Bottom paint for frequent cleaning?

[rwthomas1]

Hello All,
This past season was a terrible year for marine growth here in RI. Many boaters I know had heavy growth problems regardless of type of paint, etc. My boat was on its second year in the water so the paint was getting long in the tooth, even though it was multi-season rated. I had to have a diver clean it twice, no hard growth, just lots of soft and slime. The ablative I used was not "ablating" except when the diver scrubbed it.

I am considering moving to a hard paint and just paying the diver to scrub her monthly. One of my main issues was the running gear getting completely fouled in less than 6 weeks. If I get on a schedule with the diver its cheaper. If thats what I have to do to keep her clean, then fine, but what paint will stand up to frequent scrubbing and also last for two seasons?

RT

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Rob~ Any of your Modified Epoxies will be plenty hard enough to scrub and still do the job. i.e Pettit Trinidad SR, WM Bottomschield, Interlux Ultra. If "your problem" was "my problem" I would use TrinidadSR.

 

[Loren Beach]

Trinidad SR

I have been using Trinidad SR for a decade or more. We go 2.5 to 3 years between repaints and I have a diver scrub the bottom twice a season also.

One caveat: the "SR" will let soft slime adhere loosely to the bottom as it ages, but it wipes off easily.

Loren

 

[mherrcat]

Just put Trinidad SR on my boat at the recommendation of my diver. So far so good. Used the red color and with the white hull and blue boot/cove stripes it looks very classically nautical.

 

[Guy Stevens]

Another Vote for Trinidad SR

Not as good as the OLD paints, but nothing really is. Trinidad is the best of them though, I have tried the rest but only uses Petit Trindad cause it works, is long lasting...

Guy

 

[jgarmin098]

In Greenwich Cove the growth was also very bad. I use one coat of Micron CSC and have it scrubbed every three weeks. It barely lasts the season but that also makes spring prep a bit easier.

I did hear that Vivid was holding up to the diver's scrubbing better than Micron.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

A vote for Petit Vivid

I have used Petit Vivid in white for the past 4 years. I have a diver 4-6 times a season and have never had any hard growth only slime. I think the white looks great and it my diver loves it as he can really see whats clean and whats not. One important part about changing bottom paints is to remove absolutely all of the old paint. Some brands will tell you they can go on over certain types of existing paint but I have never seen a good result myself. I recoat the bottom annually in the spring. Between the divers scrubbing and the powerwash on the way out the sanding is very light. I use a 6" dustless DA with 150 grit, takes a few hours but is not a back breaker. This is Chesapeake Bay however we did a 2 week cruise to New England this year. What you want to avoid IMHO is using an ablative in this fashion. I am also not a fan of the really hard paints like VC offshore or Baltalplate as when you do have to redo they are a PITA to sand. Semi-hard seems to be the best of both worlds for cruising boat anyway.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

A vote for Petit Vivid

I have used Petit Vivid in white for the past 4 years. I have a diver 4-6 times a season and have never had any hard growth only slime. I think the white looks great and it my diver loves it as he can really see whats clean and whats not. One important part about changing bottom paints is to remove absolutely all of the old paint. Some brands will tell you they can go on over certain types of existing paint but I have never seen a good result myself. I recoat the bottom annually in the spring. Between the divers scrubbing and the powerwash on the way out the sanding is very light. I use a 6" dustless DA with 150 grit, takes a few hours but is not a back breaker. This is Chesapeake Bay however we did a 2 week cruise to New England this year. What you want to avoid IMHO is using an ablative in this fashion. I am also not a fan of the really hard paints like VC offshore or Baltalplate as when you do have to redo they are a PITA to sand. Semi-hard seems to be the best of both worlds for cruising boat anyway.

BTW: Escape Plan is for Sale and will come with all the shiny stuff in this photo!

 

[rwthomas1]

For the record I used Interlux Micron Extra. Supposed to be good in NE water. I never noticed it "ablate" from boat use, and the boat was used several times a week, only when the diver or I scrubbed at it. I'm hoping the powerwashing will remove most/all of the rest of it so that I can go to Petit Trinidad. Thanks for the input! RT