FWIW, in salt and brackish water for our club boats on moorings, "antifouling" paint does not stop growth of the soft stuff that grows on hulls - slime, algae, fuzz, whatever the stuff is. I think Howard is right that mainly they are designed to reduce and/or slow down the attachment and growth of the more durable critters like barnacles and so on. A boat of ours with fresh bottom 'antifouling' paint still gets slimey stuff on it (perhaps more slowly, but it happens). That can get brushed and scrubbed off though, whereas barnacles etc. don't come off so easy. cheers, John S. On 04/13/2015 01:13 PM, Howard Audsley wrote:
David:
Unless someone went to an awful lot of trouble to remove it, your boat would have left the factory with a gelcoat finish on all exterior surfaces. That is OK below the waterline. Your bottom paint was most likely painted directly over the gelcoat. If the gelcoat was removed, about the only option for below waterline would be epoxy paints. Either an epoxy primer or if you have lots of money to burn, the Interlux bottom primary that has the microplates in it. That might be 2000E. Anti-fouling paint then goes on over that.
BTW, trailer sailed boats, and those that don't live in salt water don't need the anti-fouling paint. I left mine at a marina for about 3 months and it grew a pretty long "beard" of slimy algae growth even with anti-fouling paint on the bottom, and yes it was a kind with bio-cide billed as something that would keep the slime off. It didn't. Most true antifoulants are for salt water use to slow down barnacles. I've heard that in some areas, you can get those going in about a week without it.
What you may be able to do is scuff sand your bottom paint enough to get back to something solid and adhered and slap on another coat, without removing all that is there. Deep sanding, and some sandblasting options, run the risk of cutting through the gelcoat. You really do not want to do that unless you want to get into that really serious bottom job. Trust me, you don't.
On Apr 13, 2015, at 2:43 PM, David Grah via montgomery_boats wrote:
Thanks for the response. I saw that Brightside finish is not marketed for below the waterline but also wonder if boats that are used the way I use our boat requires below-the-water-line paint. For instance, I have the impression that the boat was made with the same finish above and below waterline but I could be wrong about that. I suppose I am mostly wondering if anyone has any experience putting that Brightside paint on the bottom of a boat that is used like ours.
Message: 10 Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2015 15:53:26 +0000 (UTC) From: swwheatley@comcast.net To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: M_Boats: Plan to Refinish Montgomery 15 Bottom Message-ID: <141169220.4321704.1428940406126.JavaMail.zimbra@comcast.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Interlux Brightside is not marketed as a below the waterline paint. If you're sure you do not want any antifouling protection, you might want to consider Interlux VC Epoxy instead.
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