Bottom paint, do it yourself or hire a pro?

[RonR]

Looking to get a fresh coat of polishing bottom paint on the 33' Egg Harbor. I have never done this type of work, the current paint looks ok with very little growth and only barnacles on the props/shafts/rudders/tabs. I plan on a few other items to get fixed while its out, swim step mounts, re-seal exhaust outlets.

These pictures are from about 6 Months ago when we took it out for the survey. The last time the boat was out of the water prior to this was 4 years ago. I think the current paint is a interlux brand, as all other paint cans from the PO are Interlux products.

So given the fact that I have a full time job, do I take a few days off to do a light sand and paint or hire a pro? Thinking it will take me 5 days total to do everything.
Any ideas of cost? Looking at Interlux Micon 66, but open to other options. Boat is located in Everett WA.

If you know a company please pass on the info.

Ron R.

 

[NWSeadog]

Ron,

Check the yard where you are planning to have the boat pulled. The yard where I have the work done charged me about $1,400 total including tax, taping, paint, cleaning the bottom, pulling and splashing the boat and lay days. During that time I was able to do some other projects such as changing zincs. Personally unless you are into it the difference in cost wasn't worth it for me to do it unless I was able to get the boat pulled and there was no charge for lay days.

 

[Ken E.]

RR, Seadog's experience is the same as mine.....I could save money doing it myself but not a huge amount, especially when the haulout and blocking is free if they do it....an annual Seaview boatyard promo in Bham. I'm also too old and lazy to do it nowadays!

 

[AKDoug]

Most yards won't allow you to make dust that can get on the other boats in the yard, also you can run into hazmat waste disposal of the old bottom paint. I paid $100 a foot for blasting, barrier coat, and two coats of Trinidad, which I considered a bargain.

If you do it yourself you will want a Tyvek suit and respirator for sure. It's all in the prep, the painting itself is the easy part...

 

[Giggitoni]

Some yards don't allow owners to perform their own boat work. Insurance and environmental reasons.

 

[psneeld]

Some bottom paints just need a good pressure wash upon removing from the water, and if using some paints, no sanding necessary..

I have not sanded in 8 years. Each year I put 1 or 2 coats on depending on whether wearing thin or miles traveled.

I have done it myself all my life... as I got better at it and the paints improved, saves a ton for not that much work.

I used to play on my back and suffer, then thing worked out that a l ok ng handled roller and an hour something later and I was done hardly working up a sweat.

 

[RonR]

Some yards don't allow owners to perform their own boat work. Insurance and environmental reasons.

I asked about this at the Port of Everett office. They stated owners can, only thing needed is a HEPA filter on the shop vacuum hooked to a sander, wear a suit and respirator (not a dust mask).
Don't even need a tarp under it.


I did some simple math, for it to be pulled/blocked/stands moved once and I buy 3 gallons of paint, some tape/suits/good 3m respirator. I would be at 1600.00 for it to be on blocks for 5 days in covered area. I think this is enough time to get everything done.

Considering its $900.00 worth of paint its not that bad, as pull out/in and block is about $500.00 few hundred for suits/tape/filters/rollers...

 

[Wxx3]

Ron R did you see PSNEELD's post above.

I'm not sure why you feel the need to sand such a good looking bottom.

Pull out, pressure wash, two coats of something back on, change anodes, splash.

 

[Bacchus]

Agree w psneeld and Wxxx3
I have used Micron 66 and unless going down bare to apply barrier or change paint types I haven't had the need to sand. I have done both spot touch up and full bottom coats. Best to buy / find a dense rigid foam pad to lie on but cardboard works well as a substitute.

 

[SoWhat]

Unless there are 30 old coats peeling off, sanding is not needed. I might give bottom a once over with scotch brite pad to make sure everything is clean (after a pressure wash) Takes me a day to clean, day to paint as long as I get an early start.

Micron 66 works. Micron CSC is OK, I don't think it lasts as long. My yard wants tarps for painting. Tarps and Dust control for sanding.

(Yoga mats are great when painting the keel)

 

[RonR]

Yoga mats?

Here is a pic the old owner sent me with the caption
"Block it high, paint it black, drink some beer and put it back"

Not sure they even do it like this anymore, I think this was from the 90's

 

[Comodave]

Our current boat was painted the year before we bought it and we have had it going on 5 years now. I want to paint it in order to change the color from blue to black but it is still in good shape so I will wait.

The last boat we had the yard soda blast the bottom down to gel coat for $35 per foot. Then they brought the boat down to our house and put it on our concrete driveway. I put 6 barrier coats of Interprotect 2000 and then 2 coats of bottom paint with a 3rd at the waterline. It took about a week overall. And when I was done I knew that it was done correctly. Many yards will put only a couple of coats of barrier paint. I called Interlux and gave them the dimensions of the boat. They said use 6 gallons of Interprotect on it. In order to use up the 6 gallons it took 6 coats. The cost was not the primary reason to DIY but rather because I wanted it done right. The nice thing about doing it on the concrete driveway was that I put a blue tarp on the drive and i could slide around on the tarp and I also could use a creeper to roll around under the boat.

 

[syjos]

Looking to get a fresh coat of polishing bottom paint on the 33' Egg Harbor. I have never done this type of work, the current paint looks ok with very little growth and only barnacles on the props/shafts/rudders/tabs. I plan on a few other items to get fixed while its out, swim step mounts, re-seal exhaust outlets.

These pictures are from about 6 Months ago when we took it out for the survey. The last time the boat was out of the water prior to this was 4 years ago. I think the current paint is a interlux brand, as all other paint cans from the PO are Interlux products.

So given the fact that I have a full time job, do I take a few days off to do a light sand and paint or hire a pro? Thinking it will take me 5 days total to do everything.
Any ideas of cost? Looking at Interlux Micon 66, but open to other options. Boat is located in Everett WA.

If you know a company please pass on the info.

Ron R.

I've been painting the bottom on boats for over 35 years. I use a long handle on the roller as psneeld suggested. Having the yard block the boat high helps immensely.

Pressure washing is all the bottom needs for prep except at the waterline where I sand slightly. I wipe the waterline with solvent or liquid sandpaper. The waterline is exposed to fuel and other floating surface contaminants.

As for hiring the painting to a yard. The least experienced worker gets to paint boat bottoms. I've seen yard painters mix the paint before starting but not continuously to stir the copper off the bottom of the can. Many times, they apply the second coat on the same day without waiting for the first coat to dry. They often don't move the blocks and pads to paint those areas.

Micron 66 is not recommended for fresh water. Everett is on a river and depending on the percentage of freshwater to saltwater where your moor, may not work as effectively as advertised.

Sandpiper was painted with Micron 66 back in 2012 when it resided on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma, WA. Though it is not on a river, enough freshwater flows into it via the nearby Nisqually River, creeks and street drainage to render the paint ineffective.

 

[rsn48]

I decided I'd paint my boat both above and below the waterline. I do airbrushing in the model railroad world and in some ways it is more difficult in terms of visual quality. One of the challenges is a long sharp paint line, the emphasis being on sharp. In the modelling world, what you do is take your masking tape and cut a long edge of the tape off to provide a stickier new edge surface than relying on the edge of the tape, uncut. This trick works really well. I'm going to have to research how to get this same sharp line on the boat, the dark bottom from the white upper hull.

My refit guy intervened on my other wise brilliant plan. He said: "Rick, sanding that hull is going to be hard on your back, its something I couldn't do." What he suggested is a "kid" who will work for $20/hour under the table, he will do all the sanding, I can do the rest. He has used this kid (in reality in mid-twenties) for a number of jobs and his work is decent. Since my boat is about 15 yards from my refitter's office, I know he will keep a critical eye on the work the kid does. He also said: "Rick, if you do this work through me and you add in to what I would add to the bill, it would be expensive, use this kid, save your back, and just paint the hull. I plan to tape it off myself as well.

So another option is to maybe hire someone to just sand and you do the rest, depending on your age and back condition.

 

[DDW]

Painting a 33' boat is not difficult, 2 hours a coat at most. Sanding is always difficult, but ablative paints should not have to be sanded. Even with a "dustless" sander you will be covered with dust, as will the neighboring boats. And bottom paint dust stains in a way that is very difficult to remove. If it is ablative paint I'd scuff lightly with scotchbrite, pressure wash , and paint.

 

[Tom.B]

Everyone should do it themselves at least once. You will learn quickly if you want to do it again or pay a professional.

 

[alormaria]

5 days to bottom paint a 33' sportfisher?

 

[Arc]

Good paint is about $200/gal. Around here short haul is $12/ft. Metal should be coated with Pettit bottom coat or similar. Add in $150.00 for supplies and cleanup.
The difference of doing it yourself is it will be correct. I bought 2 boats from a reputable yard . Both had so much crap paint that they needed stripped. If you do it yourself and use a good ablative paint you will be good for the life of the boat.

 

[C lectric]

I haven't actually painted the boat bottom in likely 20 yrs. Learned a lesson when I got rained out. Pulled the boat in the rain because that was the day scheduled. The rain did not stop for two days so I lost the entire weekend. Couldn't even get the tape to stick as I could not keep the hull dry enough. The tape would fall off almost as fast as I put it on.

I talked to the local boat guy and he got it done while I was at work one day later. The trick is he was there and could take advantage of the pause in the rain. As it turns out this was not the only time I would have lost a weekend from rain.

So I did the other stuff that often needed to be done. Zinc replacement, waxing, varnishing if the weather allowed, and so on.
Yard charges were enough to make it worthwhile, not for the full difference of my work vs their work, but about 60 to 70%.

Also my back too often talked to me and not in a friendly way. I could handle the other jobs.

Anyway, you have to look at your time, the working time, the weather and so on to make up your mind. You likely will save some money doing it yourself unless you need work around lousy weather in which cases yard charges can eat up a huge amount.

 

[FlyWright]

Some bottom paints just need a good pressure wash upon removing from the water, and if using some paints, no sanding necessary..

I have not sanded in 8 years. Each year I put 1 or 2 coats on depending on whether wearing thin or miles traveled.

I have done it myself all my life... as I got better at it and the paints improved, saves a ton for not that much work.

I used to play on my back and suffer, then thing worked out that a l ok ng handled roller and an hour something later and I was done hardly working up a sweat.

I think that's a great advantage of hard paints in some areas. It's probably not the best choice for some areas, but for me, it's been great. I've never prepped or painted my own bottom but I'm told that a pressure wash and paint is all that's been required.

Mine usually runs 3-4 years between haulouts with 3-4 month dives for a bottom scrub in brackish water. I suspect I get off easy compared to many fellow boaters in warmer or saltier climes.

 

[RonR]

5 days to bottom paint a 33' sportfisher?

And remove the swim step, fab new stainless brackets. Remove the exhaust outlets and re-seal. Never done it before, that's why I am asking.

 

[alormaria]

And remove the swim step, fab new stainless brackets. Remove the exhaust outlets and re-seal. Never done it before, that's why I am asking.

You neglected to mention any of this in your initial post. This work is not part of a bottom painting estimate.



It takes an hour to scrape any loose bottom paint and get the paint mixed and the area prepared for painting. It takes me an afternoon (4 hours) to put the first coat of bottom paint on my 34' trawler using a roller and extension. The next afternoon it takes about 2 hours to apply the next coat. I don't have to tape but I do renew the boot stripe. Add an hour.



I have resealed the swim platform brackets and that took an afternoon.



Removing and resealing the single exhaust outlet is harder to estimate. I had to replace the exhaust hose and so renewed the entire system. Popping off the exhaust outlets may include releasing them from the exhaust hose which may break or be very difficult to reach from inside or both.

Unless you have an existing leak I would forgo this job until you are replacing the exhaust hoses. These hoses get old and hard and don't like to be disturbed. And they are expensive. I would think a prudent boatyard would estimate time and materials. Might take an hour. Might take 2 days and hundreds of dollars of material. You decide if it's worth it.



Good luck with your new boat.

 

[Mermaid]

Everyone should do it themselves at least once. You will learn quickly if you want to do it again or pay a professional.

No truer words ever spoken on the subject. I did a 58’ Hatteras motoryacht in Miami in July. Never again.

 

[DDW]

No truer words ever spoken on the subject. I did a 58’ Hatteras motoryacht in Miami in July. Never again.

I walked outside once in Miami in July. Never again.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I'm fully in the never again camp. I'm fully willing to do ANY job on a boat except the bottom.


Mr. DDW. Miami's not so bad. Just a spit and a whistle to the Keys and an easy day to the Bahamas.

 

[Larry M]

We just had Hobo painted. This was in Jacksonville, FL and the local yards are all about the same. They charged for 3 gallons of Trinidad Pro and threw in another 1/2 for 2 full coats. With tax $2,021.62

 

[Nomad Willy]

I never sand and we always do it ourselves.
But it’s just a money issue and next time I may have someone else do it. Getting old.

With your boat that’s rather flat on the bottom doing it yourself may be a PITA depending on how high off the ground. Add wind, dust ect .... I’d definitely check on local prices.

 

[rslifkin]

Bottom paint is definitely a job I'd like to farm out, as it kinda sucks to do. But I do it myself at this point. I might get the bottom stripped and re-done in the next couple of years, as there's a lot of paint buildup on it and some has chipped. And I've got a couple chips right through the barrier coat and gel coat that I need to touch up. So I'll scrape what I can this year, knock down some of the buildup and rough spots with a sander and see what I get when I throw on a new coat of paint.

In the end, it's all about time vs money. In my case, the boat is already on the hard for winter, so me throwing some time and paint at it is much cheaper. And the less money I spend paying people to do stuff I can do myself, the more money I get to spend on other stuff, like using the boat.

 

[psneeld]

Based on how I have seen yards paint, in some bad conditions.....and how many paint failures occur..... watch out who you get to do it.

 

[Comodave]

Based on how I have seen yards paint, in some bad conditions.....and how many paint failures occur..... watch out who you get to do it.

That is why I do my own.