Bottom paint...

[Zach]

What do you like? Where are you... and how longs it last?

The synopsis from a friend of mine, is Petit Trinidad SR is the best. But... West Marines house brands instructions say to thin with Petit products... makes me wonder if it's made by the same folks.

The blue stuff that was on Pylasteki lasted 4 years+ with minimal slime. Wish I knew what it was... ablative of some sort.

Yeah, location matters... but... but...

Zach

[DaleH]

FWIW Pettit Trinidad SR (slime remover) always rated as BEST hard epoxy paint in .... errr, (forgive me) Powerboat Reports testing. I prefer ablatives and use West Marine's CPP+. We even use it as a multi-season paint, even though not labeled as such. Each Fall the hulls (7 between my brothers and I) are pressure-washed and every other year only the waterline down a foot or two are painted.

You are quite correct ... location can be a huge factor! We boat on tidal estuaries in the Northeast, so our season length, length of day (sun exposure), and water quality may differ. I can tell you this though, with good confidence, we get the best performance from black paints. And you are correct, WM's paints are made for them by Pettit Marine. I have used their hard epoxy BottomShield and my bet would be that it is the old Trinidad formulation without the ingraol (sp?) biocide in it.

[Don]

We use Pettit Trinidad SR at our yard and have found it to be very good.
How long it lasts really depends on usage and the environment the vessel is in; we typically see between 2-5 years of service between re-coating depending on how and where the vessel is used. If the vessel is on a trailer or out of the water for extended periods the Pettit rep recommended using a hose and wetting the hull every couple of months to keep the paint active and at its best. We typically apply it over top of pettit Protect two part epoxy barrier coat. Pettit is referred to by tradesmen as being chemically "hotter" than other brands so be careful when applying it over another paint and call the rep to make sure there is no compatibility issues before you apply the product. If using the barrier coat be very aware of the ambient temperature you are working in and follow the dry and re-coat times and recommendations meticulously; If you do that the stuff is really very good and long lasting, if you don't you may find that you have bonding issues and a flaking problem a few months down the road. Of the 30 or so times we've used it we have had this problem twice; when we reviewed our techs application notes (we record times and temperatures) we realized that both times we were near the max recommended time for re-coating,.....of course on a large bottom the time of re-coat between the bow and the stern can be enough to make the difference between success and failure. If we are within an hour of the max re-coat time we now wait and let it cure and sand between coats and have never had an issue.

[Bluenose]

About six years ago when I got back into sailing I went looking for a bottom paint that might be a little more sensitive to the marine environment. Eventually I discover E Paint.

http://www.epaint.com/

Here is a bit of marketing info from their site.

Q - How do ePaints prevent bio-fouling?

A - ePaints contain no tin or copper pesticides. Instead of following the archaic method of leaching toxicants that persist in the environment, ePaints employ novel patented mechanisms to control the attachment of fouling organisms. ePaint antifouling paints protect your vessel from bio-fouling using a unique combination of naturally occurring photoactive materials and organic biocides that do not persist in the aquatic environment. All ePaints contain photoactive pigments that use sunlight to photo-chemically catalyze oxygen (O2) and water (H2O) to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) around the surface of your boat hull, creating a protective barrier that is inhospitable to the settling larvae of fouling organisms. ePaints also contain the powerful organic booster biocides of Zinc Omadine and SeaNine 211 that aggressively prevent fouling organisms from attaching to your boat. Unlike copper that persists in the environment, hydrogen peroxide, Zinc Omadine and SeaNine 211 quickly break down in the aquatic environment into harmless materials.

Q - How are ePaints safer for the environment than copper-based paints?

A - Traditional antifouling paints use copper as the biocide to control biofouling. Although copper is a naturally occurring compound, in high concentrations copper is detrimental to aquatic life. Our harbors, bays, estuaries, and lakes are particularly susceptible to build up of high levels of copper and other harmful compounds. In terms of metal toxicity, elemental copper is second only to mercury. Unlike copper, ePaints generate benign levels of hydrogen peroxide and contain the organic booster biocides of Zinc Omadine or SeaNine 211. These compounds quickly break down into harmless materials once released into the aquatic environment.

I have had good experiences with it over the years, although my sailing seasons have varied in length. I do plan to write up a small review after this season with Bolero since she splashed early May and I will haul her in late September. In addition my old Bluenose is in her second season with the same EP-ZO E Paint application so I will have that data point as well (I have seen her bottom many times while sailing alongside and it still looks good).

Practical Sailor did review E Paint back in 04 and it did well.

E Paint Rated "Excellent" by Practical Sailor/Power Boat Reports
Published: March 01, 2004

E Paint ZO and EP2000 rated "excellent" by Practical Sailor/Powerboat Reports. Of the fifty four (54) products evaluated for the 2004 March issue (Vol 17/ No3) only four (4) rated excellent. Two of these, EP 2000 and E Paint ZO, are manufactured by E Paint Company. As stated in the article, "It's the antifouling properties that count in this evaluation, so these paints are rated Excellent'. This is a great achievement for E Paint in demonstrating that environmentally friendly products can compete head-to-head with high copper competitors.

Just another option.

Cheers, Bill