Barrier Coats are of some value on boats that have had a history of developing blisters on the hull bottom. These coatings are not the perfect solution to this problem because of two issues -
First - to be truly effective, the hull must be close to perfectly dry prior to application and this can only properly be checked with a fairly sophisticated instrument - called a moisture meter. Its not something that the average boater owns or has even ever seen, for that matter. Its a tool that a marine surveyor commonly employs to check hull soundness.
If the hull moisture content is too high, the barrier coating will not be effective - the blisters will reappear.
Second - the other issue is that even the guys that have done the barrier coat job the "Proper" by-the-book way frequently have blisters reappear. Why? Because the hull bottom isn't the only place that water can get into the hull. It can also enter via the bilge. In other words From the inside of the boat.
Many go thru this expensive, messy and time-consuming process only to find that the hull is just as badly blistered on the next haul-out because of a basic lack of knoweldge. How discouraging do you think that sight would be?
Not really their fault either - Interlux and Pettitt spend mucho bucks advertising these products to death and if you walk into any boat chandlery and ask about blisters to the average $9/hour high-school kids that seem to gravitate to employment in those places you will get the automatic stock answer - "Barrier coat the hull." Well, thats part of the answer, but not the entire solution.
If your friend's Grady has no blisters or only a very few blisters now and its a fairly "Seasoned" hull - say more than 5 seasons old, its unlikely that it will ever develop this problem. So here's what I would do - its what I did on my own rig after laboriously spending a very cold and miserable winter laying flat on my back under it stripping all 26 feet of bottom paint with an automotive windshield-sticker razor blade:
First - run a vibrating palm sander with 100-grit production paper mounted on it over the entire hull. This will give the hull some "Tooth" for the primer to grab.
Second - wipe the entire underside down with Interlux wax remover - work from bow to stern in long sweeps and bring along a good supply of rags - you want to push any of the old original mold-release wax residue to the rear and ultimately off the hull. Do not wipe in circular or back-and-forth motions - this will just smear it around.
Third - tell him to buy this stuff (Click here):
Interlux Interprotect Epoxy Filler
Or alternately even a pint of Marinetex and fill those deep nicks and/or gouges with either of those.
Let it chemically set (Overnight would be best) and then fair the filled areas flat with that same vibrating sander with 80 or 100 grit.
Fourth - now give the entire bottom a coat of this stuff:
Interlux No-Sand Primer
Fifth - follow the directions carefully, but generally when it gets really tacky you roll on your Bottom Paint right over it and it all tightens up to a real nice professional-looking job. (Usually at least two coats of bottom paint the first time around)
Here's the paint that I use on my boat:
Interlux Bottomcote ACT
I have found this stuff to be as effective as the much more expensive Micron ablative products at roughly half the price. I watch the Spring-time chandlery circulars like a hawk and when I see a good price I go get the stuff. Last month I paid $84/gallon at Fred Chall in Freeport - which is a pretty good price, based on what I've seen.
I paint and drop my boat in around April 1 every season and it doesn't come out till Jan 15, at least. Never ever do I find a barnacle on the hull, and I use the stuff right over all my inboard running gear as well.
I've used it now for 7 seasons - pretty much since its introduction to the market I believe - and the total paint build-up on the hull is less than 3/32 of an inch. Not quite paper thin, but WAY less than the 1/4" or more that an old-technology solid non-ablative would have left on there.
Oh and another nice thing about ablative paints - if the coating is getting a little thick after a period of years - a good washing with a high-powered pressure washer will knock the stuff right pack to the primer.
No more scraping, ever.
What an improvement.
So anyway, that's what I would advise your friend.
If he were my friend, that is.
rgds, Leprechaun
(This post edited by Leprechaun on 04/13/2003)
First - to be truly effective, the hull must be close to perfectly dry prior to application and this can only properly be checked with a fairly sophisticated instrument - called a moisture meter. Its not something that the average boater owns or has even ever seen, for that matter. Its a tool that a marine surveyor commonly employs to check hull soundness.
If the hull moisture content is too high, the barrier coating will not be effective - the blisters will reappear.
Second - the other issue is that even the guys that have done the barrier coat job the "Proper" by-the-book way frequently have blisters reappear. Why? Because the hull bottom isn't the only place that water can get into the hull. It can also enter via the bilge. In other words From the inside of the boat.
Many go thru this expensive, messy and time-consuming process only to find that the hull is just as badly blistered on the next haul-out because of a basic lack of knoweldge. How discouraging do you think that sight would be?
Not really their fault either - Interlux and Pettitt spend mucho bucks advertising these products to death and if you walk into any boat chandlery and ask about blisters to the average $9/hour high-school kids that seem to gravitate to employment in those places you will get the automatic stock answer - "Barrier coat the hull." Well, thats part of the answer, but not the entire solution.
If your friend's Grady has no blisters or only a very few blisters now and its a fairly "Seasoned" hull - say more than 5 seasons old, its unlikely that it will ever develop this problem. So here's what I would do - its what I did on my own rig after laboriously spending a very cold and miserable winter laying flat on my back under it stripping all 26 feet of bottom paint with an automotive windshield-sticker razor blade:
First - run a vibrating palm sander with 100-grit production paper mounted on it over the entire hull. This will give the hull some "Tooth" for the primer to grab.
Second - wipe the entire underside down with Interlux wax remover - work from bow to stern in long sweeps and bring along a good supply of rags - you want to push any of the old original mold-release wax residue to the rear and ultimately off the hull. Do not wipe in circular or back-and-forth motions - this will just smear it around.
Third - tell him to buy this stuff (Click here):
Interlux Interprotect Epoxy Filler
Or alternately even a pint of Marinetex and fill those deep nicks and/or gouges with either of those.
Let it chemically set (Overnight would be best) and then fair the filled areas flat with that same vibrating sander with 80 or 100 grit.
Fourth - now give the entire bottom a coat of this stuff:
Interlux No-Sand Primer
Fifth - follow the directions carefully, but generally when it gets really tacky you roll on your Bottom Paint right over it and it all tightens up to a real nice professional-looking job. (Usually at least two coats of bottom paint the first time around)
Here's the paint that I use on my boat:
Interlux Bottomcote ACT
I have found this stuff to be as effective as the much more expensive Micron ablative products at roughly half the price. I watch the Spring-time chandlery circulars like a hawk and when I see a good price I go get the stuff. Last month I paid $84/gallon at Fred Chall in Freeport - which is a pretty good price, based on what I've seen.
I paint and drop my boat in around April 1 every season and it doesn't come out till Jan 15, at least. Never ever do I find a barnacle on the hull, and I use the stuff right over all my inboard running gear as well.
I've used it now for 7 seasons - pretty much since its introduction to the market I believe - and the total paint build-up on the hull is less than 3/32 of an inch. Not quite paper thin, but WAY less than the 1/4" or more that an old-technology solid non-ablative would have left on there.
Oh and another nice thing about ablative paints - if the coating is getting a little thick after a period of years - a good washing with a high-powered pressure washer will knock the stuff right pack to the primer.
No more scraping, ever.
What an improvement.
So anyway, that's what I would advise your friend.
If he were my friend, that is.
rgds, Leprechaun
(This post edited by Leprechaun on 04/13/2003)
