bottom paint

[mattttt25]

happy friday all...<br /><br />ok, so i have this 20' center console. i need a good, convenient place to keep next season (can't keep it at my townhome). i can of course pay the crazy rates here in annapolis for boatel, dry storage with ramp access, etc. or i can keep for free in the water at my uncle's place.<br /><br />any opinions on painting the bottom? when i was looking for this boat, it seemed every ad pointed out the fact that the boat had "no bottom paint". is bottom paint a bad thing? just a pain to maintain? maybe just costly?<br /><br />really thinking of painting it this winter and throwing it at my uncle's dock. the convience may well negate the negatives. thanks-

 

[DJ]

Re: bottom paint

mattt,<br /><br />Once you paint the bottom, you're pretty much committed to bottom paint. The reason being is that you have to sand the bottom to get the paint to stick.<br /><br />Bottom paints do require maintenance. Since most of them work by sloughing off minute layers as they age, you will have to re-coat periodically.<br /><br />If you are going to leave the boat in the water, I think an anti-fouling paint is a must.

 

[L Christopher]

Re: bottom paint

Call around to a couple of boatyards to see what it cost to botton paint. Storing the boat may be a wash depending on how may months you want to store it. You didn't say if it is on a trailer, if it is you can probably find a self storage place to park it for $50 or so a month.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: bottom paint

money isn't really the issue, except that i don't have enough to keep it at a convenient location. keeping it in the water for free will save me a lot of launching headaches and keep me on the water longer.<br /><br />just concerned that i'll regret painting the bottom at some point. resale value go down for a painted hull?

 

[DJ]

Re: bottom paint

mattt,<br /><br />Paint shouldn't effect resale, as long as it looks good (refreshed) at selling time.