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OK guys - running into an issue. the bottom of my boat looks like it had an enamel bottom paint. It's coming off in big chips. The guys at my local West Marine store said that since I am not going to be keeping the boat in the water that I should just forget about using a 'bottom paint' and to just clean it off the best I can and then apply a regular ole' epoxy paint from Lowes or HD.

What do you guys think? Obviously I would like to use the cheaper paint. But should I skip using a traditional bottom paint?

West Marine has it on sale this weekend. So if I am going to get it, need to do it soon. http://www.westmarine.com/west-marine-- ... 90_002_509

Here's how it looks - and it looks worse than it is. All that chipping is just paint. There are no cracks.


thx mates!

If you are going to trailer sail, do nothing. Any blistering that might have happened has already happened, and epoxy won't fix blisters. If it hasn't blistered by now, it won't if you trailer sail.

Go enjoy your boat, be happy, put some Marley on and .....OoOOppps, wrong state.

LOL - thx. No blistering. It's just ugly so I want to put something on it. So if you don't think it matters an enamel should be ok for a season or two you think?

Season or two or 10.

I've both trailered and slipped since 2003 without epoxy or bottom coat, just annual wax.

Sounds good thanks-just trying to make it less of an eyesore since someone else put it on there already.
Was trying to sand the old chipping paint off the v berth walls and ceiling. That wasn't working well so I grabbed my Bosch grinder with a wire wheel on it. Taking that paint right off. I unfortunately just nicked my arm with it - yeouch!!!
Thanks again!!!

Interesting topic thread

NavySailor wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2014 4:54 am OK guys - running into an issue. the bottom of my boat looks like it had an enamel bottom paint. It's coming off in big chips. The guys at my local West Marine store said that since I am not going to be keeping the boat in the water that I should just forget about using a 'bottom paint' and to just clean it off the best I can and then apply a regular ole' epoxy paint from Lowes or HD.

What do you guys think? Obviously I would like to use the cheaper paint. But should I skip using a traditional bottom paint?

West Marine has it on sale this weekend. So if I am going to get it, need to do it soon. http://www.westmarine.com/west-marine-- ... 90_002_509

Here's how it looks - and it looks worse than it is. All that chipping is just paint. There are no cracks.


thx mates!

If you want a bottom paint that will work in a slip or on a trailer I would use Coppercoat. With a coppercoat approved barrier coat it should last 5 to 10 years in a slip or 15 to 20 years on a trailer.

My is twenty years old. I am the original owner, and have never put a bottom paint on the hull. I did apply a good barrier coat.

A) For the first three or four years the boat was slipped in a fresh water marina. No exposure to a salt water environment.

B) The remaining years the boat was on a trailer, and slipped for only a couple of weeks.

Because of being in fresh water and not salt water, a bottom paint is not needed.

The worse bottom problem was green growth on the bottom. Oxalic acid removes this. (Very informative discussion on this forum, look it up)

Point of this is, whether to apply a bottom paint is determined by where and how your boat is used.

This has nothing to do with the original poster because his problem was (if I remember correctly) regular house paint being used on the bottom by a previous owner. As Catagale has pointed out: “If you are going to trailer sail, do nothing. Any blistering that might have happened has already happened, and epoxy won't fix blisters. If it hasn't blistered by now, it won't if you trailer sail.”

Tom B wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 10:27 am If you want a bottom paint that will work in a slip or on a trailer I would use Coppercoat. With a coppercoat approved barrier coat it should last 5 to 10 years in a slip or 15 to 20 years on a trailer.

I have cc on my for at least 8 years, never touched and painted...!
She sits 365/year in lake of Zürich, and gets trailered 2 weeks into the Mediterranean Sea.

Best ever, other's paint every year, I don't know why...

Hi NavySailor!

How have things worked out for you?
You’ve have had a good decade since you mentioned your bottom paint issues…
So what did you decide to do?
How has it held up for you?

Best Regards
Over Easy

Looking for further clarification on if bottom paint will help my situation.

I have a 1994 MacGregor 26S that I keep in a slip on a fresh water lake in Minnesota. Last season was my first with her, and I had cleaned and waxed the hull before putting her in the water. By mid summer there was a significant build up of green growth, which I tried to keep at bay with a long handled brush, but that didn't achieve much more then to knock down the worst of it. A power wash at the end of the season didn't remove it to my satisfaction, so I wound up using oxalic acid which did clean up the staining.

My question is would using a bottom paint such as Coppercoat keep the growth from attaching in the first place, are their other preventative steps I should be taking, or should I just consider the acid bath at the end of the season normal maintenance?

Thanks in advance for any help

Most of the time, you are best off asking at your local marina. What works best is most dependent upon where you keep it.

If you are only in fresh water, you don’t need bottom paint; a good barrier coat is all you need. I posted this a couple of months ago.

My is twenty years old. I am the original owner, and have never put a bottom paint on the hull. I did apply a good barrier coat.

99.99% of the time I am in fresh water.

I used Slimy Grimy to clean the green growth. When you mix the oxalic acid powder, use warm water. I believe it was BeFree who said that Slimy Grimy is nothing but Oxalic acid. When the Slimy Grimy is used up, I go to Oxalic acid.

By the way, that one application of barrier coat is the only time I applied a bottom coating. That onetime application in 1975 is still good.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. That answers my question.

You can never k now what the future holds, and perception can affect your (and others) enjoyment. If it were me, and the situation allowed, I do it properly. Yes, it's a little more work.

NavySailor wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2014 4:54 am I would like to use the cheaper paint. But should I skip using a traditional bottom paint?

thx mates!