No bottom paint, how long?

[cdavisdb]

I'm dreaming of a long trip in the Seafari, like out to Rum Cay, San Salvadore, Crooked, Acklins, Samana, you get the drift. One of the several challenges with such a trip is bottom paint. I ain't got any and would prefer to keep it that way. The trip would have to be long, 30-40 days, and I've never had the boat in the water more than 12 days. In clear Bahama water, that length of time was fine, no growth at all, but it comes fast when it starts.

Anybody had their boat in the Bahamas with no bottom paint for longer than 12 days? How long? Could I get by with only painting the drive? Teflon coatings? Other ideas?

Connor

[strick]

I thought you were a diver? Jump under there and give her a scrub every few days...take you 5 min BTW how in the heck do you get 30-40 days off work? I'm self employed too but my boss is a jerk and wont let me have more then 5-7 days off at a time Sorry Conner wish I could help but my boat don't stay in the water more then 8 hours at a time

strick

[cdavisdb]

Scrubbing will work on the hull, it just has to be repeated a whole lot once growth starts(personal experience). I'm lazy and the drive has too many cracks and crannies.

Yeah, finding the time is one of the other challenges. My customers (the real bosses) don't appreciate my being gone more than an hour or so, but, hey, I'm 62 and at least semi retirement is on the fast approaching horizon. Planning starts early and it would be a shame to wait till too damn old to pull it off.

Anyway, you need the answer to this one as much as me. The Sea of Cortez is 1500 miles long. That will take a while.

[strick]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

S it would be a shame to wait till too damn old to pull it off. Anyway, You need the answer to this one as much as me. The Sea of Cortez is 1500 miles long. That will take a while.

I hear ya. Having two kids 14 and 15 will keep me from doing any month long trips for at least the next 4 years. We should get a few of us together for a Baja trip. Maybe 2-3 boats. Gillie you in? I would trailer the 25 down for that. Probably need 2 weeks for that counting driving.

strick

[Islandtrader]

Originally Posted by strick

I hear ya. Having two kids 14 and 15 will keep me from doing any month long trips for at least the next 4 years. We should get a few of us together for a Baja trip. Maybe 2-3 boats. Gillie you in? I would trailer the 25 down for that. Probably need 2 weeks for that counting driving.

strick

I can't bring the 21, but I sure would sign up as a crew member...

[strick]

You are more then qualified

strick

[Don Ferguson]

My 1975 23' CC has sat in the water most of Her life. The bottom is painted with one coat black. After ten days any vessel will begin to develope discoloration/moss growth. An out of the water rinse with Lime Away will get rid of such and rust stains at this point. The trip you plan would be best served "painted." Use a slick finish bottom paint.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

. . . Anybody had their boat in the Bahamas with no bottom paint for longer than 12 days? How long? Could I get by with only painting the drive? Teflon coatings? Other ideas?

Connor,

My boat was in the water for about 14 days during my 700 mile "So. Fl. Circumnavigation Trip" http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z...t=69122ef0.pbw in the spring of 2010. We were on the move every day except for 4-5 days in Key Largo. The last few days were in the ICW between Key Largo and Palm Beach, which I understand is the barnacle capital of the world. (There used to be a marine test center in the ICW less than a mile from my house where they tested anti-fouling coatings!) Although we did run offshore from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale, and from Boca to Palm Beach, the boat did stay in the water for a couple of days after we got back. I ran it over to Peanut Island at slack high tide where I did a bottom scrub before hauling out. There was very little build up on the Signature Finish paint on the bottom, although there was some marine growth/alge on the Ivory color on the vertical hull steps, and on the transom and flotation tub of the bracket, all areas that weren't scrubbed by high velocity water during planing operation. Most of it was easily removed with a light scrub with a blue 3M pad, although I think I used the chisel blade in an exacto knife to remove a the beginnings of barnacles I could feel on the transom surface.

I've concluded that the Signature Finish urethane paint (which is the only urethane I know of that holds up below the waterline) is so slick that most marine growth is washed off in the areas where it matters if you run the boat every day! Just plan on doing a good bottom scrub of the transom on your last day in the Bahamas!

When I was testing paints before painting the bottom, I also left a piece of fiberglass painted with Signature in the canal off the ICW across the street for about 6 weeks. It had some fairly heavy growth on it, but I was able to scrub off about 80% of it, and there was absolutely no problem with bubbles or adhesion of the paint! While you'll obviously want to use antifouling paint on the outdrive, I think Signature Finish would be a good option for the bottom, especially if you use a contrasting color to highlight the vertical steps like I did in the picture below! Tom can match any color you want if you can send him a color chip; he already has the formula to match any of the Sunbrella colors. Denny

[McGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by strick

I hear ya. Having two kids 14 and 15 will keep me from doing any month long trips for at least the next 4 years. We should get a few of us together for a Baja trip. Maybe 2-3 boats. Gillie you in? I would trailer the 25 down for that. Probably need 2 weeks for that counting driving.

strick

Where do I sign-up? But I better clear it with the Admiral, first...
Connor is right, we ain't getting any younger. San Felipe would be a logical place to start. Couple of great books include The Sea of Cortez by Ray Cannon and a recent compilation by Gene Kira about Cannons life and writings.

I better pick a boat and get crackin' on on her

[cdavisdb]

Keep after him Gillie!!

Denny, thanks. Fouling in the Bahamas is much slower that in Florida, even spring. From your experience, I could almost certainly not worry about the hull. Maybe there is something out there that would work on the drive without a full paint job.