You want how much to awlgrip my boat?

The Awlgrip on Sherpa (24' troller) is getting faded and its time to seek out quotes. I was recommended Embry Marine in St Petersburg and was given a very rough quote of $20k for a bottom job and to Awlgrip the hull, deck, and wheel house. This process assumes the Awlgrip is in decent condition and requires minimal fairing/priming. Wow, $20k for a 24' boat? Is this to be expected?

Around here, $300/ft for topsides and $400/ft for decks is about the going rate. So they are throwing in the bottom job for free?

Yeah, paint is expensive.

DIY it for much, much less. Alexseal has a 2 part paint that you can add a tipping additive so you don’t have to tip, just roll it on. Boatworks Today has lots of info on his website about it. Looks pretty much like a professional paint job.

Thanks. Yes, $20k for my 24' would include a bottom job assuming the bottom paint just needs a sanding and is in decent condition.

I've seen a couple boats that have been tip and rolled by the owner and they looked good

We painted our last boat, a 41’ sundeck. If I remember correctly it cost me less than $4K to do it and I paid a guy to do the spraying about $800. Not including a bottom job though. It was a lot of work but I had countless fiberglass repairs to do do since the PO was a Charter Member of the Coalition of the Docking Impaired…

I'd be very tempted to try it myself, especially if the boat is trailerable. Paying a lot of money does not guarantee a great job either - you'd have to see some examples of their work. The reason they charge a lot though, is that the prep is a lot of work.

Greetings,
Mr. C. "Coalition of the Docking Impaired…" Im'a gonna steal THAT one. Thanks.

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.

If you can't take it home or to some other very friendly place, DIY is difficult, even in a yard that will allow it. Most will charge for lay days, and that can quickly eat the savings.

Vashon_Trawler said:

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.

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Were you to accept the idea of painting by roller/brush etc but DIY is impractical, have the yard do it.Has to be way cheaper than spraying, with time consuming masking/unmasking, gun prep and cleaning, coats on coats,longer time on the hard, etc. Try asking the yard to requote it and see what changes. Of course if they are cutting you a deal by effectively throwing in the bottom job it may not change much, but it`s worth exploring.

Greetings,
Mr. VT. 98% of a paint job is preparation. You can go a long way with hand tools, sanding and filling on everything except the exterior hull. Perhaps you can do a little at a time where you presently are. IF at a marina and they don't allow such "maintenance" you might anchor out for that time it takes you to do tasks that might be accomplished in one day (cabin roof? Starboard or port bulkhead? Section of decking?). Cordless tools will eliminate the need for a generator.
Roll and tip the primer coats. Once all the prep is done you can probably mask and roll everything in a day or two.
When you're on the boat you can't see the hull anyway.
AlexSeal is VERY user friendly.

Comodave and RTF, which AlexSeal product are you referring to?
Tx.

Vashon_Trawler said:

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.

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You might consider the Glades DIY yard on the Okeechobee waterway just East or Ortona lock. While you could certainly do it there, you can also get yard help on parts you may not want to do yourself.

Glades Boat Storage is owned and operated by boaters, do it yourself boat storage, no tides, fresh water

Ted

nwh10 said:

Comodave and RTF, which AlexSeal product are you referring to?
Tx.

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Check out Boatworks Today. He has quite a few videos on it. Also he has used it quite a bit so he became a dealer for them. He has some discounts available on his website I believe.

https://cutsedgemarina.com/storage/#diy-yard
This isn’t too far from you, most likely. Much better commute than Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage and the others down that way.

My boat is currently there in the middle of a full paint job being done by their recommended subs. Only been a couple weeks now, out of an expected 6-ish, so I can’t give a qualified thumbs up or down yet. Yard manager happens to be a friend so I felt pretty safe taking the leap.

Yes, it’s god-awful expensive to get a boat painted. My guys are using Awlcraft & Awlgrip products throughout, spraying mostly because that’s what they know. Brushing some trim work on small areas. Paint from keel to flybridge w/ some small repairs & fiberglass sheathing work (FPR hull, glass over wood house, currently unsheathed flybridge) has been quoted to me at a little under $1k per foot. They are not going to make a bunch of money at that rate, knowing what paint & supplies go for these days. And they are going to be working HARD on my boat. So far I like these guys, I hope to be able to highly recommend them in another month or so.

Vashon_Trawler said:

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.

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Buying a trailer and having someone pull the boat home would be cheaper than paying for the yards paint job. But your time, or lack of, isn’t something to get around. You could also pay a boat transport company to truck it home for less than buying a trailer. But if you save $15K plus on a paint job it might be worth it.

Vashon_Trawler said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

Greetings,
Mr. nwh. Welcome aboard. I can't remember what AlexSeal (AS) products I used but what I DO remember is AS had several formulations, one of which was specifically for roll/tip application. Their faring compound is really nice stuff and is part of their overall "system". Their website is quite extensive https://www.alexseal.com/

When I first wanted to get my boat painted, the quotes were breath-taking (including in the St Pete FL area where is home-base). I tried to 'negotiate' a bit with "Ya know, this isn't the Russian Winter Palace. I can survive a few blemishes - doesn't need to be perfect." Nope - all the yards said they didn't know how to do a sub-par job, didn't know what corners to cut, wouldn't do a job they woundn't stand behind.

The amount of prep work cannot be overstated. I can't tell much about the OP's pic from his avatar, but would not be a bit surprised to find there is 125+ man-hours in prep work. If there are fiberglass repairs needed - say fill-in a hole where an old depth meter was, and price goes up of course. Some hardware needs to be removed, some can't be so is taped around, and may need to be taped several times through the prime-paint coats. Non-skid areas are done separately. Depending on the yard, some sort of "spray booth" is needed - either a garage or a temp one built around scaffolding. Takes a lot of space too.

The materials alone will run a couple grand - I just picked-up a gallon of AwlFair (fairing compound), a gallon of AwlGrip paint, and a gallon of bottom paint. At wholesale pricing (no tax), with catalyst, was a shade almost $1400.The amount of sand paper discs is staggering. Easily around $2k when done for paint and consumables.

I am not going to defend the high cost of a paint job, but I can explain it. In the end, DIY vs professional can be a lot less expensive. Having watched a LOT of boats get painted the last year or so I can tell you that it takes less than a day to spray a boat - all the labor is in prep and final buffing.

That said, I watched a very festidious couple paint their 45-foot sailboat with Brightsides. It took them about 6-months working weekends and it looked very good when they were done. You had to look pretty closely to see the blemishes. I saw them 10-years later and their boat still looked pretty good.

Peter

If you check out the link to alexseal on boatworks today you will see the job I did on my last boat. First time painting a boat. Roll only . Before the roll only additive they have now. 24' boat easy job. Mine was a 42 sf.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...=22ae63e2cc6860d3b6598a2357104e5d&action=view

Vashon_Trawler said:

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.

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Look at Indiantown Marina just east of Lake Okeechobee for DIY. You could also check out the painter at Safe Cove Boat Storage 10450 Winborough Drive Port Charlotte, Fl 33981

Greg QS said:

If you check out the link to alexseal on boatworks today you will see the job I did on my last boat. First time painting a boat. Roll only . Before the roll only additive they have now. 24' boat easy job. Mine was a 42 sf.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...=22ae63e2cc6860d3b6598a2357104e5d&action=view

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

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. nwh. Welcome aboard. I can't remember what AlexSeal (AS) products I used but what I DO remember is AS had several formulations, one of which was specifically for roll/tip application. Their faring compound is really nice stuff and is part of their overall "system". Their website is quite extensive https://www.alexseal.com/

Click to expand...

Ms. Ms. nwh. Thanks for the welcome. Been lurking on and off here for years.

Right...reason I asked the question was that I went to the Alexseal site and couldn't figure out which formulation aligned with your description. Luckily it's a rhetorical question - for possible future reference only.

I understand the reason for high cost the first time the boat gets painted, the entire surface needs filling to deal with tiny holes in the gelcoat. And sanding back the fill to prepare for undercoat. 2nd paint job doesn`t require the fill operation, so costs less.
Could be boat painters BS, but I thought it credible.

We have painted several boats and never filled the entire surface. We did many fiberglass repairs and sanded and filled them but not the entire surface.

Gotta love timber
60ft hull spot filled, sanded, spot prime and glossed in two and a bit days
About $600 in materials

Simi 60 said:

Gotta love timber
60ft hull spot filled, sanded, spot prime and glossed in two and a bit days
About $600 in materials

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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.

rslifkin said:

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.

Click to expand...

Yes.

rslifkin said:

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.

Click to expand...

The other way to describe it is, "how close does your boat look good". Not hard to look good at 40'. 20' is a lot more work. At less than 10', prep work is 95% of the job.

Ted