Epoxy undercoat 4 coats

S

squidslayer

New member
My new C-Dory Tomcat is due to Arrive At the OBMS within the week.
Since it will be always in the water at the Berkeley Marina or the Pacific...I am having 4 Coats of Epoxy painted on BEFORE the bottom paint. I was concerned about blistering or water osmossis........OVERKILL? or NOT???? Thoughts?

Dick
Orinda.Ca
 
Dick-

I had the bottom of my '87 Cruiser done back in about 2001.

One yard, in Rio Vista behind The Point Restraunt and the Delta Marina, wanted to do 3 epoxy coats before the bottom paint for about $2000.

A second yard, down below the Antioch Bridge on the Antioch side, was willing to do it with one epoxy coat before the bottom paint for $1200.

Knowing that C-Dorys rarely have any problem with blistering, I went with the second choice.

The boat has been in the water almost continuously since 2001, first in brackish water and then in fresh, and shows absolutely no sign of blistering.

I guess the single coat is enough unless you have one of the boats with the mysterious porous green accent stripes.

Good Luck!

Joe.
 
I went through the same decision process, and decided to get four coats of epoxy prior to putting on bottom paint. My decision was influenced by the following:

1. The Tomcat hull uses vinlyester resin, which is supposed to be relatively osmosis resistant. Even so, osmotic blisters are not completely prevented.

2. I discussed the matter with Jeff Meismer at C-Dory. Here is an excerpt from his response:

"We do recommend a barrier coat, before bottom painting. We do not provide any warranty against blistering, however with the vinylester the instances of blistering are very few and far between. Sanding the gelcoat does not effect the warranty."

3. I talked extensively with Bob "Thataway" Austin. He is very knowledgeable about hull materials and blistering, and he strongly recommended that I put the epoxy coat on.

4. Finally, for a boat that has been kept in the water full time, having an epoxy coat will likely improve the re-sale value.

Hope this helps. We have had a blast with our Tomcat, and you will too!
 
Next week I'm having two epoxy barrier coats put on before the bottom paint, at LaConner Maritime. I discussed the issue of how many coats of barrier to put on with owner Ed Oczkewicz, and he said that the number of barrier coats depends also on how thick each manufacturer's barrier paint is. Two is the appropriate number for the epoxy he is going to use.

Warren
 
Question from the new guy. If you will not be storing your boat in the water, is bottom paint (with or without barrier paint) necessary? If you are storing on the trailer and boating mostly in fresh water, is bottom paint necessary? When is bottom paint recommended? Thanks.

Rob
 
Bottom paint is applied to prevent the growth of marine life on your hull in salt water. So, no, and no.

I'm not aware of any need to apply bottom paint other than when the boat is kept in salt water.

Warren
 
As Warren said above, bottom paint and epoxy are only for boats that are kept in the water. Bottom paint prevents marine growth and epoxy (hopefully) prevents entry of water into the fiberglass of the hull by osmosis. Water pockets in the hull ultimately form collections called "blisters" which, if large, affect the integrity of the hull.

In our area (Texas Gulf coast), marine growth can be seen after the boat has been continuously in the water for as little as 3 days. I assume that the grace period is longer in cold water. I do not know how marine growth affects a boat in fresh water. Regardless, a boat that is going to be in the water for a day or less, and then will be back up on the trailer, does not need bottom paint.

Blistering requires the boat to be in the water continuously for months or years. It is absolutely not an issue for a boat that is kept on a trailer.

So- you should have no need for either bottom paint or epoxy.
 
Boats kept in fresh water definitely need bottom paint, as well. It adds protection from marine growth and its subsequent lack of performance and, with a good barrier coat, protects against blistering.

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Another thing to consider when bottom painting is the fact that most of us are going to haul our boats around... you want to use a bottom paint that will stay effective after being pulled out and kept on a trailer. We have used Interlux Micron CSC Extra on our boats (salt water and fresh) with good results.

I thought we could get away with no bottom paint on Wild Blue since it is so easy to pull her up on the trailer. Within ten days, we were getting critters and slime in our warm salt water (nothing in the cold water of the PNW, btw). Bi-weekly scrubbings got old quick. We used one epoxy barrier coat, one primer, a contrast color of bottom paint, then two coats of black bottom paint (so we can see when we need to touch up). I have been able to get 2 - 3 years out of the bottom paint (with small touchups from trailering/beaching) before it needed another whole coat. Be sure to ask around locally, because conditions vary (perhaps making a different paint a better choice for your area). HTH

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
definately go for the 4 coats of Epoxy. If I was leaving a boat in fresh water I would also put on bottom paint--one which was proven for that specific area. As James says, Micron is an excellent antifouling paint. However find which paint is giving the best results in your area.
 
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