Calypso has a similar ablative paint situation as you describe. We are in the PNW with cold water so we mostly have slime and a few barnacles to deal with.
For the past 14 years, every two years we haul and have the bottom pressure washed to remove the loose bottom paint. If there are any repairs (C&C smile, epoxy over the fiberglass to iron keel to lead keel joints) we have the repair work done “to be sure the keel doesn’t fall off”. Typically the ablative paint left after the pressure wash gets a rough sanding to help the new coats adhere. We put on two coats of bottom paint along with zinc paint on the prop, strut, and shaft. All the through hulls get inspected and lubed. I dive on the boat every 6 months to check/change the zincs and inspect the overall bottom condition. We cannot clean ablative paint in our marina. Mostly a brisk sail in a little chop will clean off enough goo that the boat sails OK for the club level of racing we participate in. If we were to push the racing harder changing bottom paint is high on the list of light air speed improvements. So, my recommendation is to save the extra $$ for the complete strip unless you observe other issues that require the extra epoxy barrier coating. Martin Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Seattle [Description: cid:D1BF9853-22F7-47FB-86F2-4115CE0BAF2F] From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of RPH via CnC-List Sent: Monday, September 01, 2014 12:08 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Stus-List Too Much Bottom Paint - Use It Up? My 30-2 has many layers of Micron CSC ablative paint. The most recent layers of paint are flaking. I am told this is due to the fact that ablative paint absorbs water like a sponge and then sheds that water when the boat is hauled. Eventually, there is enough swelling and shrinking in the layers of old paint to prevent proper adhesion. Anyway, I had been planning to have the yard strip off all the old paint, apply a barrier coat, and then start fresh with a couple of coats of bottom paint. The cost would be about $120 per foot. However, this is just one of several projects and I'm trying to prioritize. I have been wondering.... Do I really need a bottom job, or can I just continue to let the bottom paint ablate, at least for the time being? Sure, I don't have a race bottom, but I can live with that. I will eventually get a bottom job, but why shouldn't I just "use" the copious bottom paint that I already have? Am I missing something?
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