Ok I know this is a cruiser question but what the heck .........thats what we drive.

Im am looking for opinions and advice. We leave our Sea Ray 330EC in the water year round. The bottom is painted and probably has one more good season left in it.

It has been suggested to me that we should dry dock the boat in the winter months to keep it from getting "soft" or "blistering" This boat has been in the water since day 1 for the previous owners.

We had the boat surveyed when we purchased it 2 years ago and found no blistering.

What is the common practice on leaving a boat with the bottom painted in the water all the time. We boat on a fresh water lake.

Thanks in advance

I believe alot depends on the quality of the paint, I keep my big boat in saltwater, and I have to haul it out and have bottom paint done every 2 years. Its much cheaper to have it done in the off-season FYI.

Jim

You need to put some turbines in that sucker so that when you get to the lake you can blast so fast up and down that lake that you can blow all the snot off the bottom

Seriously Blistering does happen in fresh water and you do need to paint about every year to two. We painted the Blow boat every year before she went in. The quality of the prep and the paint will determin things for you. Good luck that job SUCKS!!!!!

I think VC makes a tar barrier coat for that purpose

talking about paint jobs. Jon how is your formula coming along?

There is a paint that Interlux makes called 2000E. It is designed to provide a barrier coat so water doesnt get to the gel coat and cause blistering. I have it on my boat then 3 coats of Micron CSC. I don't have any growth or the 2 summers the boat was in the water I didn't have any blisters. But you will scrub off some speed. Next year I'm going to sand down to the barrier and then put on something I can wet sand so I can get some speed back.

Ablative paint with a Biocide for freshwater. Biolux is one of the trade names of the biocide. Use a multi-season paint. Haul the boat in the winter if you wish, but the cold months are when the slime is the least active.

If you do decide to haul the boat, you will need to "reactivate" the paint right before launching in the spring. To do this, you will need to wet the entire hull and use a stiff brush to brush away the oxidized layer. Before it dries, you need to drop her in the water.

I keep my cruiser in year-round. Get right at 3 years (push to 4 sometimes) with a good 3-coat paint job.