I just purchased a 38 Donzi ZX, which has never run in salt water. I will be running in salt water this coming year. I'm thinking about painting the bottom, so I don't have to worry about leaving it in the water. I know, it's going to kill me if I have to paint the bottom, but it is what it is.
Does anyone have experience in painting the bottom of a boat that has never been painted before?
Any Suggestions? What to do and what not to do.

Thanks
Kenny

Darr?

Whenever I see bottom paint on a deep V. I think to my self, if I had to do that, the paint would follow the lines of the hull in the front like an accent paint. But whenever I see it, it's always just the very bottom... but that's just me.

good luck.

I just googled bottom paint, and found this. I know nothing about bottom paint, but thought clear was kind of cool.

https://twigmarine.com/products/seac...d-bottom-paint

What about the drives?

i did the same thing to my formula 400ss since it was going to live in the water. you also have to sand blast the drives and have them painted.

my recommendation would be DON"T DO IT

if you need to leave the boat in the salt then get a lift and flush it and wash it after every use.

you will kill the resale of the boat
it will slow the boat down
its bad for the boat because you don't have a good way to flush the motors sitting in the water.

Again DON'T DO IT

get a lift or take it out of the water

and in the long run a lift will be way cheaper than upkeep on the boat, just because you paint it doesnt mean its protected. it will need lots of maintaince

DON"T DO IT



Call me if you want and i'll go over the details

Sticking to your question ..
1) Bottom will have to be de-waxed
2) Scuff up (sand) bottom
3) Application of epoxy based barrier coat (instructions can be a bit intimidating)
4) Apply good quality A/F paint
Instructions on barrier coat application will include the chemical bond of 1st coat of antifouling (referred to as the tie coat) but if you wish you can let the final coat of barrier fire off completely and then sand again later and apply antifouling for a mechanical bond.
For antifouling I'm most impressed with Pettit Vivid
This is a horrible job to undertake at the best of times but sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do. Not everyone has the facilities to haul their boat after every use.

I currently help maintain a couple of friends cruisers. We are going to have one blasted and repainted at the end of the year. I am currently looking for a paint that is not the chalky ablative paint that we currently use maintain. If there is an alternative paint that is similar to topside paints I don't care what the cost is per gallon I'm buying it. That link above to the silicone paint looks encouraging. $450/gal seems cheap if the maintenance is not needed.

Another vote for don't do it.

Not what you want to hear, but another vote for "don't do it".

Why dont you look at other options first. For example, if you are paying for a wet slip, it wont cost that much more for them to pull it and keep it on a rack. If your marina wont, look for another one. You can also trailer it out and store it on the trailer at a local yard or nearby storage. These small "costs" will be far less than losing 2/3 the value of the boat. Even if you plan on keeping it, the performance will suffer and you just committed to routine maintenance on the paint (coating) every 2-3 years. On boats with shafts, its not bad but if you ever look at a boat with outdrives its just plain grotesque.

Heck, its worth more of the gamble to leave it, see results and have someone re-spray the gel later IF it gets messed up.

Here is a useful link that I believe I found here on a similar discussion that may be of some help...

https://www.bottompaintstore.com/