Paint dinghy bottom?

[Tar34]

I was curious to listen to some opinion as to whether the benefits outweigh the negatives when it comes to painting the bottom of a dinghy. I have a 8ft fiberglass sailing dinghy ( mostly row ) which I uses as a tender. If I cruise for several days there s always a buildup up of slime and discoloration which is easily cleaned, although I do use a bathroom hard water removal solution to remove the discoloration. I thought painting the bottom might cut down on this maintenance. On the other hand the negative of dealing with bottom paint might outweigh my aversion to slime and discoloration. Any and all opinions appreciated! By the way, I just repainted the entire dinghy and I'm ready to make a decision. Bottom paint or Not!

[Cheechako]

If you ever need to pull it aboard, the bottom paint gets all over the mother ship. Slime always grows on my bottom painted mothership anyway.... so not sure it will get rid of the slime either.

[Tar34]

Yes, I can just imagine the mess on deck. I don't haul the dink aboard too often given it's size. Not much room forward on a Tartan 34 for an 8ft dinghy.

[Cheechako]

Yeah, although I stored my 8 ft dyer on the deck of my 30 Rawson years ago! Bottom line though is.. you'll still have slime, but not barnacles maybe!

[David M]

It's probably worth it if you leave the dink in the water for days at a time.

[Tar34]

Well that's another thing. I do on occasion leave the dink tied the the dock for a few days if I'm a certain anchorages which is when I get the most buildup. Maybe I should just grin and bare that certain fact of life.

[David M]

I would paint it if you are going to leave it in the water for more than a few days. A lot less junk grows on a painted hull than one that has not been painted. No paint stops all growth, so some resistance to fouling is better than no resistance to fouling.

[markpierce]

I was thinking of having the hard dinghy which I've ordered to have bottom paint. Is this a good idea. I hadn't considered the possibility of the bottom paint rubbing off on the boat which retrieving/launching from the mother boat.

[roverhi]

What paint works?? Seems like it would have to be a hard vinyl so it didn't shed all over the boat but think those paints don't retain their antifouling capability if dried out. Is there a hard paint that can live out of the water for long periods??

[Tar34]

Well, before I started this thread, I knew it was probably a matter of personal preference. I just painted my dinghy white. I had considered navy blue. If I were so concerned about stains, I should have gone with navy right? Enough already, recommissioning is in the spring. Sand and change the color then!

[onestepcsy37]

i paint the bottom of my dinghy. and i also store it on deck when necessary. the dinghy is a watertender 9.4 and the mother ship is a csy 37.

normally the dinghy is in the water 24/7, tied to the stern of our boat. but when crossing the gulfstream florida/bahamas i hoist it on deck and store it overturned. last time i painted the yacht bottom i also painted the dinghy bottom - pettit trinidad hard antifouling. i haven't had any problems with the dinghy bottom paint rubbing off on the mother ship deck. and it sure is nice to have a clean bottom on the dinghy....

[Cheechako]

My experience with bottom paint on the mothership is that it doesnt retard barnacle growth, but kills them eventually, leaving the sharp carcass very well attached to the boat. My current boat had new bottom paint in June, the green slime is all over it, some of it is a few inches long on the sunny side. Basically , on a dingy, if you have bottom paint, and want the bottom smooth or clean, you're going to have to manually clean it on the beach or by snorkeling, so why put it on?

[sabray]

Easier to clean the dink if it has coppercoat. Yes it slows down the growth. Would not use a soft copper like Trinidad or an ablative.for a dink. I still get growth but its easier to remove.
My plan is to sand but not recoat this winter.