Bottom paint waterline - Sailfish 27 ft

[onoahimahi]

Hi - my new-to-me boat just started it journey yesterday from its lift-kept home towards its new slip-kept home and will be needing its first coat of bottom paint. My question is literally where to "draw the line". This photo was taken yesterday after it was hauled and there is no visible scum line to use as a guide. Will the waterline be just below the stern scuppers and the plastic through hull in front of the trailer wheels? I believe the Etecs are about the same weight as 225 Yamahas.

(Separate question - does anyone know what the short fat antenna is in the middle between the two VHF antennas?)

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[magicalbill]

I'm not sure how you ascertain where you would mark the hull for the paint procedure without acquiring a scum line for reference. That was how my bottom paint line was determined and everyone else's that I have heard of.

I wouldn't guess if it was mine. I suggest you leave the boat in the closest slip or marina at your disposal and sooner or later a scum line will develop. When we did mine, I had the paint crew stop the bottom paint an inch above the scumline.

 

[onoahimahi]

I don't have a trailer so once it goes in it will hopefully stay in for the season. If I could find a photo like the one I posted but with bottom paint I could probably match it, perhaps adding a bit more paint for a margin. I think the scuppers and through-hull will be good reference points and that if I have two points, I should be able to transfer the line around the boat. For example, if someone with the same boat (1994-1997) said "my paint line goes through the middle of the rear scuppers and the 1/2" below the front through-hull, that would be all I needed. I plan to do the painting myself.

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[ahill]

With the boat afloat, bring along side dock, get out and mark pencil lines about 1" above waterline in numerous places on both sides, stem and transom. Make enough so you can easilly connect with blue tape after haulout.
Full fuel & water tanks and normal at dock load before you strike the lines.
You can also connect with a chalk line before taping.

 

[onoahimahi]

I have to do the painting before it goes in the water to avoid extra haul and launch fees, inconvenience, etc. There are enough Sailfish around that I am thinking I should be able to use someone else's as a guide. All I need is two reference points and I can translate the line around the boat. I think a photo with the 1994-1997 Sailfish with 225 Yamahas that showed the relationship between the waterline and the rear scuppers and the forward through-hull would do it. The hardest part will be transferring the line from the side to the forward keel. I have a 50-foot water level that will work if my 4-foot isn't cutting it. I also have an inexpensive laser level but I have never used it. Another factor is that the boat won't necessarily be sitting level on the ground so I will have to determine the slope (as it sits on the ground) from the two reference points and factor that out when using a level. This is where that high-school trigonotry pays off: y=mx+b :hmm

 

[ahill]

Ask the yard to strike the line before lifting. Takes a few minutes and they may do it even though they aren't doing the BJ.
If they balk, ask how much. Better to do that than guess.

 

[onoahimahi]

My boat was loaded onto the trailer at a ramp in NC and will be offloaded onto jackstands in my driveway tomorrow. If I was thinking ahead, I would have asked the broker to mark the waterline before he drove it onto the transporters trailer. :bang

I found this photo on-line of another Sailfish which shows the same view as the photo I posted of my boat without the paint. The owner of this boat appears to have removed the standard decal added a custom decal just above the water line. There was also a photo of the boat at a mooring which showed that this bottom-paint line was straight-and-level and possibly an inch or so above the actual waterline. I can take the two reference points I need from this photo. I.e, one point about 4/5s of the way up on the scuppers, and the second just kissing the bottom of the through-hull ahead of the trailer wheels. I'll give it a shot and post the results in a few months. I'll err on the side of being a bit too high and can always go back and added more paint to level things off next year if I am off a little.

(Photo deleted because the board attachment quota has been reached.)

 

[ahill]

You should be fine with the line in the pic.
Be sure you carry it to the stem & around the transom.
A regular level helps at the transom.

 

[JB]

Welcome & congratulations on your 272!
I have bottom painted my 95 272 for the last 6 seasons and would be happy to send you some pics when I go visit her in another week or two to show you her lines, I had the marina paint her bottom @ purchase and she was painted before so I have just followed their lines...my only suggestion is to start off low as you can always move up but is much more difficult to move down....
I'm not a big picture/computer guy so I would prefer to text or email you the pics directly if that is ok?

 

[onoahimahi]

JB - Okay - that would be great. I'll PM you with my email address - no hurry as I have lots of other tasks before I get to bottom paint. The boat is in my driveway now and there is a faint scum line visible on the transom so I have one reference point at least. My line seems 2-3 inches lower then the photo I posted.

I see you are in Westport - that is one of our favorite places on the planet...! We used to rent a cottage on Drift Road with a dock on the East Branch. I hope to do that again with this boat except I'll have to come though the Cape Cod Canal since I am not planning to trailer it.

Thanks,
-Scott