Re: Bottom Paint: Can I do without it?
I asked the folks in this forum the same - more or less - question couple of months ago for my salt water use, dry moored boat. Here is what I learned from the answers I got and from my research...
Your boat is a trailer boat. Whether you need bottom paint or not totally depends on the amount of time you leave the boat in the water. If you plan to do so for just 2-3 weeks at a time, haul it out and clean it then you should be fine. Longer than this, marine growth and slim can start. I plan to leave my boat in the water this season about 3 or 4 weeks at a time (starting with 2 and checking)
Keep in mind that these numbers are not written in stone. They vary based on the nature of your water and environment. It is a good if you can "test the water" literally by gradually increasing the # of days you keep the boat in the water at a time before you haul out and check.
The need for bottom paint in fresh water environment is debatable between fresh water boat owners. There are bottom paints designed specifically for fresh water though so if I were a fresh water boater and leaving my boat in the water for long periods of time, I would sure paint it.
Regarding if you need to re coat or not for this season, I have no idea how is your paint looks like. A picture would help the experts here to shim in. Smart application(ors) of paint paint use two color method. When the paint is worn out, the second color start showing and this is your signal that a fresh coat is needed.
It is very important for you to know what paint system the PO used. Bottom paints are different and have comparability issues. Some can't be used to repaint on top of others. Some need sanding before re coating and some don't. and so on.
All of this doesn't address the issue of blistering. Although bottom paint doesn't protect against blistering, smart application(ors) of bottom paint (the very first time only) protect the hull gelcoat with an epoxy barrier system before applying the bottom paint. Leaving a boat with gelcoated hull - any boat, new or old, it doesn't matter - in the water for long period of time increases the chances of developing blisters.
You need to know if the PO use Epoxy barrier coat before bottom painting for the first time.
Keep in mind that this blistering issue is like a car accident. No one can predict when and if it is going to happen. Some boats stay in the water their whole life without developing blisters and some do.
iBoat's SME on the subject of gelcoat and blistering is Ondarvr, if you want to learn more about the just search the forum for his handle, blistering and gelcoat.
As far as how to take the boat of the trailer, all you need is two floor jacks and some blocks of wood (or stands). Read this and watch the slide show at the end
How to Remove a Boat from a Trailer
