catalina27-talk: dinghy bottom paint

[Jeffery L. Sheler]

In an earlier thread, I pondered whether to build a floating berth 
for my dinghy -- which must be stored in the water at my Chesapeake 
Bay marina -- in order to hold down crud growth on the bottom. The 
best advice and easiest solution seemed to be to slap on some 
anti-fouling paint. Here's the rub: the hull is made of polyethylene. 
(The dinghy is a Water Tender 9.4 made by Johnson Outdoors). A 
salesman at my local West Marine suggested using a bottom paint 
designed for inflatables (I forget the brand he showed me), which 
seemed to make sense. Before purchasing, I thought I'd check with the 
manufacturer.  Over the phone, a Johnson customer service rep, 
sounding rather tentative, said no paint will stick to the 
polyethylene hull. She probably is right, but since she sounded 
uncertain, I thought I'd check with the real experts. Anyone out 
there have any experience in painting a polyethylene hull (or trying)?

Thanks, as always, for your insight.

Jeff Sheler
s/v Windsome
C27TR #6594
Hampton, VA