You want how much to awlgrip my boat?

[Greg QS]

Lots of videos on that page. Which one is yours?

The green sportfish

 

[Simi 60]

No reason you couldn't do the same with fiberglass. It's all about what you want it to look like when done and how long you want it to look before the next paint job. A paint job that looks really good for 20 years will be much more expensive and time consuming than one that looks pretty good for 10 years. In general, going from pretty good to really good is a huge step.

Oh I know, previous life building superyachts and go fast composite multis , I know the effort involved.
I spent months on a torture board fairing 100+ fters.
But dinghies, pontoons and clueless boaters have zero respect for that finish.

I found that out the first night after we launched our first cat, superyacht finish as that's what I had been taught and an anchor dragger smashed into us during a storm and disappeared into the gloom leaving several thou in damage for me to fix.
Several months later I came out to the boat and found the whole side scraped.
Seems somone decided to tie up to us without fenders when they lost power entering the harbour.
Witnesses, but no details.
Gave up on the nice finish then and there.
Vowed never to torture myself doing it again.

The thing I love about the timber is every 4 years I have a shiny new paint job
In between i don't care (that much) about a dingy banging Ito us or chain against the hull, Quick sand, lick of paint and we're good again and I can do that on the water in an hour, or not bother.

I guess pretty has to look pretty at great expense.
The more workboat finish does not
Yet we both do the same job

 

[DDW]

If you live in that kind of neighborhood, an unfinished aluminum hull is idea. No paint to damage.

 

[Comodave]

Simi, we have completely painted multiple boats in our boating life. We never had anyone damage them like you are describing. Maybe it is your location???

 

[nwh10]

The green sportfish

Thank you!

 

[koliver]

VT
Lots of good advice here.
You need to decide where you sit on that continuum from needing your to be the very best, to what is adequate for your needs.
You can spend $1000 per foot if at the high end, to $10 per foot at the lower end.
I confess to sliding down that continuum, though I have never aspired to the very top.
My first boat was purchased as new build. Within a very few years the chalking of the hull (Ruby Red) compelled a repaint. I had no money then, so DIY. I saw that boat again when the paint job was 20 years old and was pleasantly surprised that it still looked far better than its comparables for age.
My present boat was new in 1980, so by 2019 the yellow stain had taken over the bow and there were many obvious imperfections on the house. For $300 in paint and all of my spare time for a few weeks, I got a 6' paint job. That means that anyone approaching the boat won't realize that it isn't a professional job until they are within 6'.

 

[angus99]

Salt Creek and Pitman both allow DYI, last I checked. And thst was very recently with Pitman.

I can confirm that Salt Creek in St Pete is still a DIY yard—or was last month. We had a bow thruster installed there and multiple owners were working on their own boat while others, like us, were using outside specialists. Salt Creek doesn’t bill outside labor through their office or levy a surcharge for using them either.

 

[Barking Sands]

Maybe try Pitman's Yacht services in Tarpon Springs. If you want to do it yourself There is Mar Marina that will do haul outs and let you do your own work. Farther up in Hernando there is Sterling Marina that will also haul you out and let you work. I remember her rates being decent, but she runs a tight ship as far as days and hours of access.

 

[rgano]

20K does not sound bad given it is the whole danged boat. Got 20K you can spare for the job?

Look closely at the stbd bow of my boat back a full 2-3 feet from waterline to the rub rail. See the where the painter sanded it to the gray primer and then re-sprayed the red Awlgrip and finished with a clear coat? No? Of course you can't because I paid an expert 2K to do it. The whole hull for this 30-footer would probably have run me 30K here in Panama City. The problem with this hull is that I have to walk along side it's entire length of it in its lift with every tiny paint issue staring me right in the face only 2 feet away, and I am absolutely anal about my boat's appearance.

Could I have made it look like this as a DIY? Heck no, but I know from my many years painting the wooden hull of my GB42 that I could have done a fair job. The beveled joints in the hull planking of my GB meant that I only had to make a 4-6" wide board look good (over and over), but the wide open spaces of this smooth hull gave me pause - thus the professional.

But 20K is still a lot of money for you or anybody I know. One time about 2o years ago, I built a float and used it to stand/lie on prepping and painting my 42-foot boat in its slip here at the house. 500 bucks later its Awlgrip was frequently confused a 10-foot range as a glass boat. Now I am too old and rich to do that crap.

 

[CarlF]

Have you thought about having it wrapped? Much less expensive than paint. Seems to last 5 years. You can do it a 2nd time and still be cheaper than one paint job. Takes a day in the yard instead of a month.

 

[ronobrien]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I had considered DIY as I do most, if not all, of my boat work. Unfortunately, DIY yards are nonexistent in my area (central Florida gulf coast). I guess I'd have to buy a trailer and pay someone to transport my boat. I'm not retired so a DIY boat painting job would be relegated to the weekends and likely take months to complete.

Is it paint the boat yards won't allow DIY or any work?