Conference vicki::boats

    Paint the bottom!!!!!
    
    I put my boat in last season, just with the old coat of paint from
    the previous season, which looked pretty good. Mistake.
    
    Within three weeks, the bottom of my Bayliner was completely encrusted
    and it was a bitch to get them critturs off. Before they get to
    your boat, I would recommend you haul her out, get the bottom painted
    as per the many previous notes, and you won't have to do it again
    for the rest of the season.
    
    Where's your dock? I'm in Warren RI.
    
    Look for the note about the raft-up in Point Judith Breakwater soon
    and meet up with other Narragansett Bay boaters.
    
    Cheers,
    
    Ray

    As for flushing out (presumably) the cooling system with fresh
    water.......I can't see the point. If you are going to stick her
    right back into the salt water again, whatever salt (which is the
    nasty stuff) you washed out will be right back in again, to zero
    accomplishment.
    
    Is your boat cooling system not compatible with sea water?
    
    Ray

    Haul her out, clean the bottom with a greenie and strong soap and
    PAINT HER! before it's too late.
    
    Best deal in town on paint is at SPAGS in shewsbury. They had Rule
    Glouster antifouling paint for $50 clams a gal.
    
    Thats less than you will end up paying to have the little sea critters
    removed at the end of the year. and a lot less hassel! Your boat
    will only take 2 qts of paint, so you will have enough for two years.
    
                                 Walt
    

    i'll just reinforce what the others have recommended to you.
    
    PAINT THE BOTTOM.  its strange, but the problem is just getting
    the scum off the bottom, its also going to cost you a hell of 
    a lot to run the boat, them critters add a lot of drag, i would
    expect by the middle of the season you would be running at
    about 1/2 speed.  DO IT.
    
    JIM.

    I would like to endorse the comments of the others.  Haul it now
    and save yourself a lot of extra work cleaning later in the season.
    
    I have been observing one boat at my marina that has not been painted
    and it beginning to look real bad after just four weeks in the water.
    Would you believe that a dealer delivered this boat to a new boater
    without preparing and painting the bottom?

    It is possible that the dealer wanted to paint the bottom but the new
    owner thought that doing so was only a way to line the dealer's
    pocket's when he/she saw the cost (in the same manner as "paint
    protector" at a car dealer) and refused it.
    
    john 

    RE: .6  i can't agree with your example of paint protector,
    i think its a ripoff, with regard to bottom paint we both
    know its a must, whether you do it or have it done, get it
    done.
    
    
    

    what .6 was saying (by my interpretation) is that its commonly
    considered foolish to pay a car dealer for paint protector, when you
    can do a good wax job yourself. (Consumer Reports year after year has
    positioned a good wax job as good as dealer paint protection.)
    
    What .6 is suggesting is that maybe the new boat buyer did not want
    to pay an exorbitant price for dealer applied paint, when they
    could contract it out or DIY. 

    I think it is an excellent example!

    Re. .8, Yes, Bill, or the new boat buyer didn't believe that bottom
    paint served a useful purpose, thinking that the only reason that the
    dealer suggested it was as another way for the dealer to make money on
    the sale. I.e., a dealer scam. Of course we know that bottom paint is
    useful, but maybe a fist time buyer didn't know it, (at one time we
    didn't know either) and compared bottom painting to car dealer "packs"
    they read about in Consumer Reports in their minds and refused it.
    
    
    My intent was to reply to the comment making it the dealer's fault
    for letting the boat go in the water without it. From 407.5:
    
    "Would you believe that a dealer delivered this boat to a new
     boater without preparing and painting the bottom?" 
 
    It implied to me that it was the dealer's responsibilty to do it, as
    part of the delivery process, possibly at no additional charge. I know
    of no dealer that simply paints the bottom of all boats sold. All that
    I have talked to ask, and then explain how much it is going to cost.
    Only one place said N/C, but then they offered no discount on the price
    either of the boat either, so it wasn't really free. Since it isn't
    free, the buyer may have thought that charge was either a. excessive,
    b. unaffordable, or c. a waste of money, so choose not to have it done.
    
    john 

              DON'T paint it...
    
    
    Just use it in fresh water.
    
    ;^)  ;^)  ;^)
    
    Sorry, couldn't resist,
    Doug.

    
    
    You've gotten consistently good advise- paint the bottom. I assume
    since you plan on pulling it every couple of weeks that  you have a
    trailer.- So I suggest you bite the bullet and paint it. If you have
    had it in the water for a couple of weeks, you will need to clean all
    the critters from the bottom.  I suggest you use a high pressure spayer
    that you can rent from the local rental places- just watch you toes,
    fingers, and the stick on trim on your boat.
    
    Don't paint the I/O with the copper based bottom paint, which all of it is
    these days. If you do, your outdrive wuill literally dissolve in front
    of your eyes. Use ( if you can get it) the tin based Interlux outdrive
    paint. There are a number of notes here about painting/prep/ etc.which 
    should help you with what do to for paint/prep, etc.
    
     If you are into hard'dirty,smelly, unrewarding dogwork- then don't
    paint it, just haul it every three or two weeks and so all that dirty ,
    smelly, hard work instaed of enjoying running around in your boat.
     Be prepared for a major cleanup in the fall, and as the 
    algae and barnacles build up, watch the sailboats pass you as you
    wallow through the bay at full throttle. 
    
     I keep my boat in Naragansett Bay , and those waters are rich. the
    grass, algae, barnacles build up very fast. Bite the bullet and paint
    the bottom with a good antifouling paint. Bliss Marine in Warwick on RT
    1 and E&B Marine just off I 95 on the South side of Providence will
    have comptetive prices and a wide selection of antifouling paints in
    various colors. Their prices will be much better than your local
    Marina or dealer( AKA house of theives).Bliss also has a store in 
    Dedham right off of Rt 128.
    
     If you can't find the anti fouling I/O paint locally- give DEFENDER
    Industries in New Rochelle, NY a call. They now take plastic, and
    earlier this year ( April) I ordered several cans of Interlux Outdrive
    anti-fouling paint in a spray can ( TIN Based) Even though it was
    supposedly removed from the shelves, they sold it to me. 
    
     good luck and happy painting