Bottom Paint

[KenKrawford]

For those who keep their boat in fresh water, what are you currently using for bottom paint? Hard or ablative?

[tranquil]

Ahoy! Tranquil has been in Lake Michigan since birth in 2004. PO used VC17, which I have continued. I've been unable to discern if PO put VC barrier coat(s) on first. Easy to power wash the algae off the bottom when lifted. Have not had any zebra mussels; others do. Easy to apply as compared to a hard paint. However, I have yet mastered the art of adding the copper particles without them flying about-even in a sealed room.

The PO for my C-30 used Micron-CSC, a hard paint, which I continued. It was a pain to sand every spring prior to painting. No matter the masking, blue particles abounded. Also easy to power wash algae off the bottom when lifter. Zebra mussels had not invaded back then. At one point a majority of the paint had come off, so I stripped her to bare hull and applied 6 barrier coats as directed for Micron-CSC and then paint.

I find the VC-17 much easier. Good luck!

[Olivia Mae]

VC17 tricks. Get a 2 liter plastic water bottle with a popup drinking lid.from Amazon and a funnel. Dump the copper powder into the bottle using the funnel. Once it's in, dump in the paint. Close it up and shake to mix.

Paint with 4" roller and small trim tray that fits it. Dribble the paint directly on the roller. Do not pour it into the tray. Just remember to close the pop top each time so when you shake it bad things don't happen. You'll have way less paint disappear into the air this way. I can do our boat with just a tad over 2 qts.

[KenKrawford]

Thanks for the VC17 tips. Very helpful. One question - why the small roller? Using a standard 9" roller would cover double the area.