[C320-list] Barrier Coat On 320

[Jack Brennan]

Hi Jeffrey:

What price peace of mind, eh?

In Florida, blisters tend to be common because most boats spend decades in warm water without ever drying out. 

The general rule is, if you don’t have them, don’t worry about it. If you have a few or a few dozen, pop them, dry them and fill them. Only when the bottom is covered with them do you go for a barrier coat.

There’s some sense to that attitude because most blisters aren’t structural. They aren’t going to sink your boat, although they can play hell with your bottom paint. 

And they can come and go at random. My old Bristol 30 had several dozen when I bought it. The P.O. had cancer, so the boat sat for many months with a full bilge. I fixed the blisters, put in a new bilge pump and never had a blister again.

Pettit Trinidad, a hard paint, is the standard here. Most bottoms are cleaned every month due to heavy growth in warm water. You know it’s time to repaint when the diver wears through the bottom paint, so thick buildups aren’t common.

I had ablative on a C&C 25 many years ago. What a nightmare here. Slime would build up, so the bottom would have to be cleaned periodically. The diver would emerge from the water wearing hundreds of dollars of bottom paint. He wasn’t happy, and neither was I.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320, no. 528
Tierra Verde, Fl.
Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay




Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Jeffrey Kapec
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2019 4:55 PM
To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Barrier Coat On 320

Hello Jack

 

We purchased a 20 vintage 320 (hull 718) in 2006.  The bottom paint was
partially peeling off the boat.  She was on the hard for 2 years.  We
scrapped and sanded the hull carefully  (with a vacuum attached to the
sander).  We hand removed the bottom paint so as not to erode the vinylester
layer.  I applied epoxy barrier coat as a precaution.  I did so because my
previous C-30 had a pronounced case of blisters and that was one heck of a
project to correct.  After applying the barrier epoxy we applied a Petite
Hydrocoat ablative bottom coat.    That was the best decision ever.  In New
England that ablative will last for two seasons and as it wears it thins
down evenly so that after two seasons a light sanding is all that is
required for a recoat.  The bottom is smooth/beautiful.  Never have to
scrape and remove the bottom paint.  No ugly patches of buildup.  

 

Petite Suite

 

Jeffrey Kapec

 

Tanaka Kapec Design Group

11 Brookfield St.   Norwalk, CT 06851

203.846.3666

 

www.tkdg.com