Is your bottom wet?

[3f8]

What are some of the issues of wet slipping your alloy boat? Is bottom paint the way to go?

[Chaps]

yes, got to bottom paint and be properly zinced

[21ftcc]

do not use copper based bottom paint please.

[BroadCove]

I keep my boat moored from around May 15 to around October 15. I do not have bottom paint on it. If I pull it every six to eight weeks, I can get the bottom clean with a power washer in about 30 minutes (1.5 hours total for the season including the final cleaning). Last year I didn't pull it at all, and it took me about 3 hours to get it completely clean. I'd rather do that than bottom paint, but others obviously have the opposite opinion. I don't think there is a "right" answer here; it's a preference.

[Chaps]

Local conditions also have a lot to do with it.

[IronwoodIsland]

Hi

Saw your post about taking hours to remove barnacles and growth with a pressure washer - I've just been doing mine as the Trilux bottom paint is no longer doing any good at repelling freeloaders.

A minor discovery: scraping and then pressure washing is faster than pressure washing alone. Although I have a 2500psi pressures washer the big west coast barnacles and mussels really resist blasting (some of the barnacles under the mussels get bigger than an inch). What I found works really well, and does not scrape the antifouling or barrier coat underneath is to use the wooden edge of a flat scrub brush to mash all the barnacles and mussels etc with first. Then the pressure washing goes much faster.

If you are planning to take it all down to metal anyways the ideal scraper is one of those 4" wide long handled floor scrapers or a wall paper scraper with a 2 foot handle.

My dilema right now is whether to redo the entire barrier coat over the scraped off Trilux (about 50% gone) and the 20% gone old barrier boat (Interlux Primecoat) and put Trilux on (I've got it) or try and sell the Trilux and order in some copper free E-paint (as far as I know not sold here in Canada) and wait out the customs hassles with my boat on the dry. If there was a place around the water here that did soda blasting I'd be getting that done and be rid of the Trilux (special less reactive complexed copper paint for alloy boats) but simpler solutions are needed right now.

Interesting to see that the barrier coat is more intact back near the stern zinc and more pockmarked with little pits up under the bow farther away from the big old #4 Martyr zinc on the stern (30% gone). Here is a picture of the years growth - no wonder top speed was down to 12.6 kts!

[21ftcc]

I think that picture just shows you need to use your boat more.!?!?!?

[Chaps]

I think that picture just shows you need to use your boat more.!?!?!?

That and how ineffective Trilux 33 is . . .

[JETTYWOLF]

No one's mentioned BIRD CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!

It's worse than a slimey bottom here in J-ville Fla.

I good trailer makes life so damn EZ!

[BroadCove]

Local conditions definitely make a difference! If I had to deal with anything like what is on the bottom of the boat in the picture, I'd get tired of power washing really quickly. Fortunately, in my area of New England at least, I don't get anything like that in terms of growth. And I do use the boat frequently during the season, which helps keeps the bottom clean.

[Flatdog]

Hi guys thought you might be interested in this product it is now available in the US, before you all sound off about copper, and Ali mix read the site they have it down pat, with different polymer mixes for all the different substrate materials used in hull manufacturing It is not the cheapest but it has to be better in the long run than that trilux stuff.
Another plus is you can haul your boat and it will not effect it at all, and the faster you go the cleaner the bottom ,oh well just some info. http://www.coppercoat.com/

[21ftcc]

Like any copper based product still needs an epoxy barrier layer.

Aluminium: Aluminium must be first coated with an appropriate two-pack epoxy primer prior to an application of
Coppercoat. As is common with all epoxy coatings, it is important that the substrate to be coated is well prepared.
All surfaces must be must be cleaned of all 6contaminates, including dirt, dust, grease, rust or loose paint. The best
way to achieve this is a light abrasive blast or abrade with 120 grade abrasive paper. We would recommend
applying approximately 500 micron of our 100% solids, solvent-free epoxy, Hycote 152. This is normally achieved
with 4 coats when applied by roller. The application of Coppercoat can then either be applied to the Hycote 152 the
following day, whilst the surface is still “tacky” or once the Hycote 152 has fully cured and been abraded lightly. If
the vessel has been recently coated with a high quality two-pack epoxy then Coppercoat can be applied directly to
this substrate, once it has been fully cleaned and abraded using 180 grade abrasive paper. Remove the resulting dust
before proceeding with the Coppercoat application – either using a soft brush or cloth. The hull can be washed with
fresh water but ensure this is allowed to dry before proceeding. Under no circumstances clean the hull with any
solvents or oil-based products (such as Acetone).

[JETTYWOLF]

In that photo it looks like you could start your own Shellfish company. Or Chum distributorship.

I'd have to beat myself with a ball bat if my hull, looked like that. I'm sorry..... :shock:

And how much is a liter/litre of fuel where you are?

3f8, are you scared straight yet????