When do I resume diver services after fresh bottom paint?

[Angela]

I’m in the yard getting blasted, barrier coated, and Micron 66 antifouling paint. When I get back home and life returns to normal again, what should I tell my diver? Is there some amount of time that you typically don’t want anyone scrubbing on it? I don’t want my fresh paint scrubbed off or scraped off, and I’m sure it will stay clean for months to come like it did the last two times we got fresh paint.

The last time a diver first cleaned the bottom after we had fresh paint, there was a huge pool of blue all around the boat - that was my paint. I don’t want to see that again, and I’ve got different diver now.

At haul out, we confirmed that my current diver is diligent and he’s a keeper. For nearly five-year-old Micron paint, it looked way better than we expected, mostly intact, and he’s kept everything very clean under there. Pressure washing, on the other hand, revealed to us that it was time to take it all off because the build-up of paint was letting go from the hull in chunks all over the place. No sense in painting over stuff that was coming loose and have the new stuff fall off.

So, what’s the protocol for resuming diver services after the application of fresh Micron 66? I’m in Miami - heavy growth area, but not so much this time of year.

Thanks.

Sanctuary haul out.jpg

[bobk]

I'd probably do running gear only for a year and then only let the diver use a putty knife on the hull IF it has barnacles. You ought not see much grass growth on fresh 66 if you use it regularly.

The boat looks great BTW.

Bobk

[captddis]

I usually resume having the diver clean the bottom after a month.

[Boatsb]

I wait for it to need cleaning. When I last launched on new years eve 4 years ago I did not see growth for about 6 months. I did run almost every week too.

[mdshore]

use a diver as little as possible and as much as needed. you shouldnt need to if you use your boat . good paint should hardly need to be touched!

[Angela]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll just keep a close eye on the waterline which is where it starts first and go from there. It's winter and the water is cold, so there shouldn't be a lot of stuff trying to grow. We sandblasted today. We will grind a few very small blisters tomorrow and start with the barrier coat. I plan to do the running gear on Saturday. We are targeting next Friday to splash.

I was pleasantly surprised at how few blisters there really were once we removed all of the old paint and put her through the process where the blisters would present themselves. Not bad at all. I can see a lot of previous repairs done over the years, though.

[magnawake]

I was a green newby 3 years ago after we painted the hull. I ask for hard paint and got ablative. When I washed the hull 1 week later a blue cloud of paint surrounded me. I didnt think the paint had cured. It was such a pretty blue paint I couldnt stand to see a slim line around the water line so I would get in the water and clean it good. I didnt know I was washing all the paint away too. After all it was hard paint right? Wrong. I always learn the hard way. My bottom paint lasted 2 1/2 yrs and could have made three, so I guess I didnt wash too much of the paint off the hull. I once knew of a sail boat that had ablative paint in our marina that he didnt touch it for a whole year. The paint still looked bran new with not the first bit of slim or growth. I wish I would have asked him what kinda paint he used. Unbelievable.

[saltshaker]

Did you take a lot of paint off or are you just doing this because the old paint wasn't adhering well? Make sure the barrier coat is smooth and if you can brush the bottom paint you'll end up with a nice smooth bottom. If you roll it, make sure you don't get any edge build up lines from the rollers. You'll be amazed how this will improve performance and economy.

[Angela]

Did you take a lot of paint off or are you just doing this because the old paint wasn't adhering well? Make sure the barrier coat is smooth and if you can brush the bottom paint you'll end up with a nice smooth bottom. If you roll it, make sure you don't get any edge build up lines from the rollers. You'll be amazed how this will improve performance and economy.

Both. It was not adhering anymore, but that was not discovered until after we pressure washed. Pressure washing was taking the old paint off in sheets/chunks, all the way down to the fiberglass, and there was a lot of paint on there - so much that the blister repairs done 5 years ago now have to be sanded down to the new level of the surface. Previously, they were faired to the level of the paint build up, and when we removed the build up, they all stuck out. This is one of those things we knew was coming since we bought the boat 8 years ago, but we just didn’t know when. Now, we do - it’s today. I will be happy to have this behind me and this monkey off my back for a while. Ozzy is doing a great job for us and he's been a pleasure to work with. This is turning out better, and with fewer surprises, than Ed and I expected.

[saltshaker]

That bottom job is one of the best things you could do to the boat. If done and maintained properly, it will never have to be done again. Trick is to only paint the boat when it needs it. I used to haul out every year and paint every other. Started to notice the paint was building up. Now I haul every 3 years for the winter. I'm hauled right now and the bottom looks great. No signs of the tell coat underneath. Still going to repaint but may wait longer next time.