Lets Talk About My Bottom

[Nereid]

Hey all,
Has anyone found a particular bottom paint that has worked well in high fouling areas?
I've got a much needed bottom job coming up soon and don't have a clue which works the best. (in the water year round)
Thanks!
-Isaac

[Dale Tanski]

Neriod,
I'm afraid that choosing a suitable bottom paint is not quite that simple.  Like anchors, sail makers, life jackets or even boat designers,  everyone if asked will have their own specific opinion.  Bottom paint is perhaps worse.  Everything you wanted to know about bottom paint is one of my best attended seminars during our off season loft talk series, perhaps because it is so necessary and so expensive. 

As a marine retailer we see and hear it all.  There are customers that only want a specific color, or shade of blue, or will only buy paint in a specific price point no matter what.  Typically when some one inquires about bottom paint my first question is what type of boat? In your case that question is obvious.  Power boats and sailboats have very different anti fouling performance requirements. The next question is what are you going to do with the boat, race or just day sail.  I ask them is they know what paint is currently on the boat, how that paint is holding up.  Then I want to know where the boat specifically located?  I want to know the specific marina and even where in that marina that boat spends its time. 

Water depth, water temperature, is the water moving or still, all of that matters.  The colder the water the less pron growth is. Shallow water that is warm in temperature, still and non moving is the toughest to protect in.  Basically it is a petri dish and everything likes to grown it.

Your best bet is to look at the boats surrounding you.  Ask your neighbors what they use and would they put that specific product on again.  Look at the bottoms that are hauled out before they are pressure washed. What do they look like and what are they using.  Many yards apply either what they are told to put on or what has the best margin.  Ask the yard staff.  See if they have a preference and why.  Your local marine retailer that has local knowledge is your best bet.  Yes they too would like to sell you the highest grossing product but hopefully they will lead you in the right direction.

Be careful of store branded products.  Who made it?  They certinally did not.  What's in it, they really don't know.  How many years and where has it been tested?  What is it really comparable to and how does it match up to from a value standpoint.  This goes for all store brand products.  Remember Sears has never made a lawn mower of a single tool or appliance. They buy someone elses product, mark it up and resell it to you. If they were proud of the manufacture, or they wanted you to intelligently compare their product with any one elses, they would advertise who really made it.

Bottom paint has several functions.  One is of course appearance.  This is much more a priority to power boaters than sailors.  Often when I ask "what is the condition of your current bottom paint?" I get "it looks fine."  Not a good answer, looks have nothing to do with how it performs.  Are there any anti biological agents left in the paint. Are the resins dead and it is starting to physically beak down?  Remember, you can put the best bottom paint over old dead paint perhaps 3 layers deep, and it will fall off as the old dead stuff flakes off because it has physically died. Not a prudent investment. 

The biological agents contained in your bottom paint leech out of the applied paint a little at a time. Once they are gone it is nothing but a coat of paint.  You are paying for several things.  One is the amount of anti slime, critter killing stuff (I like to say agent orange) it contains and how controlled it is dispersed.  The other is how it holds up physically.  In paints that are ablative, (wear away over time) the better the paint the quicker and more evenly it wears away.  Now all of this might seem a little counter intuitive but if an ablative paint takes ten years to wear off whats the point?  They best ablative paint and one of the most expensive I sell to my racing customers, is gone by the end of the racing season. The leading edge of the keel and the rudder are bald.  When this happens there is never a build up that has to be removed and a good bottom remains smooth and slippery.

One last thought...  What ever you apply, it is only for a season or two.  Learn form past applications. If the boat never moves a little hair under the keel is not a big deal.

Dale Tanski
Obersheimer Sailor Supply
Buffalo, NY
Maruska Hull 40 Ketch