Anti-fouling bottom paint, cleaning and prep for the season?

Submitted by gmroscoe on Sun, 04/22/2012 - 16:42

Ok, lot of detail here, but I want to make sure I didn't mess up my FS and that I prep the boat properly for the season.

I have a four-year old Scott (#5801) which I sail exclusively in the fresh-water lake in town. When I bought the boat new from FS, I had them apply anti-fouling bottom paint at the factory. I thought this would help keep the slime and tannin at bay. After four years of mooring the boat on the lake during the season, there was a decent amount of staining on the hull. I have not been happy with the bottom-paint since day 1, as it has been flaking off from the hull from the start, revealing shiny fiberglass underneath. The flaking initially started where the boat sits on the bunks on my FS trailer, but has continued to other areas. Small flakes no bigger than a dime, but these add up to whole areas with no anti-fouling bottom-paint at in many areas (a couple of 1 foot x 2 foot swathes). 

Before i put the boat away last season, I tipped her over at applied MaryKate "On&Off" hull cleaner. It immediately removed the staining. Unfortunately, scrubbing with a 3M soft scour pad also continued the flaking of the anti-fouling paint but did not remove it all. Also, once the hull dried, I noticed that the On&Off had turned the remaining greyish bottom paint a faint green (I presume this is the acid in the On&Off reacting with the copper in the anti-fouling paint). It was never smooth, but now it is VERY chalky.

Did I ruin my hull? Or is this just cosmetic? I quick search on the internet yielded many opinions and possibilities, but no definitive answers. So, I am turning to my fellow FS owners for advice.  

I am not sure what to do now before I put it back into the water. Do I just put her in and go? Do I need to have a professional remove the remainder of the bottom paint and then wax/seal the hull? Can I wax/seal over the greenish bottom paint? 

Any advice appreciated.

Gary

FS #5801

 

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Comments

Bottom paint

Submitted by sawyerspadre on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 00:51.
A few questions. Do you dry sail the boat, or keep it on a mooring? Do you live within a reasonable distance of the factory? If you dry sail, you can remove the bottom paint, and have the bottom wet sanded, then waxed. If you keep the boat in the water, you can have the bottom paint redone with an appropriate paint for salt or fresh water. If you had the bottom paint down at the factory, I am very surprised that it is flaking off. The Scot has a great gelcoat layer, so I would be very hesitant to do more sanding than is absolutely necessary. When I bought my Scot, a 1985, it had bottom paint for salt water. I removed it by rolling the boat over and wiping it off with acetone. It took time. Acetone is extremely flammable, and evaporates fast. I did it outside, on a breezy day, and always stood upwind of the fumes. I wore gloves and used shop rags to wipe off the paint. It also took off the rest of the waterline stripe, which was wearing off anyway. I also replaced the gasket which had bottom paint absorbed into it and was basically shot anyway. I repainted the stripe, and wet sanded the bottom, with 600, 800,1200 then 1500. You can get these at a professional auto body supply shop. Then polish and wax.

Phil Scheetz

FS 4086

Fleet 163, Nockamixon Sail Club

More bottom paint

Submitted by sawyerspadre on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 00:54.
I read your post again, and it sounds like the best option is refresh the bottom paint. Where do you live? The factory in western MD and Dave Neff, near Annapolis, do great work on these boats. A local boatyard that understands sailboats can also do it.

Phil Scheetz

FS 4086

Fleet 163, Nockamixon Sail Club