Jump to content

How Smooth Is Your Bottom?


Wedger
 Share

Recommended Posts

No chicken yolks please. it's not PC..........

 

& it is Easter after all......... laugh.gif

 

our 'Otter' has several layers of antifouling and it seems that on at least a few occasions her past owners perhaps didn't rub her bottom................ well at least not enough to achieve best results IMHO.......... tongue.gif

 

Obviously we will never get the efficiency of a newly waxed gel coat but just how slick do we have to be huh.gif ?................ & how much do we stand to loose with a slightly knobbly one blink.gif

 

Last of the currently planned jobs is this wretched keel band mad.gif soon as t' chocks are made, but at the same time should her bottom need a rub to keep her sweet..........

 

well, when needs must, I'll probably oblige....... biggrin.gif

 

let me know you feelings..............

Advice of the experienced always welcome rolleyes.gif

 

T

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Trev

 

It all depends if you are going to trailer her or leave he in water.

 

An alternative I would propose, is to clean her anti-foul completely and use 2 part epoxy.

 

This would then seal the GRP and help against osmosis and give you a smooth finish.

 

Also adds a bit of value to the boat, downside is it is quite hard work and needs to be done in one day with good weather available.

 

Just my thoughts

 

Coddy

cool.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trevor, you need to decide between the two ways of resolving this issue.

 

It is generaly accepted in the yaching world and that includes motor boats as well that 5 to 6 layers of hard anti foul is as much as an owner should allow to build up. One can check the layers a bit like a tree trunk by chipping off a bit of A/F and seing how thick the total depth it is up to the gell coat.

 

If you have a boat with say 6 or 8 years worth stuck on the bottom then the 'ideal' solution would be to have it wet sand blasted back to the gell coat and if one had any doubts about osmosis this would also be the time to take the gell coat off and replace it with about 4 layers of sprayed epoxy. All this as you can guess is BIG BUCKS! weep.gif

 

The DIY way..........

 

If the A/L has plateau's and valleys all over then you will have to accept that the DIY way is a mucky job and just has to be done. With a coarse wet and dry grit paper and plenty of soapy water give the underside a good rub down. The run off is toxic so goggles and masks are needed. Also if you do the job on grass nothing will grow there for years! biggrin.gif

Once you have the worst of the highs and lows leveled you are OK to slap on another coat of anti foul. To avoid the problems of 'build up' most folk opt for a 'soft' anti foul that disolves as the season progresses and the end of year lift and pressure wash takes the last of it off , the boat is then ready for a new coat.

 

Whatever you do do not put Epoxy over a hull that has not been 100% cleaned back to bare gell coat. All sorts of nasty chemical reactions take place when the boat is in salt water This is caused by the uncured epoxy which is trapped in the old anti foul.

 

Mad Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i think some members have found an easier way of doing this horrible job.

not sure of the exact process but i think you turn of your depth sounder and then drive through soft mud !!!!!

andy

laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif Brilliant, I loved it laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif

 

Mind you a Mudhopper is better than being a Shingleslider so you watch out for Stony Island Tom.

 

It's on the left as you go out of the Haven mate, so you just keep well over to the right inside those two big red floating jobbies rolleyes.gif

 

Mad Mike (or Honest Mad Mike the man you can trust)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...