Bottom Paint

[Baker]

timjet wrote:Baker wrote:
Micron Ultra Bio......in my 4th year!!!! I did a quick haul in March and when I told the Yard guy what I used....he smirked and highly recommended I use the same stuff the next time around. I expect another season out of it. It is a hard paint and I use my boat a LOT!!!!

*Hope I get 4 years out of my Ultra.

Do you clean the bottom every month?

*Nope. *Don't touch it. *I think the fact that I use my boat regularly and I go faster than most trawlers helps. *I know this is not an ablative paint but I still don't think scrubbing the boat every month is helpful to the longevity of the paint. *I would imagine it is helpful to the longevity of the diver's bank account. *I do swim a lot so when I am in the water next to the boat, I will do a tactile inspection to see if there is any barnacle growth. *I am in the Galveston Bay area. *I would say a fairly active fouling area although not as bad as Florida. *We get just enough freshwater runoff to maybe stunt some growth.

 

[Marsh Rat]

I have had good luck with Micron Extra. This is my third full season in the water and I'm just starting to get a few barnacles on the hull. When I was redoing the the hull I had it peeled to the original gel coat. After applying an epoxy barrier coat I put on one coat of light blue and two coats of dark blue. Hauled the boat after two seasons and there were no barnacles on the hull. And I did not see any light blue paint. Shafts and wheels were a mess. We applied two more coats of dark blue and used the Pettit zinc product on the shafts and wheels.
It's been three summers now and I have dived on the bottom twice this season. Just starting to get barnacles on the hull. The shafts and wheels need cleaning any time the boat sits more than three weeks when the water is warm. I am starting to see some light blue showing through now.
Can't decide if I should haul out now or wait until spring. I wonder if I haul now it I will still be able to get three seasons.

 

[C lectric]

DVD,

I know this is offered too late, your boat will be back in the water, but the third photo shows the prop as a bit pink.

It may just have been the photo altering the colour but if the prop was pinkish that is a sign the prop is in trouble from electrolysis.

Did you thoroughly check the zincs, bonding and continuity of the system.* I can't see if you have a collar zinc on the shaft just ahead of the prop. If not then a shaft brush?* You appear to have lots of transon zinc but the question is , is the prop protected?

I may be raising an*unnecessary red flag here but if not then you may need a new prop if not caught* early.

Hopefully all is well.

*