds easy to do but after the 10th time it will get old. If you do go with bottom paint you will likely want an ablative paint since it will dry out on the trailer and a lot of hard paints go bad out of the water.

 

[Barking Sands]

Stop by a car wash between trips and pressure wash/detail it if needed. IMO you would be fine. Its not as if you wont be able to evaluate it closely each time you put it back on the trailer or as you said just check it out at anchor. If I didn't have to put bottom paint on I certainly wouldn't. Sounds like your boat generally will never be left in the water and when it is it will be on the move much of the time.

 

[Chrisjs]

Given the anticipated amount of time in the water, ablative antifouling should last years, provided you are not aggressive about cleaning /polishing it. I think the bottom is meant to be used and not seen. It is not artwork. Apply a couple of coats of barrier coat / primer then 2 coats of antifouling. A good idea is to paint 2 different colors, so that as the outer coat wears away you see the under layer and know it is time to repaint.

 

[BigTime]

You will probably be OK diving on it weekly this time of year but you will probably end up wishing you had painted it.

 

[Chrisjs]

Unless you have really good set of lungs, you should probably get a hooker set up so that you can stay down for more than a minute at time. At you have been up and won several time you will certainly wish you had one.

 

[OldDan1943]

I am surprised there is not any bottom paint on it.
2 coats of ablative bottom paint, 3 coats on the boot top.
After about 3 months in the water, plan on having the bottom cleaned once a month.

 

[High Wire]

A week in saltwater will start to foul. It will be tough to see it on the dark hull. You would easily see it on a white hull. No sand primer first then at least one coat of ablative. Dark blue or black ablative paint will work great.

 

[Scrib]

Put some paint on it! You don't want to be crawling around under that trailer trying to keep it clean. You'll quickly get tired of that PITA activity. Bottom paint is not a bad thing. In fact you might be able to use a non-copper paint and be happy with the results.

 

[Bacchus]

I also live & boat in NY and agree with those that recommend painting. Do your research and only put on a paint that can be hauled. & relaunched.
I cleaned a trailer fishing boat hull and it is a pain on a trailer working around bunks / rollers & frame.
Paint you will do once and done for a long time in those conditions vs weekly / monthly cleaning.
Also check what anodes are currently installed and replace w alum if necessary.

 

[C lectric]

Florida has a year round growing season.
Even in B.C. it does not take long during the growing season for a bottom to be fouled sufficiently to be difficult to clean. Once barnies or mussels get a grip they are NOT just a wash off on an unprotected hull.
Bottom paint will pay for itself with the lack of aggravation.
One the bottom actually is fouled, doing the painting becomes more difficult.

 

[bayview]

Two months in the barnacle capital of the world wont work without paint. Use the hard stuff as it will help with slime in fresh water.

 

[fstbttms]

Two months in the barnacle capital of the world wont work without paint. Use the hard stuff as it will help with slime in fresh water.

DO NOT use the "hard stuff" unless you are unconcerned with it being deactivated and ruined when you haul the boat. Boats that are dry-sailed or trailered need ablative paint.

 

[OldDan1943]

I use a red bottom paint so I can see which way the boat is floating when I walk to the dock.
Plus, if I turn turtle when out cruising, my boat will be easier to spot that a boat with black bottom paint. SMILE

 

[psneeld]

I am usualy outside the box.


There is a wax antifouling but I have heard it really doesn't do much and wax tends to accumulate dirt topsides...so underwater I have to wonder.


I might try going without paint for your schedule...winter is a slower growing season even in Florida.


If after the first time or two...if it becomes an issure...then clean well and paint.


There are paint on /no sand/no dewax primers to minimize work after you clean/pressure wash the hull.


So roll the dice...being somewhat lazy...I would try your first impression...there is work but no huge downside if you guess wrong.

 

[Comodave]

Contact Interlux as to how much Interprotect to use. 2 coats isn’t enough. A lot of yards will tell you 2 coats is enough but not according to the paint manufacturer. The yards tell you 2 coats because they want to do the job quickly and to keep the price down.

 

[OldDan1943]

Contact Interlux as to how much Interprotect to use. 2 coats isn’t enough. A lot of yards will tell you 2 coats is enough but not according to the paint manufacturer. The yards tell you 2 coats because they want to do the job quickly and to keep the price down.

The yard I use are not in a rush. Each coat costs me $1000.
LOL IF I asked for 5 coats they would happily charge me $5K

 

[AusCan]

The yard I use are not in a rush. Each coat costs me $1000.
LOL IF I asked for 5 coats they would happily charge me $5K

$1000 is a good deal for the first coat, as most of the work is in the preparation. It seems expensive for subsequent coats as it is only about an hours labour for each coat once you are set up.

 

[Larry M]

I’d try it without bottom paint. Parts of Florida are worse than others. Cleaning the hull weekly in the water so you can stay on top of it should work. If you find it’s a loosing battle, get it painted then. We had center console boat in the Bahamas for two seasons and we never painted the bottom. Every couple of weeks we scrubbed the bottom with a scotch pad.

 

[Bacchus]

I am usualy outside the box.


There is a wax antifouling but I have heard it really doesn't do much and wax tends to accumulate dirt topsides...so underwater I have to wonder.


g.

I used wax on an aluminum fishing boat as it was a real chore to do barrier plus bottom paint. I was very disappointed with results.

If OP is talking about doing his own scrubbing I'm sure he could do his own bottom paint on his schedule in his climate controlled garage with only cost materials.

 

[DarrenCharles]

We appreciate the comments. Although there is not a clear consensus, the majority of comments suggest bottom paint about 3:1.

From what I gather from these comments, there must be a large difference between Florida Saltwater and cooler climate fresh water in terms of bottom growth. Can someone confirm that?

This boat has been in the Upper Hudson fresh water for 4 months at a time for 10 years and the bottom is almost like new with a little cleaning.

 

[psneeld]

First of all...on a forum.... the opinions could be 50 to one and 49 would either not apply, or flat out be wrong. So you always want to check a person's experience and qualilifications...plus adapt to their preference...which doesn't have to be yours.

I can confirm that bottom drowth in FT Pierce City Marina, Fl...can be drastically different in Jan-Mar than it is in April or Nov. It also is bad on the floating docks and very little back in the basin when the growth season picks up.

But I wouldn't dare say what it is for a boat in one marina to the next...any opinion that does shows a lack of experience.

Even the difference between a boat run every week versus one that sits is different.

That is why I said give it a try without paint until you find you are losing the battle.

Any other opinion is speculation.

 

[fstbttms]

Any other opinion is speculation.

If your dentist tells you that driving your car without oil in the engine is a bad idea, is that "speculation"?

 

[Comodave]

The yard I use are not in a rush. Each coat costs me $1000.
LOL IF I asked for 5 coats they would happily charge me $5K

First, if you are not going to follow the manufacturers recommendations then why bother putting on any barrier coat? I think that Interlux knows how best to use their paint. Also like someone said the second and further coats go really quickly so the cost per additional coat should not be as much as the first coat. The last boat I did the bottom on Interlux said to use at least 5 gallons of Interprotect so I used 6 gallons. It took about a gallon per coat. Once the first coat is on it took about 45 minutes to an hour to put on another coat. It goes really fast once you have the prep done. The extra gallon of paint cost me about $80 for the extra coat. But when I went to sell the boat the buyer was really impressed that I went the extra mile and he remarked that was one of the reasons he bought it because he knew that I cared for the boat.

 

[Bacchus]

This boat has been in the Upper Hudson fresh water for 4 months at a time for 10 years and the bottom is almost like new with a little cleaning.

Is the Hudson experience in tidal zone or well north of that. Oscillating between fresh & salt or brackish is a very different environment than either. Thats why the USN mothballed many ships near Bear Mtn after WWII.
If you don't mind the cleaning work and would rather not paint do as psn suggests and give it a go..
I would paint as there is little downside but trying it without not the end of the world.

 

[psneeld]

If your dentist tells you that driving your car without oil in the engine is a bad idea, is that "speculation"?

Not really the same.

While I normally go with what you say on bottom paints...you know as well as I do...and as the manufacturers say.... many paints are location dependant as well as fouling rates vary wildly. Usage also is a huge variable.

Some of us may not scrape bottoms, but have been painting boats for marinas and company boats for many years and using them in many different areas.

 

[fstbttms]

Some of us may not scrape bottoms, but have been painting boats for marinas and company boats for many years and using them in many different areas.

Yes well, painting and using boats is not the same as cleaning an unpainted bottom in Florida. I have no skin in this game other than a sincere desire to give the OP the benefit of my decades of hull cleaning experience. And when I tell the OP he would regret following your advice, he can take that to the bank.

 

[Leonard Atkins]

Darren;



We have a similar style boat (Rosborough) which we keep on the Hudson River between Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, definitely home to brackish water depending on the status of snow/rain each year. Most every fiberglass boat in the marina has bottom paint. On the Rosborough we use an ablative paint which only requires minor touch up pre-launch (water line) to stay in pristine condition and only requires power washing at haul out. About every 4th year I apply a single full coat which takes about 2 hours after the prep is done.



MY FAILED EXPERIMENT-Last year I purchased a new fiberglass center console with the intention of bringing it home every two weeks for bottom cleaning. Our marina is not in the main river flow so the water is sedentary. Used the boat 2-5 times a week and was amazed that I could not keep the bottom clean with power washing and scrub pads and had to resort to ON & OFF Hull and Bottom Cleaner at season end. Never had this problem with my prior aluminum fishing boat or bottom painted fiberglass boats.



Enjoy your winter in Florida. We already had some flakes this week.


Leonard

 

[psneeld]

Yes well, painting and using boats is not the same as cleaning an unpainted bottom in Florida. I have no skin in this game other than a sincere desire to give the OP the benefit of my decades of hull cleaning experience. And when I tell the OP he would regret following your advice, he can take that to the bank.

Plenty of people have done what he plans to do and have not regretted it. Not sure how much time you have spent on the East Coast, I have enough to know 2 weeks in a high growth area and you see a bit, in a low growth area...it mostly wipes off. I leave my RHIB in for a week or two at a whack and with running it, it barely has slime on it.

And he can take that to the bank.