Boat hull drying before painting?

saaristo

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 22, 2017
Messages
190
The plan is to keep the boat in the water for the season, however the workshops around me are saying that due to workload the wait for the bottom paint (epoxy + antifouling) job is nearly 8 weeks. The water is still cold so without bottompaint Im not really afraid of the marine growth, but the the question is for how long does the hull needs to dry out before the epoxy can be applied? I imagine due to porous nature of the gelcoat there will be moisture in the hull glassfibre and epoxy being a waterproof barrier would trap the moisture causing problems? It is a new boat, bottom as it comes from the factory.
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,621
With that long of a wait, perhaps you could grab a paint roller and DIY. :noidea:

It is difficult to say how long the boat should sit out of the water before painting, but I would think a couple of weeks would be reasonable.
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
Being a new boat, there shouldn't be any cracks, areas that are compromised. Gel takes a long time to absorb water. The hull has to be prepped, sanded or acid etched before applying anyway. It'll be fine by the time the sealer goes on.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,036
One another point, last year my neighbor paid a marina to barrier coat and bottom paint a new boat. Of course, he only got 1 coat of cheap bottom paint......
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
One another point, last year my neighbor paid a marina to barrier coat and bottom paint a new boat. Of course, he only got 1 coat of cheap bottom paint......

Seen that happen before. The marina wasn't aware of what was going on. The employee would do the job, with cheap different paint than what was requested. Then sell the good stuff out the back door and lining his pockets. Once he was caught, he is no longer employed at that facility, or others in the area.
 
Top