Re: choice in bottom paint??
If you're able to remove the botom paint with a pressure washer, then the paint is not bonding to the hull properly to begin with. This is more than likely why it looked like it was in bad shape. Hull is painted, then begins flaking off leaving bare spots, then the hull is painted again and again. Good paint will not adhere if the first coat is not adhering to the hull to begin with.
Sometimes there is still some mold release left on the hull from the factory. Rarely do people properly prepare the hull for paint by both adequately sanding the gelcoat, then removing all the dirt, dust, debrie before painting. This affects adhesion as well.
1) Have the boat properly sanded. Look into soda blasting.
2) Make sure to use the appropriate solvent to clean the hull afterwards
3) Find a suitable bottom paint for your waters. Planing hulls do well with abalative paint.
4) Choose the paint and then use the paint manufacturers recommended Bottom Coat (Primer and water proofer)
5) apply the botom coat to the manufacturers application instructions.
6) apply bottom paint to the manufacturers application instructions.
Do not listen to anyone who tells you you can get away on the cheap, or by skipping steps. (You don't need that many coats, yadda, yadda, yadda). Very few do it correctly as evedenced by the number of bad bottoms in the boat yard in the fall and spring.
Every year I pull my boat and give it good pressure wash and scrub and it looks like it was just painted. every spring I slap a new coat on and people ask me why I'm bothering to repaint at all.
