Bottom Paint Sticker Shock

alpinista · **Posted:** 06 Apr 2012 16:30

Hi All -

We just delivered Betty Lou to the local boatyard for a bottom paint job. This will be the second time since we bought the boat that we have done the bottom. The first time was three seasons ago. At the time we were cash-strapped, and although the boat really needed an extensive grind job to reduce the many layers of old paint, we just had the yard do a reasonable sanding job, feathering the rough spots out and painting over the thick old paint layers. At the same time we did a bunch of other repairs to the drive train (new motor mounts, shaft, shaft coupling, dripless shaft seal and cutlass bearing) that ate up all our extra cash.

Fast forward to today. This time we're going to do a through grind and take off 90% of the old bottom paint. The biggest issue, however, is that there is some blistering. Most seem to be just in the paint and pop with a light finger press, but some are more serious, though small (nickel sized). There certainly doesn't seem to be too many compared to my first boat, a Catalina 27 that had hundreds of silver dollar sized blisters, but still, more than a handful. Now that I've set the scene, we can start talking money.

The yard has quoted us $1110 for the haul-out, pressure wash, hand sand and two coats of bottom paint. The extra grinding to 90% removal is an additional $1900 (24 hrs labor). That doesn't include grinding and repairing any blisters that are popped during the paint removal that can't be covered in the 24 hours of labor for the grind. Those they estimate at $30/blister. The yard will try to avoid popping hull blisters during the grind.

If I wanted to get serious and do an epoxy barrier coat, that would be $6500. That price includes the bottom paint but NOT the blister repairs, which would be more extensive since you would be popping and repairing ALL the blisters. An even MORE eye-popping option would be a full hull peel/barrier coat/paint, quoted at $12000.

My thinking is as follows: Betty Lou is 33 years old. It's taken all that time to get the few blisters she's showing today. I plan on owning her for another 20 years. I think I'm going to pass on the barrier coat for now, reduce the paint by 90% and fix any popped blisters, and repaint. Then, in three years, I'll be retired and can haul out in a DIY boatyard and, if the blisters are still a problem, do my own work and barrier coat her.

Recap:

$3000 Grind to remove 90%, repaint (plus extra cash to repair popped blisters)
$6500 Grind to remove 100%, barrier coat, bottom paint (plus even more extra cash to repair popped blisters)
$12000 Full peel/barrier coat/bottom paint

Any feedback here? Thanks -

Jay

Velera · **Joined:** 29 Dec 2006 09:38 **Posts:** 656

The prices you are quoted seem fair to me. As someone who did a blister job 20 years ago on my T37 I concur with your proposed plan. I would caution you NOT to put a barrier coat on your boat unless you allow a fair amount of time for your boat's stripped hull to dry out in a dry storage situation--in my case this took several months in California. My "blister" job was necessitated by the PO putting a barrier coat over a damp hull which sealed the water between the laminate and the gelcoat and caused thousands of bubbles---I am not sure I would have had a problem if he had not taken this "precautionary" step. A lot of the old blisters were not in the laminate, but between the laminate and the gelcoat--this is not very serious and can be fixed with patching with epoxy fairing compound. So one of the determinations should be: is the blistering in the laminate? If so, you probably need to grind this out and maybe add glass. Fortunately, this is not generally the case. I went way overboard on my project and had all the gelcoat stripped from the bottom, peeled and replaced the outer laters of glass cloth and had the hull faired with no gelcoat below the waterline (as Swan and HR do) and the hull is still as smooth as a baby's butt 22 years later, but this cost $14000 (and I did some of the work myself) and it would cost more now.

T37Chef · **Posted:** 07 Apr 2012 12:50

maybe this will help

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-main ... pairs.html

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

This topic is quite timely for I just today, finished the last coat of bottom paint after completing the barrier coat process. Fourteen years ago, I stripped the paint off, ground out jelly bean-sized blisters and applied the Interlux barrier coats. Two years ago when I hauled last, I noticed a few blisters showing and decided that it was time again. I hauled early last fall, actually paid someone this time to strip the paint down to the last barrier coat which cost me $1000 to sand it down. It was a major job since the early coats of bottom paint were Trinidad which is very hard and gums up the sand paper quickly. I ground out the blisters myself with a rasp bit on my cordless drill. Let dry, let dry, let dry.....
I followed the directions from Interlux for filling the ground out blisters and then started the barrier coat process again. I teach high school and this past week was my spring break and it took all of this week working very hard, about ten hour days, to do the whole process including waxing the topsides and painting the boot stripe, but it is done and I hope not to repeat it for at least another 14 years! I bought 4 gallons of the Interlux 2000 and two gallons of the bottom paint all added up to about $700 from Defender....West Marine priced out at $1200 !!! Yes it does get pricey to keep those pesky blisters in check Shocked

I am trying the new Petit Ultima Eco paint this year, so I guess I am a guinnea pig since this is a new paint...we'll see.

Ardea · **Joined:** 19 Mar 2007 16:40 **Posts:** 195

We had a cluster of very tiny blisters near the bow a few years ago. We opted to have the yard strip and barrier coat the bottom. The bill was $7500 which included 11 gallons of chemical stipper at $85/gallon. I felt had on that one and ended up paying about $6K for the whole job including the bottom paint after a brief "negotiation" with the yard manager. This year I had the bottom done and was quoted $2200 for haul, pressure wash, setoff and launch which included 2 gallons of Pettit Trinidad Pro at $295/gallon. Actual bill was $2470 which I consider an ok price for our area. I think all the numbers you got were in line with the amount of work. I'd be inclined to wait until you can do the big jobs yourself.

alpinista · **Posted:** 09 Apr 2012 12:24

Thanks for the great feedback... seems like I am making the right decision in delaying the barrier coat process for now, as two facts seem clear: time to dry is important, and it's A LOT CHEEPER to DIY. The yard made no mention of drying time, and let's face it, April in Oregon isn't prime time for good drying out weather. By the next time I haul out for bottom paint I should be retired and have plenty of time to do a proper job on the barrier coat, and save a ton of boat bucks in the process. Plus, next summer I'll still have some money left in the kitty for that mast refurb project.

Jk

curriernh · **Joined:** 14 Jul 2011 07:14 **Posts:** 60

I've done my own strip and barrier coat on a prior boat, albeit much smaller at 27'. I let it dry all winter under a cover before applying the barrier coating in the May. It was ALOT of work stripping the bottom down and the barrier coat goes on pretty hard....like painting with sludge.

The boat is long gone so I don't know how well it held up but I suspect it's okay. It was a preventive maintenance job when I did it and not to repair blisters. I guess the thinking now is don't go there unless you have a problem.

TomC
s/v Dulcinea
1984 T37 Keel/cb

Solare · **Posted:** 09 Apr 2012 21:30

Look into sodablasting, around here (Annapolis, MD area $$$) you can get the bottom sodablasted for $1500-2000 and it give you a much fairer result than with sanding.

Let it dry & proceed as others have recommended.

ScottC · **Joined:** 02 Jan 2011 15:51 **Posts:** 53

I agree with Solare. Soda blasting is how I'm going to go when it comes time. A very reputable boat yard in Oriental gave me a rough estimate of ~$15k to peel the hull, reglass, barrier coat, then bottom coat. That was with me doing some work, too, so I think that price can only go up another $5k after applying the addage "nothing on a boat is quick or easy". Too bad I don't have ~$15k just laying around. If I did, it would have to compete for repowering, re-rigging, and repainting the decks. You have to love a good old boat. No, really. You have to, otherwise we wouldn't be on this forum.

Tartan37.com

Bottom Paint Sticker Shock

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