Let me start by saying i am a nuwb...do you really need bottom paint? Ist year owner and when I pulled the boat it wasnt bad at all. 2005 250vf never had bottom paint.
I had a 232cc for 13 seasons and it was never bottom painted. I had it in a slip from May until October and had to acid wash the bottom every fall. My 280EC is bottom painted from the PO and all I have to do is hit it with a pressure washer, no acid, and she comes clean. Now that I have one painted, I won't go back. Just my 2 cents worth.
2008 280 Express Cruiser, 6.2MPI, B3, Pittsburgh, PA "Blue Ayes" Go Steelers!!!
Generally same results - prior bayliner not painted and needed acid wash when pulled for season. Current Rinker painter, power wash and where it’s not quite high enough, touch ups with acid by hand.
Mine does not have bottom paint, but I pull it every 4-6 weeks and clean it. You can feel the drag, after algae builds up. Maybe your river is cleaner than mine.
It really depends on where you use the boat. In my area (fresh water Potomac River), we get a lot of moss growth, and it is a major performance-killer. If I had no bottom paint, by July I would barely be able to get on plane.
Your best move will be to talk to other boaters in your marina. Ask them what brand of bottom paint they use, and how long it lasts. A paint that works well in your marina might not work at another place 50 miles away, and vice versa.
Keeping a boat in an ocean mooring full time really requires bottom paint on the hull and the drive. I just got mine redone with Z-Spar Bottom Pro Gold which contains 65% cuprous oxide and is good for 3 years allegedly. $300 a gallon, liquid gold!
Depends on where you keep it. If you are in a zebra mussle infected area, with gin clear water ... maybe not. Where I was, in Lake Ontario, within 2 months it was quite the ecosystem on the bottom of my boat, so yes, it was worth it.
That's considering algae only, but if you are talking about a barrier coat, that's a different story. I know Al says Rinker's don't have osmotic blisters to worry about, but I did mine to be safe.
......and if the sun shines in under that top why isn't there a side curtain? I had a side curtain made for one side of my boat lift that let sun onto the hull. Not expensive and saved the hull from UVA/B. If you have $$$$for wine spend some $$$$ on that boat.
Comments
Go Steelers!!!
Regards,
Ian
The Third “B”
Secretary, Ravena Coeymans Yacht Club
https://www.rcyachtclub.com/
Your best move will be to talk to other boaters in your marina. Ask them what brand of bottom paint they use, and how long it lasts. A paint that works well in your marina might not work at another place 50 miles away, and vice versa.
Andy
Boat Name: King Kong
"Boat + Water = Fun"
Boat Name: King Kong
"Boat + Water = Fun"