Ablative bottom paint for Florida?

It seems the norm in south Florida is to have a diver scrape the barnacles off once a month for boats left wet stored. That's pretty much NOT what I'm used to in NJ, which is only one coat of ablative paint each spring.

My future trawler will be wet stored Nov-April and dry stored April to Nov. I keep hearing Trinidad is the way to go but I dont want the build-up from seasonal coats. Is ablative paint effective down here for stopping barnacle growth? If so, which ablative paints work and which do not in FL saltwater?

Greetings,
Mr. HW. I've had good success with Sea Hawk ablative in FL. I don't think anything STOPS barnacle growth except dry storage or bagging the hull and filling the bag with fresh water.

We use Sea Hawk also.

High Wire said:

It seems the norm in south Florida is to have a diver scrape the barnacles off once a month for boats left wet stored. That's pretty much NOT what I'm used to in NJ, which is only one coat of ablative paint each spring.

My future trawler will be wet stored Nov-April and dry stored April to Nov. I keep hearing Trinidad is the way to go but I dont want the build-up from seasonal coats. Is ablative paint effective down here for stopping barnacle growth? If so, which ablative paints work and which do not in FL saltwater?

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I use Trinidad but this paint cannot be left out of the water for more than 72 hours or it stops working. You should cross this off your list.

We are hard storing from April until Jan and the storage people said we'll paint the bottom before you go back in. I said I only use an ablative and they said that's their standard.

Florida is no different than Jersey... even the politics (except FL refined it a bit).

Dave

My experience with Sea Hawk is excellent protection in waters of the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Up here in N. FL I have had good luck with Trinidad, but my boat stays in year round. Our fouling here is far, far worse than S. Florida in the summer time but nowhere near as bad in the winter when the water cools.

I have a diver come, but he mostly just does the running gear. I don't think you will have issues with the bottom really, but your gear will get nasty quickly.

To let you know how bad it is up here, back when I used to guide, I would keep my boat on a trailer and launch it every day. Basically it spent 12 hours in the water and 12 hours out. No bottom paint of any kind. In the summer I would have seed barnacles growing on the bottom in about a week. So 84 hours=barnacles. Pretty bad.

Which ever bottom paint you choose, get one with an anti slime ingredient.
Down here in Miami Trinidad SR is the hard paint of choice and Micron 66 is the ablative of choice.

HopCar said:

Which ever bottom paint you choose, get one with an anti slime ingredient.
Down here in Miami Trinidad SR is the hard paint of choice and Micron 66 is the ablative of choice.

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Parks, how about Petit?

Hi Don, Trinidad SR is made by Pettit. It is a very good hard bottom paint.
Pettit Trinidad SR Anti fouling Paint -Slime Resistant -Black (MFG#1877GL)

Each part of the country is different and even different locations in a particular part of the country are different because of currents and salinity.

The best thing you can do is check with people who already keep their boats where you plan to keep yours and ask the local divers (and the diver you plan to use) what works best in that location.

High Wire - Are you planning on cruising the boat most of the time when wet stored?

There's a huge diff in ablative when moving versus sitting.

My cheapo BottomcoteNT stays whistle clean the whole 4 months I'm gone south but the longest I stay in one spot is usually no more than 10 days.

If you are going to sit for most of it...ablatives with slime as HopCar suggests seems to win the overall category.

Then again location is a biggie down hereI would guess to be like you know from Cape May...near the inlets are brutal for growth yet 1/2 mile away up some lagoon in stagnant, silty, fresher water you can get away with almost any paint.

Thanks for the replies everyone.
The boat will spend its in-water time in SW Florida (Placida, Charlotte Harbor 1 mile from the GOM) when it is sitting. It will be appprox one month cruising and then back to Placida for 2 weeks with maybe an overnight trip or 2 in between cruises, repeating until April. Well, thats the initial plan anyway.

High Wire said:

Thanks for the replies everyone.
The boat will spend its in-water time in SW Florida (Placida, Charlotte Harbor 1 mile from the GOM) when it is sitting. It will be appprox one month cruising and then back to Placida for 2 weeks with maybe an overnight trip or 2 in between cruises, repeating until April. Well, thats the initial plan anyway.

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High Wire, will you be at Gasparilla Marina?

I called Interlux and they recommend Ultra. It's a hard paint. The reason they recommended it is due to the way I use my boat in So FL. Sits most of the time with occasionally use usually once or twice a month. Interlux said an ablative paint requires the boat to move to work. If it sits most of the time a hard paint will be more effective.

I had almost 3 years on the Ultra before re-painting and it was only re-painted because the boat came out of the water for other issues.

Interlux has a very good forum:YachtPaintForum.com

Moonstruck said:

High Wire, will you be at Gasparilla Marina?

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Right now, it's looking like Cape Haze for wet slip this spring and dry storage in Placida somewhere. GM is kind of high for a trawler. Its actually cheaper to wet store it there!

You might try Great American for dry storage in Placida. I stored there while I worked on the boat for several months. It's under new management which I understand is a big improvement.

WesK said:

...ask the local divers (and the diver you plan to use) what works best in that location.

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This.


The OP should understand that hard paints (Trinidad, Ultra etc.) cannot withstand extended periods exposed to air. If the boat is going to be out of the water for any length of time, you must use an ablative paint. Unless repainting each year is something you don't mind doing.

fstbttms said:

This.


The OP should understand that hard paints (Trinidad, Ultra etc.) cannot withstand extended periods exposed to air. If the boat is going to be out of the water for any length of time, you must use an ablative paint. Unless repainting each year is something you don't mind doing.

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Yep. I need a haulout and I have to be sure the boat gets back in the water quickly so I don't have to repaint.

I believe there are paints from the "big two" that fit somewhere in between hard and ablative that can stand being out of the water but don't need the constant use that ablative paints need. I don't know their names but they are in the WM catalog.

Sounds like you are referring to Interlux Micron 66.

fstbttms said:

Sounds like you are referring to Interlux Micron 66.

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Probably. I was considering that but the diver and the marina manager both recommended Trinidad so that's what I went with.

At some point, I expect I'll have to have it all sanded off and start over. That's one disadvantage with hard paint.

Another thing to throw into the mix is that the enviro-terrorists are pressuring the governments to ban copper based bottom paint for recreational boats so we will eventually be forced to use something else. Paint manufacturers are introducing copper free paints but I don't want to be a test dummy for them.

Resurrecting this because I'm having our DF 44's bottom done in Savannah. The boat will be kept on the Chesapeake and almost certainly will be hauled each winter. The Hinkley yard strongly recommends Sea Hawk Cukote. Does anyone use it? For those on the Chesapeake and who haul regularly, what are the paints of choice up your way?

Yes, I have used Seahawk CuCoat with great results. I just had my bottom painted with Petit Ultra with slime fighter. We will see how this works.

Compatibility of the new paint with the old is critical. Your yard should know.

My boat is kept in the water 24/7 all year in Florida. I've been using Pettit Trinidad paint and am very pleased. It holds up extremely well; however, I still have the bottom cleaned by a diver (or me) once every month. This is a must for Florida!

the trouble with ablative paints is sitting....

if you use your boat every week or so they are great.

when you sit...even the best (unless tin based) wind up sliming up which promotes all the other growth.

As long as you move a decent amount every week...almost anything works.