There is some new stuff that will be comming out soon that my father tested last year on his ericson 32... called hyspeedkote. He said it worked good for speed... just didn't keep the critters from growing. It is suppose to be better then that teflon stuff like the VC-17s... he took trans erie overall first place with a 27 year old boat... im guessing it is this hyspeedcote that did it... im gonna try it this summer... just another product to throw out there at you guys who clean their bottoms every week and wanna go faster... I think some guys at keywest will be trying it too... should be interesting

Does any one have experience or insight on an anti fouling bottom paint system for a race boat, that spends EXTENDED periods, on the trailer, as well as in the water?

In the water, in cool/cold, sea water, Summers, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Boat is trailed to Calif regularly so USA and/or Canadian product can be used.

West Catalog/Guides indicate VC/Baltoplate degrade "gradually" out of the water.
How gradual is "gradual"?
Can they be revitalized prior to relaunch by buffering/burnishing/sanding.

Is there another paint system on the market that gives a reasonable compromise between retaining anti fouling properties whilst out of the water,( with some relaunch "prep work"), and a smooth racing bottom.

In Bermuda the fleet wet sails for 9 months of the year in warm tropical critter growing water.
Most boats use an ablative paint - mainly Epithanes with good results - lasts about 9 months.
We use Baltoplate and find it is excellent though needs more preparation work, but you get out what you put in...
A weekly dive with a sponge keeps the critters at bay. We only get one season out of it - need a gallon for a J.
Good luck!

My recently purchased J24 is wet sailed on the Gulf Coast where the water is warm, nutrient rich and full of critters looking to make a home. Can anyone recommend a good, smooth, fast, anti-fouling bottom paint.

Well gang, we took the plunge this weekend and did the bottom. After roughing up with some 100 grit, we applied 4 coats of VC-U over the coarse of a VERY long day. We started at 5:00am, (after cleaning the snow off the boat!) and finished the last coat around 11:00pm. Luckily we ended up with a indoor place... Quite the hurry-up and wait process. Mix paint, wait 45 minutes, paint, wait 4-5 hours, repeat 4 times. Luckily, we were able to throw in a nice dinner and listening to Buddy Melges speak in between coats 3 and 4! The second day we worked our way through the wet sand and polish routine. The boat looks great, we'll see how it performs!

anything better to use on the bottom than vc-offshore? bot boat using this; each season is lightly sanded just to moisture barrier, then re-applied, sanded and burnished with bronze sw.

A note and a correction:
1)In my entry of 2/12 I mentioned that VC17 should be shot conventionally.... big mistake! I misread the prior entry and thought the question was about VC-U. VC-U should definately be shot... VC17 however.... if you shoot it with a conventional gun you'll get a pile of dust as it dries about 8" from the tip of the gun. For VC17 use airless spray only, or roll.
2) Doug's comment about TPI's claim of #4000+ resin changes.... about that time TPI began molding all the boats with a layer of glass wetout with vinylester (ve) resin just inside of the gelcoat. These boats carried/carry a 10 year transferable warranty against hull blistering, although it does carry a few caveats regarding prep. In general, the boats molded w/ ve skins should prove far more impervious to blistering. For a dry sailed boat it is of little relevance.

Thanks everyone for the advice/input. After weighing all the options, we are going to go with the VC-U, without any additional antifouling. We're in relatively clean/fresh water, so we'll see how it goes, and plan on cleaning fairly regularly. Worst case we'll add some VC-17 next winter. I like the idea of adding this as a barrier coat to the raw gelcoat to prevent blistering, and general water absorption. Not to mention that according to Interlux my boat will now be 10% faster... (Um, yeah...) (FYI, TPI indicated that boats in the ~4000 range, and higher, used a newer resin that holds up much better against blistering, etc.) Thanks again!

Doug Schenk
"Free Bowl of Soup" #3837

NO! If at allpossible, shoot it. It is very thin, can be shot with a Wagner or similar airless, but, a decent conventional gun gives us the best results.

Just wondering what is the best way to apply
VC-17 to the bottom? Is rolling it on the best
way?

Pauls comments about VC-U are words to live by. This is not a paint that you apply on Friday and plan to wetsand on Monday, or it will be Monday, Tuesday, Wed.... etc.
I also agree about Baltoplate, great stuff and clearly out paint of choice for ANY serious racer who has to have anti-fouling properties, But...
Some of the earlier inquiries came from ares that are fresh water, and generally very cold (sub 50deg) I believe that Paul sails in a section notorious for really yucky water, which could have lead to the problems with VC-U. Paul, please correct me if I am wrong.

I have been using Baltoplate on my boat for years. I get 2 - 3 season of wet sailing on a painting, then remove it with 180 wet n dry and recoat, and burnish. The Baltoplate is easy to use, sands easy and you can polish it so smooth nothing sticks to it, just knock off the oxidized top layer each spring and splash(knocking off a little each year also makes removal easier by the end of year 3. I also clean regularly. I tried just epoxy one year and it was a mess but that was in saltwater. At least the Baltoplate offers some antifouling as opposed to the VC-U which offers none. Be fore warned the VC-U epoxy gets EXTREMELY hard and MUST be wet sanded with the first few hours of curing or you will know the feeling of futility and fatigue first hand.

Doug,
By virtue of it being an epoxy the VC-U will certainly only help in so far as "barrier coating" the bottom goes. Another nice thing about it is that if you ever decide to go to ANY antifouling paint thereafter you simply need to rough it up (maybe #220 by hand, #120 by DA) and apply your new AF paint. No reason to eveer remove it.

Thanks for all the great advice. It appears I have the primary options are either going with one of the recommended anti-fouling/teflon type paints, or with the newer VC-Underwater Epoxy Bottom Paint with Teflon. Leaning toward the epoxy, but balancing my desire for speed, with my general laziness, I'm wondering what would happen if I applied numerous coats of a Teflon based polish? I can do this on the trailer, otherwise I need to get it off somehow... What is the VC-Epoxy adding if the hull is already in great condition? Is it protection for the gelcoat against blistering, or to make it less porous? Again, the boat will be in fresh, relatively clean/cold water roughly 7-8 months out of the year, and plan on cleaning regularly.

Thanks again!
Doug

I used Woosley hydrocoat on my J29 and it fell off by mid season --we may have diluted it too much. It does go on very nice and easily sands smooth. I think I'm going with baltoplate on my j24 this year, how has that been?

Looking for some advice. Just purchased (2 weeks ago) a dry-sailed boat from Oakland and will be storing it in fresh, although not the cleanest, water to race it up here in Portland, Oregon. Some local people are starting to use a "VC Epoxy Bottom Paint with Teflon", and cleaning regularly. I'll be pulling the boat in the Winters, so it doesn't have to be year-round. Any suggestions? Also what's the best way to define the waterline, just measure off another boat?

Thanks,
Doug Schenk
douglas.s.schenk@intel.com
"Free Bowl of Soup" #3837

Doug,
VC-U (VC-Underwater Epoxy Bottom Paint) as we call it is the current hot setup for dry-sailed or short-term wet boats. VC-U has no antifouling properties at all though, other than it's slick. If your water gets anywhere near 70degF or above in the summer I'd be careful. If you need some protection, VC17 has some AF properties and about the least film buildup you can get. P.S. If you use VC-U make sure you do your wetsanding within 18-24 hours of your last coat or you will be sorry. It gets hard as a rock!

JHU/NJ,
Why do you need to be careful with VC-U on bottom when the water gets +70degF? I have VC-U, and short term wet sail. In Chicago, the lake was over 70deg for a while last summer.

Take a look at Woolsey Hydrocoat. It's an easily applied ablative paint with 35% cuprous-oxide and teflon mixed in. It can be burnished to a smooth finish and can sit out of the water without losing any of its antifouling properties. I sail my boat in coastal North Carolina. It's like bath water there and the bottom still looks great. A nice thing about the paint is that it's a water-based formula, so you won't gag on fumes while applying it. Put about 2 - 3 coats on a few hours apart and then let it dry overnight. Burnish it lightly and it's ready to go. Another nice thing is that being ablative, you won't get peint build-up year after year.

I had VC-U on a boat we raced in Key West and found that in warm water we would start getting little brown dots on the bottom within 1-1/2 days. Couldn't feel 'em, but you could see 'em. Nno doubt they'd get worse within a short time. I just think any paint that has NO antifouling properties needs to be religously wathced if the object is to have a no excuses bottom.
I'll have to look into the Woolsey Hydrocoat mentioned above, but I've yet to find a water based paint that is really hard. I miss Micron 33.

my 1985 boat had small any very hard to see horizontal lines etched into the hull. These were put in at the factory to mark the water line. Depending how often you plan on cleaning the bottom you may not want to put any bottom paint on. I had my boat in fresh water with no anti fouling paint(it did have a epoxy paint on it)and pulled it once a week prior to racing for a 20 minute bath. Prior to that I used VC-17 and had no problems.

I raced J/24's on Lake Ontario, and VC-17 is the way to go.It is extremely easy to apply, and will
produce a very smooth finish, provided that your
bottom is very smooth to begin with. The coat is very thin, so virtually no paint build up. It can be burnished with a paper towel. When it's time to paint again, simply wash down with water and a
"SCOTCHBRITE" pad and repaint.

Does anyone have experience a bottom paint called "No-Foul ZDF (Racing)"?? An outfit in Connecticut (I think) called "E-Paint" sells it. It's pitched as a geniunely white paint, sandable scrubbable burnishable, and ablative, while still having some Antifouling. Does it really provide a smooth surface? VC17 is ok, but I like a white surface so any growth can be spotted sooner.

Awlgrip makes a fast anti-fouling bottom paint. It can be wet sanded and burnished. I forget the name (I think they only make one) but the color is called "White Lightning" and it looks great. I haven't used it personally so I can't speak you it's anti-fouling properties. I really like Baltoplate (by Interlux). But it doesn't come in white. Grey metallic is fine for me.