10meterman wrote: ↑Tue Feb 15, 2022 11:56 am
Good afternoon, All
I'm about to bring my 10 meter down the Potomac River to our new home in Southport NC. I have always pulled and painted my bottom, this year I was going to put a barrier coat on before paint since she will be in salt water and I'm not sure when I will pull her out again. I should, right?
Thanks Kieth
10meterman,
Please forgive me upfront, sometimes my brutal honesty comes across as condescending, but I don’t mean it to be. Unfortunately, your reasoning for wanting a barrier coat now is frivolous. Freshwater is more susceptible to permeate your fiberglass hull than salt water, it’s a scientific (or not) fact. The freshwater thing makes me smile when I see yachts advertised as ".... only used in fresh water" as if it were a big plus. Granted, the other reasons for a freshwater boat are difficult to argue.
Here’s something to consider, barrier coating does not dictate the meantime between haul outs, it is the quality of bottom paint and the amount of periodic maintenance you (or your diver) does that determines haul out periodicity and repainting. Personally, I need to see the bottom of my hull at least once a year or so, not only to evaluate how the paint is holding up, but to check on anodes, sea scoops and running gear. So, the folks that boast about how long in between haul outs they can get, aren’t getting it from the effectiveness of the barrier coat. Remember, the barrier coat is covered with bottom paint too.
Think of a barrier coat as a “belt and suspenders” approach to protecting your hull bottom. It’s not a bad thing, but often it’s done for the wrong reasons. As Prowlerfish mentioned above, unless you have underlying issues with your hull bottom, i.e. blistering, delaminating and thin areas of gelcoat, a barrier coat application is, in my opinion, a costly endeavor for not a lot of return. For example, it cost me north of $1800.00 just for blasting the years of old paint of my hull bottom recently. You would have to do this to put a barrier coat on, regardless.
I had to cross this decision too and after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go without barrier coating and bought some good (albeit expensive) bottom-paint and I could not be happier with that decision.
If you have the coin to throw at it, I say go for it, but don’t expect it to be the end all of boat bottom maintenance. You would be better served in throwing the same money at some good quality bottom paint and a couple of haul-outs to get visuals of “how goes everything down there”. I would stick to your old methods, pulling and painting.
Best of luck with whatever you decide! We’re all here to help and provide our opinions and experiences.