what do you recomend....?

[grady 306 bimini]

hello all
since i am in the process of outfitting my 306 now i am wondering what type of bottom paint should i use? the boat is going to be stored in cape cod from may till october in water. so what paint do you guys use? how often do you have to repaint your bottom?
thank you
tim

 

[ahill]

Bottom paint is regionally specific.
What works in S. Fla may not work as well in N Fla.
New England and freshwater lakes/rivers are altogrther different.
Ask locals for a recommendation.

 

[grady 306 bimini]

Thank you for your input
However I'm not sure what to choose brand wise. And there is so many different variations of paint like self polishing. This weekend I'm going to check with some fishing buddies to see what has worked best for them
Btw what brands do you recommend
Thanks again
Tim

 

[seasick]

I use Micron CSC ablative paint, multi season. I get two seasons easily and probably could get three but I don't want to get greedy.
Each season, some cleaning and spot painting on worn spots. There were no barnacles at all after season two and just some scum buildup at the waterline. I lightly sand the scum lines before touchup.
Go easy on the power washing since you can wash the coating off if you use two much pressure.

If you let your boat sit for longer periods, there is a relatively new paint that is activated by saltwater even when standing still. It is Interlux 66. From what I have read it sounds interesting. It is also a multi season ablative treatment and as expected, is fairly expensive.
A lot of boaters whose boats sit use hard coats but with these new ablatives, that might change
With all Micron ablatives, two or three coats are recommended. I do two with a third on the high wear areas.
I don't know which is worse, painting a hull or painting an iron railing.

 

[journeyman]

As recommendeby my dealer. It worked great as there was very little on my hull after 6 months on my slip.

For the trim tabs

My firist coat of bottom paint was dealer applied and it was a hard coat. I don't know what it was. I learned yesterday from an earlier post that recoating trhis product will be much less work than I thought. Thanks again guys

 

[striped bass]

Grady 306:
We live in a hostile weather environment here in New England. Use the best bottom paint you can afford. Journeyman and Seasick have recommended two good options. This in one area not to cut corners. I use Interlux and have been very happy.

 

[reelserious]

What Journeyman said...... I usually get 2 seasons from a good coat using the Interlux ablative.

 

[Frank]

I use Petit Unepoxy, which is what my dealer recommends for our area. I suggest you ask your nearby Grady what they recommend. They may want to see what you have on the boat right now before making a recommendation.

 

[uncljohn]

I used Petit Ultima SR. Boat was in the water 2 years, hauled this past winter, washed off and looked pretty good. Only a small amount of spot sanding before applying a new coat.

 

[grady 306 bimini]

As recommendeby my dealer. It worked great as there was very little on my hull after 6 months on my slip.

For the trim tabs

My firist coat of bottom paint was dealer applied and it was a hard coat. I don't know what it was. I learned yesterday from an earlier post that recoating trhis product will be much less work than I thought. Thanks again guys

i think i am going to go with the interlux bottom paint but before i do i will check with my dealer to see what they recomend..........ill post pics when the paint job is done...boat arrives on friday!!!!

 

[journeyman]

tim,
I'm not sure if your boat is new or used and/or never been painted but ask about how they determine the waterline if they are going to paint the hull. It makes a big difference on what motor configuration you have. My dealer put the first coat of paint on my hull and the waterline was a little low on the bow. It may be that I have a single 250 versus twin 150's which are more than 300 pounds heavier. The next time I had the boat out of the water they were great about it and adjusted the line and now I'm good. Better to low at first I guess. If the line is painted to high, you'll never be happy. Some people will let thier boat develope a scum line before they paint to ensure a good line. Load your boat with all your gear and full tanks. Now, when I approach my boat on the dock, I can tell right away if I'm light on fuel or heavy on bilge water.