Wet Slip (bottom paint?)

[Frank C]

Bobby,
I just went thru this process ... two weeks in SoCal waters shouldn't be a problem ....
except you'll need to hire Terry to scrub it when it comes out!

Seriously, even if the trailer work stretches out to a month you should still be okay. But if you plan frequent dunks like that, I think the epoxy might make the cleanup easier, or at least less damaging to the gelcoat. And of course, it should prevent blisters even of the layup was defective.

Finally, I suggest a half-hour long dash (with all 90 horses) on the day you plan to retrieve it. Then, get the rig directly to a quarter carwash immediately after it's pulled, don't pass GO. When it's fresh the light scum layer should blast off quite easily. But if you let it dry out, be prepared ...
(to call Terry~!).

[Andy26M]

YMMV, but:

For the past two summers I kept my boat slipped in the Narragansett bay - salt water, moderate temps. The boat went in in April and came out the last week of September, and was taken out of the water only for a one week trip to a freshwater lake each summer.

I do not have epoxy barrier coat under my AF paint. Based on the research I did and people I talked to, with modern materials and methods, and only keeping the boat in the water for about 5-6 months of the year, the chance of blisters is extremely low. I have none after 2 seasons.

I do have ablative AF paint - WM store brand - on the hull but not the rudders or daggerboard. The hull had 3 coats from the dealer and I added 2 coats after the first season. All I had to do was forget to pull up the daggerboard for one week, then dive under the boat with a swim mask and look at it, to realize what a godsend the AF paint is. All the AF paint ever needs is a light scrubbing with a brush to keep it at it's normal (though admittedly not shiny) color. The unpainted daggerboard gets barnacles in a week or less during the summer (yes, I've forgotten to pull it up more than a few times...).

I'm sure I trade about 2 mph off my higher end motoring speed by having the AF paint, but for my way of using the boat that is a cheap trade off for not having to clean the bottom.

As to the AF paint being permanent - the ablative paints are by their nature soft and chalky - and they ablate. Hence, over time the paint will go away. Furthermore, I found out the hard way that with a 3000 psi pressure washer you can quickly get right back to bare gel coat if you've just pulled the boat out of the water and the paint is soft. So, I would not necessarily say that "once you paint the bottom you're stuck with it forever".

- Andy

[hiram6]

I must be incredibly lucky, because I am quite the slacker compared to many of the diligent posters here. My 26X sits in a freshwater slip in a very warm lake in GA. Before putting her in last November, I waxed her with a good quality marine wax, but did no paint of any kind. Original plan was to pull her out every few months to clean/inspect the bottom.

Well, life got in the way of the best intentioned plans, and she finally came out last week for the first time. That's almost 9 months in the water!! The good news is NO BLISTERS, and not even that bad of a slime growth.

After I pulled up the boat ramp, I did the Mac Bump, for the first time ever, and it worked perfectly. It also exposed about a foot of hull where each bunk slid, very effectively cleaning those sections of the hull. The gelcoat was perfectly smooth and beautifully white. A few hours with a 1650psi pressure washer and a medium brush and she was all clean again. New wax, and she's back in the water.

I promise I won't go 9 months again, but it's nice to know that I must have gotten one of the really good gelcoat hulls!

[DGA]

Removed.

[Frank C]

So, one boat survives 9 months on waxed bottom;
yet another (a brand new 26M) is completely blistered after three and a half months.



It's like Russian roulette. Spin the wheel and take your chances, but it's a very costly bet.

[pokerrick1]

I had my new M bottom painted January 2006 because I will keep it in a slip at Marina Del Rey year round. One of the dozen or so divers (scrubbers) around here just told me that my bottom paint still looks like new because I use the boat so much (I'm out sailing 4-5 days a week) (tough life). I'm surprised to hear everyone's estimates of the cost - - - I had mine painted for $1,000 and because I use it so much I probably won't have to have it redone for years. Also, I think I sail just as fast as M's off the trailer with no bottom paint (and I only have sailing experience since 1/06) - - - estimates of how much speed may be lost with bottom paint are highly exagerated in my opinion. It IS a little tougher to get it all the way up to the winch when I put it on it's trailer to travel, but that's the only negative I see to be worry free and have the bottom painted.

[delevi]

For all you wet slip people who didn't paint the dagger board; The water level rises in the db well 12-15" depending on whether you have ballast in or not. That would mean that you would get growth on the bottom part of the DB, even when it's all the way up, since that portion is always wet.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

my vote is still for:
- a wet bladder system with chlorine floaters

- white epoxy Interlux 2000 paint for blister prevention only