Should I bottom paint my boat?

[SoccerMom811]

We are going to start keeping our 2001 190BR in a marina slip on the lake near where we live. It is a relatively shallow, warm lake and I'm told by the boat maintenance shop at the marina that algae grows quickly and we should bottom paint.

Is this necessary? Is it a good idea? Our boat is in really excellent condition and I don't want to do anything to make it look ugly. We've always trailered our boat and this is our first summer in South Carolina so we'd really appreciate your advice!!!

Would you bottom paint? If so, what is a fair price and what type of paint would you use? Ablative or non? I've been quoted $700, that seems high to me.

 

[Hampton]

Can you pull it out to wash the bottom every couple of weeks? If so, I would go that route first. Also, ask around for others in your area to see what they are doing. 700 does sound high. $2000 for my 340 is high around here (salt water).

 

[SoccerMom811]

Well, the reason we decided to rent a slip is so we don't have to pull the boat out all the time. If we have to pull the boat out every couple of weeks to clean it, we'd probably rather just keep it on a trailer and save the cost of the slip because it's not really less hassle. I'm starting to second guess my decision to rent this slip! Agh. We are used to the beautiful, clean lakes in the upper midwest, and not sure we are going to keep the boat here long term in this river lake. I love my boat, but I'm not sure I will love boating here. So this was our summer to see how it goes, and I hate to do anything to mar the appearance of the boat, but I also don't want to stain my hull either.

What do you think we should do now? Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bel_Mar_Pointe]

I paid $30/ft ($900) for my 300's first bottom paint job (saltwater boat) which included the sanding prep required for the first coat. So they are saying you need to bottom paint even if you get out and haul-arss a couple times a week? Must be some of that super-algae you got back east! I agree though, ask around and check out the other boats at the lake, see what thier routine is. Nothing better than just jumping in and going while not having to hassle with the trailer if you can pull it off.

 

[jrcinnh]

Do what everyone else on the lake does. In my area, it's hard to sell a small to medium size boat with bottom paint. This means anything reasonably trailerable or a little bigger. On a larger boat it's expected, some come painted from the factory. Once you paint a boat, you have to maintain that forever. We usually just power wash with strong detergent in the fall. But NH is a lot cooler than SC.

 

[Escape Pirate]

go to BOAT BUNKERS.com...buy one of their bunkers, and forget any questions you may have...they are great, and no bottom paint is good for the enviro...

 

[Cocktail Time]

What lake in SC? I have boated in SC and GA with a 270 Sundancer without bottom paint for several years and never had a problem.
If you use the boat frequently (at least once a week) you can easily get away with pressure washing the bottom once in the spring and once at the end of the season. There are several larger lakes that have companies that scrub the bottom kind of like an in the water car wash too.
You should be fine and there is no harm in waiting to see what happens. Once you put paint on you are locked in.

Dan

 

[Woody]

I jump in the water with a long handle brush every 2-3 wks. Good exercise treading water and trying to use the brush. The build up usually isn't too bad and doesn't take very long to clean off. Makes it alot easier to clean in the fall when I pull the boat out.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

I slipped my boat for a couple of months last year and the staining was bad. We are on a river lake so the water is murky always at best) I was really surprised at how fast the growth accumulated. The power washing only removed the 'gunk' at the end of the season. However, I did find some cleaner at boaters world that brought the bottom back to a like new shine (and it was basicaly sponge on.. let sit.. rinse off) and was a darn site cheaper than bottom paint!

This season I am going with a slip with a lift tho. :smt001

 

[dpvandy01]

I jump in the water with a long handle brush every 2-3 wks. Good exercise treading water and trying to use the brush. The build up usually isn't too bad and doesn't take very long to clean off. Makes it alot easier to clean in the fall when I pull the boat out.

Ditto, plus I pull mine usually once a month to clean, inspect and re-wax

 

[barryg]

On a small boat, bottom painting sometimes devalues it. I ditto the boatbunkers.com I had one with my 25' Doral and kept it in the water year round even though I had a trailer I found I used it more often just keeping it at the dock. I bought a 2nd one for my 320 and even though the bottom is painted, nothing grows and I won't have to repaint.

 

[SoccerMom811]

Thanks so much for your replies! I will call boatbunkers but probably can't afford this year - I also want time to be sure I want to boat on this lake long term before we spend more money. I think we will plan to clean the boat in the water when we use it and pull it out every month to clean and rewax. I would like the name of the cleaning detergent you use if you have it handy.

We are on Lake Wylie, a river lake in the southwest Charlotte metro. It is murky but not as bad as what we had in Iowa! Much worse than Minnesota though. That water is amazing, we had a lake 25 minutes away that had up to 16 ft water clarity. Short boating season though!

Thank you all so much for the advice. We have had our boat for three years now but since we've lived up north and used it so lightlly we just don't know this stuff!!

 

[Larry&Leisa]

Spray Nine brand 'Boat Bottom Cleaner' :smt001.. just picked some more up on my lunch break at Boaters World. I'm going to clean the places where the boat rested on the trailer bunks now that I'm on the lift. Good luck to ya SoccerMom :thumbsup: