Best place to haulout for bottom paint between Fl and CA?

[Rod Headlee]

I had a nice bottom job until I stopped in Georgia for 4 months. I only had to clean it once in the 11 months previous. It looked great when we left Palm Beach July 1st. Now I have barnacle turds all over it. I had it cleaned today and the guy said I used to have a nice bottom job. It was 2 coats ablative over 2 coats of hard. We'll be making the trip from here to Calif via Panama. I'd like to haulout and do it my self, bring my own paint? Any suggestions? I'd just as soon not haulout with a crane unless they are experienced.BTDT. Our route should be Key West to Cayman Is, Providencia, Panama and up the west coast all the way to Calif. . Thanks!

[fstbttms]

What paint is on it now and what do you plan to repaint with?

[Pete the Cat]

Well, I have done that route (the other way) and I assume you are going to take some time (I did it over two winters). I would strongly suggest that you do this right: sand the bottom back and put a couple coats of Trinidad SR on it. The reason is that you will be able to dive the boat for your time in the Caribbean and on the other side all the way to San Diego and keep it nice and clean (and fast and save fuel--you probably won't believe me but unless you are planning on a few years enroute you are going to be motoring more than you would believe). Also, unless things have changed, you are going to want a hard epoxy in San Francisco because you can haul out very infrequently there if you have a quality hard epoxy paint and hire a diver to clean the bottom (or get a wetsuit and gear and do it yourself). Ablatives are much less popular there and they do not stand up to scrubbing.

[sailorchic34]

If your moving about a lot ablative works fine. I've Ablative on mine now for 3 years and still no hard stuff yet. I have not had the boat bottom cleaned at all in 3 years. I do a very light rub down every few months.

Really if the boat moves a bit and is not a dock queen then ablative does just fine. But agree that regular cleaning will wear out ablative much faster...

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I have not had the boat bottom cleaned at all in 3 years.

Not, of course, an appropriate hull cleaning regimen for a true Northern California marine environment, which describes all of San Francisco Bay. If I'm not mistaken, sailorchic keeps her boat up the Delta somewhere and is likely in brackish water, where fouling conditions are completely different than in the Bay proper.

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

...regular cleaning will wear out ablative much faster...

Not so. If you use an ablative paint in a region of moderate or high fouling (which San Francisco Bay is), cleaning it relatively frequently (and therefore gently) will add to the paint's lifespan considerably, when compared to less frequent, more abrasive cleanings. Again, what a boat that lives in brackish or almost fresh water experiences fouling-wise is an order of magnitude different than what a boat that lives in saltwater experiences.

[Paul L]

Shelter Bay has a good travel lift haul out and yard. You can email them for rates. It is located on tbe Carribean side of the Canal entrance. We hauled there in Jan.

[xymotic]

I guess I'll put in a vote for Baja Naval in Ensenada. Probably not the 'cheapest' but they are very experienced and a busy yard.

If you want to pay a bit more; I had excellent service at the Boatyard in Marina Del Rey. 4 years later the bottom they applied looked like new (Trinidad).

The Boatyard, Marina del Rey

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

If I'm not mistaken, sailorchic keeps her boat up the Delta somewhere and is likely in brackish water, where fouling conditions are completely different than in the Bay proper.

Well I tend to sail my boat a bit and you can find me in the central bay now and then. I spend oh 60-75 percent of my time in salt water this year and the first 1-1/2 years after the last painting was all central bay. My personal experience is cleaning wears the ablative paint off faster.

Now to qualitative that a little, I spend more time sailing / motoring then any 10 (non-racing) sail boats in the bay, possibly more... I believe just the fact that I move about a bit, does lots for keeping my hull clean. Odds are if my boat sat in a marina and only left the dock 3 to 6 times a year then it might need a cleaning too.

I've yet to have the hull cleaned since the last bottom job back in Oct 09. Mind you there is a slight slime coat on it but not bad. Probably could pick up 1/2 knot if I had the old thing cleaned. But I'm a cheep date!

[Rod Headlee]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

What paint is on it now and what do you plan to repaint with?

I have 2 coats of Westmarine hard with 2 coats of Micron 66 ablative over it. I'm probably going back to Petite hard. I had great success with it on my other boat. I was supposed to get Petite this time but the painter said he put Micron on it as it is what they had I wasn't very happy.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Rod Headlee

I have 2 coats of Westmarine hard with 2 coats of Micron 66 ablative over it. I'm probably going back to Petite hard. I had great success with it on my other boat. I was supposed to get Petite this time but the painter said he put Micron on it as it is what they had I wasn't very happy.

Micron 66 will serve you well in the Bay Area. As will Pettit Trindad. Anything with less copper, you use at your own peril. Stay away from Pettit Vivid unless you enjoy hauling for paint on a yearly basis.

[David M]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Not, of course, an appropriate hull cleaning regimen for a true Northern California marine environment, which describes all of San Francisco Bay. If I'm not mistaken, sailorchic keeps her boat up the Delta somewhere and is likely in brackish water, where fouling conditions are completely different than in the Bay proper.

Water salinity does not get above one part per thousand above Rio Vista and on the San Joaquin side of the Delta not much above 1 PPT above Antioch. Ocean salinity varies a little but is typically near 35 PPT.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by David M

Water salinity does not get above one part per thousand above Rio Vista and on the San Joaquin side of the Delta not much above 1 PPT above Antioch. Ocean salinity varies a little but is typically near 35 PPT.

Just to give an idea of how much fresh water is being diverted to SoCal, the sailing ships of old used to refresh their water casks just on the east side of the Tiburon peninsula.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Well I tend to sail my boat a bit and you can find me in the central bay now and then. I spend oh 60-75 percent of my time in salt water this year and the first 1-1/2 years after the last painting was all central bay. My personal experience is cleaning wears the ablative paint off faster.

Now to qualitative that a little, I spend more time sailing / motoring then any 10 (non-racing) sail boats in the bay, possibly more... I believe just the fact that I move about a bit, does lots for keeping my hull clean. Odds are if my boat sat in a marina and only left the dock 3 to 6 times a year then it might need a cleaning too.

I've yet to have the hull cleaned since the last bottom job back in Oct 09. Mind you there is a slight slime coat on it but not bad. Probably could pick up 1/2 knot if I had the old thing cleaned. But I'm a cheep date!

I sail mine weekly and there's still a good coating of slime after a couple of months (Trinidad SR), salt water SF Bay marina.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by Bash

Just to give an idea of how much fresh water is being diverted to SoCal, the sailing ships of old used to refresh their water casks just on the east side of the Tiburon peninsula.

Just wait until Davis executes his madcap plan to divert the Sacramento River around the delta.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

I sail mine weekly and there's still a good coating of slime after a couple of months (Trinidad SR), salt water SF Bay marina.

I used Pettit ultima SR40 in 2009. I had no slime growth for the first 14 months back when I was in Marina Bay / Richmond. The hull does have a slime coat now, but most washes away after I sail a day or two. It still has some after that too, but I'm not trying to get anywhere fast... No hard growth. I have spent a few months overall in the delta this year But I spend a far amount of time in the central bay area too...

I'm guessing the hard paints doesn't flake off the slime like the ablative paints do...