Hi all-

Boat shopping.

I see about 9 out of ten glass boats in the 20-22' range that have bottom paint.

Personally, I'd rather have a clean hull. But it looks like I might have to cringe and get one with paint.

Question is, if I'm trailering and storing outside with tarp that covers just below the gunwales, am I going to see paint deterioration (streaking and fading?)

And if so, what do you who have a painted hull on a trailer experience with re-painting frequency? I'm a bit sensitive to having equipment look un-cared for, yet I realize old bottom paint isn't really a maintenance neglect if I'm not mooring it.

Finally, if I'm shopping and see a nice boat with bottom paint, what should I look out for when examining the hull?

Thanks

Mike

What makes you think you need bottom paint?
It's of no value on a trailered boat.

Bottom paint actually creates drag and affects performance a bit. Better off without it on a trailer boat.

I don't "NEED" it. But there are lots of boats out there with it. Been trying to avoid it and doing a sanity check here.

Biggest concern is maintenance and how soon does it start looking streaky and faded on a trailered boat.

I agree. Never had the need for it on my trailered boat.

Thanks,

I moor my boat at a dock in fresh water and frankly if your leaving the hull in the water over a week then paint it. If your not mooring you will be fine. It is a lot easier to keep a hull clean and unstained with paint though.

First, you likely don't need bottom paint on your boat unless you will leave it in the water for an extended time. My boat came with bottom paint and, like you, I'd prefer if it wasn't there. I also don't care enough to actually remove it.

There are a couple common types of bottom paint. One type is a "hard" epoxy-like paint. It offers less drag than the alternative which is "ablative" paint. Ablative paint is what I have and I believe it is considered more effective at preventing underwater growth because it contains a bunch of copper AND it "sheds", meaning that it will wipe off on your hand if you rub it, which sucks.

You CAN remove either type of paint with the right effort. Some allow you to repaint portions that wear or chip off without having to redo the whole bottom. Also, you can SOMETIMES put a different product over the old paint but you will want to check manufactures' suggestions.

Breezy will paint your bottom however he's been having moisture on his lately.

I fish the salt and was once told "a white bottomed boat catches no fish".

I paint them blue and add some of those glittery decals cut in little pieces. Always figured that represented a bait ball. Problem is bait balls don't seem to be as common as they were 20 years ago.

thanks for the replies.

Since you are in the market for a boat, when the boat that meets all your criteria comes along, I'd buy it, bottom paint or not. I'd rather not have it also, but if I was in the market. and my dream boat got listed, bottom paint is low on my list of issues. If it looks like it's spent it's whole life in the harbor, then EVERYTHING is gonna be crustier than a 6 times a year trailered boat that gets rinsed/flushed, but might have a mint trailer....Ha. Since 7's closed I'm gonna finally get around to getting my boat on jacks soon to deal with the barnacle residue from my friend(previous owner) who left the boat in the water all summer WITHOUT bottompaint....Ha. Betting there's gonna be a lot of boats listed in the next few months(buying season), so hold out for what you really want. If the boat is properly powered, bottom paint shouldn't be a huge performance issue....Tom