Need help with a bottom job on my 20' Aquasport

[Aqua20Jason]

I recently bought a 20’ 1986 cc Aquasport that I am thrilled to be the new proud owner of.

I am looking at getting the bottom paint removed. I recently moved from MA. Back to my home state of FL. Maybe some of the readers out there can offer me some advice on the bottom job?

Two options that I am considering are:

Sand blast off the original bottom paint “or lack there of” and barnacles.
Or
Sand blast off the barnacles and gel coat the bottom.

I plan on keeping the boat stored on my trailer while not in use. I will keep the boat in the water for up to 3 days at a time when I travel to other places. Price is a factor in this decision and I would like to keep the budget low. Some of the questions that I have thought about are:

1. Should I sand blast or have a different media used such as soda blasting?
2 .If I gel coat, will it start to discolor over time from being in the water for a few days?
3. Is gel coat really better on gas then bottom paint?
4. How much extra cost am I looking at to have the gel coat done for me as to applying bottom paint myself?
5. Would I need a barrier coat first before I apply bottom paint?
Last but not least!
6. Who would I contact to have the removal work done for me and what is a good price?

I will have some pictures to post up on the site as soon as I can. I plan on doing a full restoration on my boat and look forward to long hours of dust covered clothing, bruised knuckles and 5200 stuck in my hair!!!

Thanks in advance, Jason

[RickK]

Welcome aboard Jason - sounds like you're about to have some fun.
I can offer what I can from my 230 experience based on what you said about the boat being left on the trailer most of it's life (like mine - unfortunately)
1) If you're NOT going to re-gelcoat and ARE going to repaint - I would just sandblast it off and have the same guy coat it with an ablative paint (one that wears off as you use the boat) in a color that you like. Someone that has done the re-gelcoat route (VERY expensive) can jump in here to talk about that. They say soda blasting is more gentle, so less damage for the re-gelcoater to fix.
2) No clue
3) The design of the hull will theoretically limit the speed - of course if you're running a 300hp on a 17ft all bets are off :twisted:   My guess is the slicker, the faster - unfortunately there is a tradeoff in what you WANT to pay and what you WISH to pay - re-gelcoat vs paint. Based on the price of gas today, you probably won't be going full throttle very far anyway (general rule of thumb with any motor is HP/10 = the max gas per hour you'll burn. I've gauged it against 2-strokes and 4-strokes and it seems to hold true even with the 4 strokes).   Used to be it was watching the gas gauge go down as you hauled a$$, now it is watching you wallet get thinner at $3+ per gal/hr.
4) Paint: If you have someone sandblast the hull, he has the hull off the trailer at that point and it is easier to have the same guy paint it too.  Once it's back on the trailer, you can't get everywhere with the paint without lifting the boat off again.
Re-gelcoat: I priced it and it "isn't pretty" because of all the prep.
5) - Someone will have to answer that one.  Leaving it in the water all the time I think drives the need for that.  Your's will live most of it's life on the trailer, so no need.
6) I can help you in Sarasota only - someone up there can help you find a reliable person to do this. For an idea - I paid approx $300 for the sandblasting on my 230 and then $33/ft for the bottom paint - 3 coats on the bottom, 5 on the waterline. Can you imagine doing that yourself if it's still on the trailer?
If you don't like the typical blue, black and red - maybe try Petit bottom paint. The guy that did my bottom used Petit - Vivid White and it's hard to tell that it is painted and will last for many years.  The beauty of the ablative type is there is since it wears away as you use it, there is no build up.  Just recoat as you need it.
Before:


After:

Hard to tell it's painted, huh? Petit - Vivid White.
My $.02

[aqua70]

Hey Rick, Did you paint over the blue bottom paint? It looks great!

[RickK]

Hey Rick, Did you paint over the blue bottom paint? It looks great!

Thanks.
Read #6 above.

[Aqua20Jason]

Rick,

I think I will look around and see who offers soda blasting for my boat. Having less possibility for damage is always appreciated. I am going to have a self service boat yard here in St. Pete do the lift and blocking of the boat. That way I can fair out any chips in the gel coat and then paint the bottom myself using white paint.

I passed up a boat on I-75 and saw the white bottom paint on their boat. It looked GREAT!

[LilRichard]

Since you will trailer the boat I would stick to non-ablative paint choices- I think VC17 is one of them, as is Rick's Pettit Vivid.  I am going to start researching these for my hull soon... someone else may be able to chime in here with more details.

[RickK]

I was told mine is a "hard" ablative. Their web site calls it a multi-season paint. It does not, however, mention ablative.
Oh well - should last me a long time.
http://www.petitprod.com/vivid.asp

[LilRichard]

I think that is prolly one of the best options Rick... in that exact color too.

[fabuck71]

Rick,

I just sent you a PM.  Thank you