Idea for bottom paint blocks while on trailer

M

matt_unique

New member
The other day I noticed a little bit of fiberglass missing from my port sponson, right at the water line. I don't see any coring and I obviously don't have a hole in the hull. I don't remember an impact but it must have been caused by a small piece of wood or something.

This got me to thinking about fixing that section and also for bottom painting. All I need is a little room to get a tiny roller and brush under the bottom of the sponsons while on the trailer to do my own bottom painting. I prefer to do my own bottom painting if possible because I know it's done right. Halfway through the project I wish I was paying someone else to do it but that's another topic (he he).

What about attaching four pieces of 2 X 4 toward the corners of the trailer where the sponsons will sit? I can fasten them down on the trailer and retrieve the boat as I normally would. I would only need those 2 inches to get under with paint or fiberglass resin.

Thoughts? To be clear, the boat would be sitting on four small pieces of 2 X 4, these pieces of 2 X 4 would be sitting on the trailer to provide a 2" lift. Would the 4" provide enough load distribution so as to avoid damaging the hull?
 
Matt:

I am also thinking about re-painting the bottom (with all necessary personal and environmental precautions!).

If I understand you correctly, you plan to fasten 2 X 4s onto the trailer, then drive the boat up on to the boards.

I am concerned that the weight of the boat being driven up the ramp on to the 2 X 4s- and supported only by the 2 X 4s- will scrape and damage the sponsons.

Also, working under the boat while it is on the trailer is very uncomfortable and it is difficult to get access to the after part of the hull for painting. I have a Float-On trailer- yours might be different.

I am thinking about taking the boat to yard that has a lift and allows owners to work on their own boats. I will have the yard lift the boat and properly place it on blocks, after which I will do the painting.
 
Yeah that was my thought...I could cover the wood with a carpet to prevent scratches. To access the inside portion of the sponsons I need to loosen the bolts to the inside guides.

Surely it would be better to have the boat up on blocks at a yard where they let you work on the boat. In my case it's a $300 lift charge so it got me thinking about other options.
 
Yes,

- $10/foot for lifting, blocking and re-launching ($260-300, depending on how they measure the boat)
- 2 gallons of paint ($400)
- Special Cleaner; brushes, sandpaper, gloves, mask, etc

...looks like $800.

By the way, even with the inside guides removed, crawling over the cross-bars with a can of paint is not going to be fun. I've been there.

But- like you- my experience with yard jobs has not been satisfactory, so it looks like it's going to be me doing the next re-paint.

I have not done the whole boat before, but I have done parts of the sponsons. Once the surface is prepared it takes 1 hour per side per sponson using a brush. Add the underside of the hull and the Armstrong bracket, and it will be four to six hours per coat. A roller will be faster, but it does not leave a smooth surface.

As expected, the ablative paint wears quickly at 30 mph. This is specially true for the aft outer surface of the sponsons and the Armstrong bracket. A touch-up every 100 hours (or less) is usually needed.

Next time, I am going to do a blue first coat followed by two black coats so I know exactly where to touch up.

I will probably be painting later in the year. If you happen to do the painting in the next two or three months, please put your experience on the site- type and amount of paint, time taken, hints, etc. I can use the help!

Alok
 
Hi Alok,
Yeah my $300 figure was just the lift charge at the nearest marina that will allow me to do my own work. I've had good experience with Pettit Unepoxy (hard paint) over the ablative type. I can usually get two full seasons out of the Pettit Unepoxy.

I always use a small (4") roller with a small tray. It's much easier to work with, 4 times as fast as a brush, and you can easily (and cheaply) replace the rollers. You do need at least one brush to go over the tight corners of course.
 
Hi Folks,

I have been painting the bottom of my 1983 Angler since I bought it about 2000.

Here is how I do it.

With a small hydraulic jack, I level the trailer on blocks of wood.

I then jack up one side of the boat and put 2 by 4's between the bottom and the bunkboard. I then let it down, crawl under, scrape, sand and paint using both a roller and a brush. I let it dry. I then jack it up, and move the blocks and do the area where the blocks were.

Repeat on other side, and finally, any areas you may have missed.

I wear old clothes, a mask, and plastic gloves, and take a few days to do the job.

It is easy to do, and very good exercise crawling around under the boat.

I use any bottom paint I can buy at a deal. The color is black, and I do a complete job every other year.

To keep the bottom clean during the boating season, I pull her close to the beach on an incoming tide, go under with a brush and clean the bottom and waterline.

To tell you the truth, after I do the paint job I swear I will never do it again. But I am to cheap to hire somebody else to do it.

Fred
 
I forgot something. If your bunkboards are carpet, put wax paper between the bunkboards and bottom when you finish. If you don't you will not be able to get the boat off the trailer. When you launch the boat, the trailer will stick to the boat. EXPERIENCE.

Fred
 
Fred: Thanks for the tips. Question: What kind of jack would I use for a 8000 lb boat? Do I need to steal one from a Hummer?:D

Matt: I would certainly prefer a hard non-ablative paint, but what I could tell from the Petit website, the Unepoxy is not designed for trailerable boats. Am I wrong?

I sometimes leave the boat out of the water for 2 weeks for maintenance etc.- will the Unepoxy become deactivated? The only trailerable paint that Petit seems to make is the Vivid, and that is described as a "hard ablative".

Alok
 
I've painted my CD-22 on the trailer a time or two. Not easy, but doable, back then. Not sure if I'd try it with my present health conditions (new hip, back stenosis with pinched nerves.) The paint I bought on sale from W/M doesn't seem to need replacing in fresh water and only in the water from October till May. They've discontinued making it, though.

My Sea Ray 265 has black Petitt Trinidad paint on it. The yard that applied it said that they consider it a "lifetime" paint job in fresh water. I only touch it up on the sides and bow when I have the boat out of the water once a year, the bottom is many years old, but I don't know how many or even which previous owner had it applied. No growth there!

Fresh water has it's advantages. Not only does the bottom paint last longer, but you can stand on the swim step* and take a shower with 80 degree lake water and cool off before going to bed. (With a swim suit, of course, unless you want to freak all the folks out on the I-5 bridge over Shasta Lake!

Sorry to have painted that mental picture. My apologies.

Joe. :teeth :thup

* A full boat width 9 foot swim step is a real advantage on an inboard boat with twin outdrives.
 
Hi Folks,

I use a bottle jack. It's about 8" tall and rises to about 14+". I always put a block of wood under it, and never leave the boat on the jack. I block the boat trailer up on blocks of wood and let the trailer down on the blocks. The blocks of wood are left over treated 4 by 4's and 2 by 4's. I also have some pieces of plank which I use to fill in height. The blocks do not rot and stay strong.

When I jack up the boat I always have wood between the the jack head and the boat bottom.

Fred
 
I too have just jacked the boat up on the trailer to change the bunks. Just blocked one side up and then the other. Seems to work just fine.
 
When I painted by C-Dory, I reverse rigged the bow winch to pull the bow back towards the axle on the roller trailer about a foot or so, painted the bottom except where the rollers were, then used the winch normally to pull it forward and paint where the rollers had been. No need to jack the boat up or down!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Alok":17ebwfm9 said:
Fred: Thanks for the tips. Question: What kind of jack would I use for a 8000 lb boat? Do I need to steal one from a Hummer?:D

Matt: I would certainly prefer a hard non-ablative paint, but what I could tell from the Petit website, the Unepoxy is not designed for trailerable boats. Am I wrong?

I sometimes leave the boat out of the water for 2 weeks for maintenance etc.- will the Unepoxy become deactivated? The only trailerable paint that Petit seems to make is the Vivid, and that is described as a "hard ablative".

Alok
Click to expand...

I have used the Unepoxy for the last 7 years. I have consistently been able to get two seasons from one paint job. One year I tried to get 3 seasons but I ended up with sweaters on the boat.

It does not loose it potency when out of the water.

Painting the bottom is not at all fun, but you know it's done right and you save a ton.
 
I'm pulling the boat Sunday and I'm thinking about how I can get access to the very bottom.

My trailer bunks consist of four 2X6's forming a slight V under each sponson. (2 - 2X6's on the port side of the trailer, 2 - 2X6's on the starboard side).

My thinking was to somehow mount the same size wood right on top of the existing bunks but in say 8" sections. The wood would be covered with indoor outdoor carpet to prevent scratching.

Since my existing bunks form a slight V around the bottoms of both sponsons I could either lay the wood flat and parallel against the bunks or perpendicular right across the top. Going across the top would give a few more inches of clearance but place more force on the wood compared to just compression force if I laid the wood flat against the existing bunks. Have I described this in a way that makes sense? Mine is a Fast Load aluminum trailer.

I'm thinking about the best way to mount the wood blocks to the trailer. I suppose I could counter sink a bolt in the block then drill a hole through the bunk to hold it in place. I would rather not drill if there is another option....Ideas? Thoughts? With our cat trailers it's very difficult/impossible to jack up the front off the trailer. I have a gap in my bunks toward the stern that would allow a jack but not the bow area.

Thanks
 
Matt - I found that if I left my bow secured, then jacked-up the stern (using wooden blocks on my jack), I could then place wooden blocks (2X4s)on my bunks at the rear, and the entire boat would be lifted sufficiently to give me access along the underside above the bunks.

I've done this 3 or 4 times with no problem.
 
I have been painting boats on trailers for over 50 years. There are several ways, including pulling the trailer out from the boat, after blocking the transom, then working the trailer foreward as you block alternately between rollers etc. I use at least 4 x 4" timbers--never 2 x 4"--not enough beef and not enough clearance.

I just painted the 18 foot Century which I use for bay fishing on the lift. We 4 x 4 blocks tied to the cross beams of the lift (carpet on the blocks) and pulled the boat up. Flipped it to one side and then the other (deep V) for the sides. Then put back in the water and moved on the lift for the final touch up.

Another option is to put styrofoam blocks between the hull and wood (again with carpet)--the styrofoam will conform to the hull contour and distribute the weight more evenly.

I always double block or have safety lines to remove any risk of the boat falling. If on the trailer, at least 3 blocks under the keel, and at least two jack stands, plus the transom blocking. I have raised and moved some pretty big boats using hyraulic bottle jacks. For the Tom Cat I would use 12,000 lb capacity jacks--they are not expensive. I stack the 4 x 4 (I also have some 12 x 12 timbers) in cribs--about 18" long--two facing fore and aft, two facing athwartships. I agree that you want good strong blocks between the jacks and hull--never put the jack to the hull. I like to use oak blocks under the jacks, since pine and fir are likely to split.
 
I bought the wood and carpet last night but I'm still mulling this over....my concern is that I would need to do this modification at the ramp, then have the boat towed 40 miles on the highway. I don't love the idea of the entire load of the boat being placed on 4, 12" long supports on the trailer bunks for the tow. My concern is the localized load spots on the trailer for the tow.

My trailer does have two gaps for lift straps toward the stern...perhaps I could use this space to jack up the stern, place wood blocks as far forward on top of the bunks as I can, then set it down onto other stern blocks placed on top of the bunks. If I can get the blocks sufficiently forward it would of course raise the bow area....

I have painted monohulls on trailers using jacks but this is my first time figuring out the best way to jack the cat on the trailer....

Thanks
 
Does anyone have a barn or building strong enough to simply pick up the boat off the trailer with an electric winch or a few come-alongs tied to the rafter/joists, and then pull the trailer out and paint the boat after putting some safety blocks under the hull?

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Wolf":385hzbh5 said:
Does anyone have a barn or building strong enough to simply pick up the boat off the trailer with an electric winch or a few come-alongs tied to the rafter/joists, and then pull the trailer out and paint the boat after putting some safety blocks under the hull?

Joe. :teeth :thup
Click to expand...

I do but I think it's too far from Boston! :lol:

Charlie
 
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