Longest Lasting, Best Bottom Paint on the Market for Faster Boats

[rslifkin]

Time for a hull to slime up will vary greatly depending on where you are. Even in cool fresh water and with fresh paint this year I gave my boat its first scrub around the waterline ~2 months after launch this year because it was getting pretty slimy. How quickly things slime up varies from year to year as well (and also with exact mooring location), and later in the season as the water gets warmer, stuff grows faster.

[Zanshin]

I've been at anchor here in Martinique for a week. Before sailing here I scraped and cleaned my hull and the sail here was fast at 8-10 knots the whole way.

Yet despite that, when I used my scraper yesterday I got a lot green slime / algae growth! I stopped when I got some jellyfish stings... My bottom paint is currently pretty much non-existent.

[s/v Jedi]

If you have slime you obviously failed to mix in the cayenne peppers!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

I've been at anchor here in Martinique for a week. Before sailing here I scraped and cleaned my hull and the sail here was fast at 8-10 knots the whole way.

Yet despite that, when I used my scraper yesterday I got a lot green slime / algae growth! I stopped when I got some jellyfish stings... My bottom paint is currently pretty much non-existent.

That’s my plan as well.

Because it’s too difficult to line things up for a bottom job while I am underway, I’m going to wait until I get somewhere and then do this work.

But I think I’m going to dry out somewhere and scrape the bottom fairly soon.

Do you have any favorite scraper? I actually have never done that.

I usually haul out and do a complete bottom job on land and then wait a few years and do it again.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Chotu

That’s my plan as well.

Because it’s too difficult to line things up for a bottom job while I am underway, I’m going to wait until I get somewhere and then do this work.

But I think I’m going to dry out somewhere and scrape the bottom fairly soon.

Do you have any favorite scraper? I actually have never done that.

I usually haul out and do a complete bottom job on land and then wait a few years and do it again.

What grows on the bottom changes drastically from one place to another.

My favorite scraper is a stainless steel 10” drywall taping knife. I use it for fairing fiberglass as well

Edit: I also use a sharpened putty knife.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

I've been at anchor here in Martinique for a week. Before sailing here I scraped and cleaned my hull and the sail here was fast at 8-10 knots the whole way.

Yet despite that, when I used my scraper yesterday I got a lot green slime / algae growth! I stopped when I got some jellyfish stings... My bottom paint is currently pretty much non-existent.

Le Marin?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

What grows on the bottom changes drastically from one place to another.

My favorite scraper is a stainless steel 10” drywall taping knife. I use it for fairing fiberglass as well

Edit: I also use a sharpened putty knife.

10” drywall taping knife sounds perfect!

I might even have one aboard from the build, although the handle is about 3-4 inches in diameter from no one ever cleaning that part of it when we built the boat. Ha ha. They only clean the blade. I’ll have to post a pic. It’s ridiculous. A 3-4” handle of bog.

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Le Marin?

Maybe tomorrow; at present I'm anchored off St. Pierre. (Marinetraffic Chart

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Maybe tomorrow; at present I'm anchored off St. Pierre. (Marinetraffic Chart

Cool, I was asking because Le Marin is a barnacle hot spot. Well, you'll find out. Nice place by the way...

[sailorboy1]

I think I have probably read 50 "best bottom paint" thread by now and still don't know which is best. Seems for the most part you can have a low growth paint OR a long lasting one.

[Nicholson58]

Le Marin, Martinique.

Three basic locations: Le Marin inner harbor and it’s several contiguous bays. CulDe Sac Marin located behind the Club Med peninsula. St Ann.

In the above order, most foul and fertile to least foul.

Go well provisioned and anchor instead in Grand Anse. Water there is crazy blue, clear, beautiful. Nice swimming and diving, turtles etc. nice hiking too. Anse de Arlette is also nice and you can dinghy or walk between.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I think I have probably read 50 "best bottom paint" thread by now and still don't know which is best. Seems for the most part you can have a low growth paint OR a long lasting one.

It’s gotta be right up there with “best anchor.”

Probably right about the trade off.

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

If you have slime you obviously failed to mix in the cayenne peppers!

And/or the Roundup!

[nelly]

Originally Posted by Chotu

It’s gotta be right up there with “best anchor.”

Probably right about the trade off.

You're not a member of CruisersForumGold+? On there we resolved these issues long ago, along with multi vs mono (you wouldn't like the outcome), the gun debate, and the best sundowner. We are still working on if it's ok to give your pets human names, and haven't decided entirely what political party we support, but I suspect these issues will be resolved soon.

[Joli]

Bottom paint choice depends on the use of the boat, how it's stored and where it'll be sailed. Bottom paint can be anything from hard and smooth with little or no anti fouling property to very soft ablatives with high copper content. We currently use ablative because we don't want paint build up but when we were racing we used very hard paints that could be polished. All paints need maintenance to keep them working, some more then others.

Best to ask the locals what they recommend.