Another Paint Question- Awlgrip below waterline?

[John F.]

Good friend of mine keeps his Seacraft 23 on a lift. It sits in the water occasionally for a weekend, but that's about it. The boat is getting its 30 years of bottom paint soda blasted off. The guy doing the blasting told my friend that instead of going back with a barrier coat and something like Petit Vivid, he could just do the whole hull in awlgrip. The guy said that there's no problem with awlgrip being underwater for a weekend or so. My boats are wet-slipped, so I've never looked into this, but thought the awlgrip instructions say not for below waterline use or immersion or something like that. Any thoughts?

[CaptPatrick]

John,

Ultra true! Awlgrip, or any other top coat paint, should not be used below the waterline. I wouldn't even trust it for a weekend...

[Kevin]

I left a rubber mat on the bridge for a couple weeks. Rain water got under it and it stayed wet. Water will migrate right through topside paint and cause it to blister.
VC Performance Epoxy on the bottom if you don't need anti fouling protection. Good stuff.

[Raybo Marine NY]

We have some imron on the bottom of boats since its inception
From time to time i will see 20+ year old jobs that still look good.

I have a customer who leaves his imron in All season, coming out every week or two for an afternoon and he puts it right back in. I wouldnt suggest that to someone at all but a few days, a week, even 10 days- not a problem.
OF COURSE no paint manufacture is going to suggest using it below the waterline.
Tom my old boss would leave his 38 scarab in for 10-12 days at a time, pull it out and wash it and put it back the next day. He did this for years and years.

These are trailered boats, lift kept, high and dry boats from 3000lbs up to 20k+ pounds. 30mph-150+ ( what do you think is on the bottom of all those fancy go-fast boats? )

A painted bottom looks high end and is easy to clean and maintain you will never want a bottom painted boat again

[bob lico]

I have a problem with my boat.depending on the amount of fuel in the boat the imron. Boot stripe goes under water and every damn year I paint the boot stripe from about five feet from the transom to the transom .actually bubbles up every three inches and becomes real tough to paint because the hull blue color above boot stripe is perfect and I keep making the stipe smaller because I don't want to damage hull color above stripe with sandpaper.a nightmare every year.

[Raybo Marine NY]

When left submerged all year, like bob, it will usually blister where the light hits it.
It is not recommended that it be left submerged for extended periods of time

For his sea craft it would be perfect

[Buju]

I've seen urethanes fail and I've seen them work below the waterline.
Pretty common to see smaller adrenaline speed-sleds with painted bottoms. Many have extensive small blisters.
Most have blisters where they sit on carpeted bunks on their trailer or lift because the carpet holds water.
Some do ok on roller trailers.
I think it has a lot to do with the total film thickness of the cured urethane, and the condition the surface of the cured film is in...

I personally wouldn't do it...
VC Performance Epoxy is nice, but only comes in a off white.
Gelcoat.

[bob lico]

Robbie it is rare to have her full of fuel and sitting in the slip. Usually I fuel her up one day prior to going to canyon so 99% of the time the boot stripe is 1/4" above the water at the transom .

[Raybo Marine NY]

Bob there is also a light blue below the waterline, does that blister?

Every painted boat has paint right to the waterline, they dont blister, but submerged all bets are off . If someone is offering him to refinish the bottom in awlgrip instead of anti-fouling I think he should go for it. Whats the worse that happens he gets a few dime sized blisters in the paint? If it gets worse than that he can go back to the shop and ask them to put the anti-fouling on for him. He really has nothing to lose he can only gain a better looking and performing bottom.
Personally I would stand behind it 100% we probably paint the bottom of 2-3 boats a year sometimes more

[bob lico]

Robbie I agree with you 100% .you can always sand lightly and bottom paint. The matalic blue of the boot stripe is much more prone to blister then the straight blue of the hull side which is use as a 12" stripe under the flag blue and the hull blue stripe is more likely to be under water with even a half tank.on the paint subject Phoenix is a living paint experiment! The hull sides are imron,the cockpit sole,inside hull sides,bulkhead,and underside of fly bridge are awlgrip and the entire top side is endura. The boat has never been waxed in 11 years I don't even own boat wax and the blue imron hull sides still sparkle like new.the endura can be applied by brush very easily especially for touch up . The awlgrip seems to dull more quickly in the direct sun areas.

[Raybo Marine NY]

the metallic blue is chromabase, but it does have imron clear on it

[John F.]

Thanks

[JohnCranston]

John,
I have VC offshore performance epoxy on Reel Cowboy, and, totally satisfied. It's smooth as a cats ass, thick, and, won't come off if you hit the trailer or the bunks on your lift like Awlgrip or Emron.will. it's much like gel coat, but, it only comes in white. Great stuff.
John.

[John F.]

Thanks John. That's the route he's going. Bottom blast, fill and fair, barrier coat, VC paint.

[Dug]

That's a totally sweet way to do the bottom if you have a lift. Which is also completely sweet!!!! Alchemy sits in the water all season... Hmmm... Seeing as how I'm loaded, maybe I should buy a lift! ;) Seriously, I am guessing that the reason why most lifts exist in the south vs. up here in NE is due to less marine growth up here? Even close to NYC where I have heard it is really aggressive due to all the "nutrients" in the waters of western LI sound?

[John F.]

Dug-

My B31 and B20 both are wet-slipped at my floating dock. The bottom job is for my friend's Seacraft 23. I have no idea why there aren't more lifts on LI or Conn. If you have the water depth for a lift, there nice.

John

[Rawleigh]

I did not have good luck with it on the one boat I tried it on. Tiny bubbles in the paint all along the waterline.