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The original bottom paint on my PS was with Interlux Brightsides White. While applying topside paint to the bottom is strongly (even violently) discouraged I figured that the boat would be mostly stored dry and sailed in freshwater the topside paint would be sufficient (bad plan).
Now one and a half years later, where the boat has been sailed frequently and has occasionally been docked for a few days at a time the bottom paint is beginning to blister and so must be repainted.
I mostly sail on a lake and am now planning to keep the boat on the water for about 6 months (November through May) so I need a paint that can be immersed for long periods.
But as fouling is not an issue and I want to avoid the toxic leaching associated with ablative bottom paints I am hoping to get some suggestions on a suitable, hard wearing, non- ablative bottom paint.


Thanks

Hello Wayne,
I am still in the build process, so not much help with paint at this point. I was tentatively planning on using the Brightside, but haven't made the decision. Give Jamestown Distributors a call. The sell a wide variety of brands and even their own brand. They should be able to give you some advice.

Curious, did you use Interlux primer as well!
And do you keep it covered? I know the Florida sun can be harsh!

Thanks

Ron,

I keep the boat under a Sunbrella tarp as I am very wary of the intense Florida sun; the topside paint has held up really well and still looks sharp. I followed the builders manual and used Interlux primer under the Interlux Brightside paint. The problem is that water will eventually get under polyurethane paint causing it to blister, I just didn't realize that it doesn't need to be prolonged immersion before this happens. BTW, I really like the Brightside paint as it goes on easily and has a beautiful rich finish.

I contacted Interlux and they advised using VC Performance Epoxy, a two part epoxy coating (its not called paint once you get into two part stuff), but for this to bond the hull surface must be down to the substrate with no remnants of old paint or primer, so while it would be relatively straight forward to apply to an unpainted hull, it would be a complete pain trying to sand my PS 100% back to the fiberglass/resin layer without any old primer remnants. For this reason I don't think I'll go with this option.

Another option would be Pettit Hydracoat Eco, which doesn't contain the usual copper compounds found in ablative paints. It is described as self polishing where it slowly wears away, one microscopic layer at a time, thus preventing slime or other biological buildup. While this is not completely non polluting as the paint will eventually transfer from the hull to the lake it is a lot less toxic than standard ablative paints. The advantages to this paint is that it is relatively hard so does not need annual repainting, it does not lose its anti-fouling properties when the boat is on a trailer for long periods and as the paint polishes away the hull does not need major prep when applying a new coat.

As I'm a couple of months away from repainting the hull I think I'll try a submersion test on some plywood painted with regular oil based gloss house paint. If this can hold up to water immersion for a couple of months without flaking or blistering it would be my preferred choice as it would be hard, durable and permanent (and cheap).

I'm hoping to hear opinions or experiences from others on this forum.

FWIW, I used Interlux TriLux 33 antifouling paint on the bottom of my PS (which has yet to be immersed), just following the manual.

I'm interested to hear other opinions, and hope the (slowly) developing spring-time will awaken other PS builders so they can add their opinions to the forum.

All the best,
Mark

mark48 wrote:FWIW, I used Interlux TriLux 33 antifouling paint on the bottom of my PS (which has yet to be immersed), just following the manual.

I'm interested to hear other opinions, and hope the (slowly) developing spring-time will awaken other PS builders so they can add their opinions to the forum.

All the best,
Mark

FWIW2, I used the same thing. It is four years old and looks fine and has seemed to work well. The boat gets left in the water for a week at a time once a year and the stuff is still hanging in there. It is a bit hard to apply very smoothly.