non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

I have a 1985 Mckee Craft that I have restored inside and out. This boat will be trailered exclusively, and used in saltwater w/ no intention of wetslipping or long term use in the water other than say a long weekend of camping/fishing. Currently, what remains of an ablative type (I assume) bottom paint is on the hull bottom....I have pressure washed extensively, but have not done any major sanding yet.

I plan on sanding lightly (say 220-200 grit to remove the remaining bottom paint as best as possible) My question is what type of paint can get the best mileage for a trailer boat. I am leaning towards a two-part urethane enamel or something along the line of Petit easypoxy rolled and tipped.

Ideas appreciated, see my restoration at: http://www.deviljohn.net/

thanks,

JD

Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

Are you sure you're going to need to paint?

I have a 1987 Henry O McKee (avatar). I've spent untold hours underneath it this winter stripping 20 years of bottom paint.

I do have a few skuffs and some wear on the keel to patch with gelcoat, but the remaining gel coat doesn't look as to need painting.

I started with chemical strippers and some Easy Off (nasty stuff) in tight places and have been wet sanding the last remants of paint with 320 and 600 grit.

If I had to do it again, I might have had it soda blasted, but I'm almost done and it looks a 100x better.

Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

You really do not have to paint at all if you are staying with a trailer.

Real nice boat..... you did what appears to be some great work too. Nice job.

Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

Yes, i had thought of that as well....only real reason to re-paint is to a) make the transom look better (I rounded over the top and clothed/epoxied the exposed marine ply beneath the original aluminum cap then painted) So I have a nice bright white paint above the waterline on the rear of the transom and the original gel-coat below is a creamish color. Just aesthetics really.... b) I also have some gouges in the gel coat on the front of the keel...my thought on that was to feather smooth w/ epoxy mixed w/ cabosil, then maybe even add a strip of cloth/epoxy to make it even more indestructable (almost). I don't really want to re-gelcoat the area, figured a couple of coats of a aqua-blue or red something paint on the bottom would look sharper and be easier to do...

Otherwise, I may just concentrate on finishing up my rigging and fish-on...(I ran all last summer & fall w/ nothing but an ignition, a throttle, a tach and a baitwell and put some monstrous redfish in the boat...) just gearing up to put the bells and whistles on for this spring.....vhf/depth/dual bat's etc...and eventually a stereo and two bean bags up front for the scantily clad bimbo's to sit upon......Thus far I do love that hull for the waters around here..trade off on stability vs. pounding, but she's nice and run's pretty damn skinny. Also, SC DNR used Mckee's a lot round here and I swear the man will pick on a seahunt/bayliner before he checks my mess (not that I would ever hit the water under-equipped/papered etc..)

Yeah, this was my first restoration of a fiberglass boat...bought the hull, trailer and a blown 140hp EV for $1200...3 years and 4k later actually put it in the water....one after thought, I wouldn't attempt to convert a dual console to a CC again...but one thing I do know is there ain't any boat quite like it on the water....anywhere..console came from the Mckee factory in fairmont, interesting story, went in, shot the breeze about the project, shop foreman pointed out a CC on the floor ripped out of a 18' bay classic and said "this one would probably work our real good for ya w/ some FG repair" I sez "Howmuch would a console like that go for??" He sez "special price for you only today, right now, you back your truck up to the bay and help me load it in your truck and it's yours....I'm tired of stubbing my toes on it and want it outta my shop" I went back 2 months later and found the right grab rail for $50, threw him $80 and rolled on....Mckee was truely a first rate customer oriented family run boat company, hope they get straightened out and back in business soon...besides, i didn't want a boat w/ the word "Boston" in it....no offense, I'm just a diehard southerner (although Boston's alright in my book as they directly collaborated w/ Charlestonians during the "Tea Party"...Charleston concurrently blockaded the harbor against the king's ships at the exact time the bostonians tossed that tea overboard..... I need to get up there one day.

Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

Another option would be to get color matched gel for the transom and any repairs you make underneath. Atleast, your sanding would be restricted to a smaller area.

As far as paint, most 2 parts are supposed to suffice if you don't keep it in the water more than a weekend if you do, then the best option seems to be Interlux VC performance epoxy, but it only comes in white.

Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

KurtG said:

Another option would be to get color matched gel for the transom and any repairs you make underneath. Atleast, your sanding would be restricted to a smaller area.

As far as paint, most 2 parts are supposed to suffice if you don't keep it in the water more than a weekend if you do, then the best option seems to be Interlux VC performance epoxy, but it only comes in white.

Click to expand...

Agree, no paint is best if you can pull off a decent match with the gel coat. VC Performance is designed for off shore boats ( typically racing ) that are trailered. You need to maintain it with Interlux products or it will chalk. It has no UV Protection.

Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??

I spoke w/ a rep at Bluewater marine paint, he suggested Copper Shield 45 Hard, a non ablative bottom paint....multiple pretty colors and $90 a gallon.

http://www.ipaint.us/cosh45ha.html


main reason for painting is:

1) cosmetics
2) smooth hull = happy hull = better mileage to some extent
3) I would have a heck of a time removing every bit of the existing paint..don't think it's worth it.....
4) plan on painting boat on the trailer, then lifting in my shop w/ straps on my chain hoist to get underneath the bunks....

Any pros/cons of a non ablative paint such as this?? (other than periodic re-painting...) Here's a pic of the existing conditions (prior to pressure washing)