Bottom Paint

[FlyrodC]

Morning, for the first time in my life I've got to spend more than a week at a time down here in Florida and for the second time this month I have gotten some tiny barnacles on my aluminum boat which have been a major PITA to scrub off. Never again says I.

* Who would you recommend I take the boat to to complete a bottom paint job?
* Is there a type of paint that anyone has had success with that allows for longer time periods between application? Soon I'll be down here every winter from December through April and figure I'll need to get it painted every 3 years. Does that sound accurate?

[Steve Stinson]

Where is the boat now? Mike's Marine Ways in St. Marks has done some good paint work and fuel tank replacements for some of the members of this forum. Shields Marina would be able to help you also.

If you are leaving an aluminum boat in the salt for any length of time, you need to check into having some sacrificial anodes installed to keep the hull corrosion down. The anodes for an aluminum hull are a different material from those installed on an outboard, so make sure you get the correct ones.

I am checking into this now for my SeaArk. A couple of other things I have discovered during this process - disconnecting your battery when not in use or installing a battery selector switch so you can turn your batteries off will help with corrosion issues. Also, you don't want an aluminum boat sitting on carpeted bunks or bare pressure treated bunks. Both of those promote corrosion where the bunks and the hull touch.

My SeaArk is not corroding, but my son just bought a used aluminum boat that has a lot of these issues. We are in the process of swapping the motor from that corroded hull to another one. This is what prompted all my research.

- Steve Stinson

[FlyrodC]

Steve, thanks for the response and the info on sacrificial anodes. I also have a Seaark. It's a 2012 and was a fresh water boat until I bought it 3 seasons ago. I live in Montana and typically come down here (wife's down here for the winter) twice a month so the boat was never in the water for long enough to corrode or get f'n barnacles. I'll check with Mike but also have a good friend who's a local old salt and he recommended a guy in Panacea that did his. I'll PM you what he quotes me.

[dropaline]

don't paint bottom unless you really need too

[STMU]

don't paint bottom unless you really need too

Agree. If you don't need it, don't do it.

If you do, it's a pretty big undertaking. I would really vet anyone who you're going to pay to have this done and not skimp on cost. You get what you pay for, and that is especially true with paint. Not that Mikes or Shield's doesn't do great work, I've had them work on some of my boats, but I can't speak to painting. Aluminum is definitely a different beast to paint. I've done a couple of aluminum boats, with my latest being an Alweld. I am a huge fan of the Interlux brand, it's expensive, but does a really great job. However, prep work is vital for aluminum. It really has to be spotless. If your boat isn't new, I'd recommend removing the old paint and bringing it back to bare metal. The slightest imperfection will cause it to chip and not stick. You'll also need to etch and/or sand/grind the surface before prime and paint. I do both just because I am OCD but my last two attempts came out really great. These would be good questions to ask anyone you're thinking of hiring.

I had a pretty small 16' boat that was really easy to disassemble and ended up blasting the whole thing. Saved me days worth of grinding and my lungs thanked me. Not sure your setup, but doing the whole thing for me really worked well. I put down some white nonskid interlux on top so the floor doesn't get hot and I can walk around barefoot with great traction. Added some kiwi grip upfront for my cast platform too for even more grip. Had the set up for about 5 years now with the first problem. Definitely worth it for me, but if your boat is bigger and hard to strip down it may not be worth it.

I have some pictures of the process and how it turned out, but I can't figure out how to send. If you're curious send me a PM and I'll email them.