Bottom Paint Showdown - Six Paints, One Winner!

Join us this week as we look at bottom paint for your boat. Antifouling comes in hard paint and ablative and we tested both from brands like Interlux, TotalBoat, Pettit, and ePaint. Find out which was the winner in our antifouling bottom paint showdown.

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[BertVermeerSailing]

Here on the west coast of Canada we're somewhat restricted on what's available locally. Our federal rules restrict what can be imported from the US or over seas. The most popular bottom paint is Interlux CSC (Canadian version which is different than the American version, go figure!). I've used Shark White for many years and it will typically last about 2 years, a scrubbing after the first. This year I've gone with Pettit Vivid. CSC Shark White is no longer available and I like to be able to see what's growing on the bottom for scrubbing decisions. We shall see if the Pettit works as well as the CSC as an ablative paint. Fingers crossed!

[joetoomey]

I have used Interlux MicronCSC for many years, repainting every two years. The sailboat, kept at Tracy's Creek, off the Chesapeake Bay, is hauled out every winter, sailed twice a month, reaching at most six knots. There is minimal fouling, and no barnacles, easily cleaned off with power washing at haul out.

[ericwest]

For 25 years, I had a charter participatory sailing business, and tried virtually all the major paints, but what I found most trouble free and long lasting was the West Marine knockoff of the Petit self-cleaning ablative paint. I would put a coat of a red or orang color on first, and then put three coats of blue, an extra coat on the front of the keel, at the water line down about a foot and also at the front and bottom of the keel and rudder with just two coats on the centerboard. What I found was that as long as I was using the boat frequently, the paint never got covered with a mossy film that wouldn't just wash off as we sailed, and I had to haul every five years. But, when COVID came along, and the boat sat, it would get a thicker coating of green fur that required me to clean it maybe once every couple of months. When I saw the base coat start to appear in a few places, I figured that I had about a year of coverage left. I cleaned it with a rag, which still took some of the paint off, but not too much.
One benefit was that the West Marine knockoff was considerably cheaper, too. The label indicated that the contents of the West Marine and the Petit were the same.

[stephenpetranek]

Have used Sea Hawk Cukote on the Chesapeake for more than a decade with extraordinary results--zero barnacles and lasts three years with the boat being out of the water on the hard for 5 months a year. I've tried almost everything over the last 40 years on the bay and although Woolsey ablative was originally my favorite (it was long ago gobbled up by Petit), nothing has beaten Sea Hawk paints in my view.

[briangross]

I have used Interlux Micron CSC ablative on my Catalina 425 since we commissioned her in 2019. We put on 2 coats stem to stern (on top of a trace coat), plus 1 coat on leading edges and at the waterline. We keep the boat in water for 2 seasons (normally New England and east coast to New York), wintering in Charlestown MA where the Charles river flows into Boston harbor. I clean the bottom in the spring and fall if we don’t haul out, and replace any exhausted zincs.

With the exception of one very hot summer in 2021, we get very little hard growth and small amount of slime on haul out. I see a similar state at either end of the season when we leave her in the water.

The one very warm season we saw significant hard growth and the hull had bare spots on the leading edges of the rudder, bow, and keel. It is possible the hull was not prepped correctly as we were not present for that servicing, and who knows what the yard actually did.

[todddunn]

Here in Maine I have been using Petit HRT Neptune water based ablative with good results for the past 3-4 years. Last year I didn't paint the bottom and the hull had only a little slime at the end of the season. The antifouling works very well and the cost is right $106 per gallon this Friday (April 12, 2024). Here in Maine we haul out for the winter and the boat is in the water for about five and a half months. I have never had any hard growth on my hull, but so far the test period is only 29 years.

I have an additional comment. The bottom paint choice is strongly dependent on two things - location and boat use. Location is probably the most important. Less "potent" bottom paint that would be totally inadequate in the warm waters down south (say south of Cape Cod) will often work well in the colder waters farther north. So from the location perspective, ask around and see what works in your area. Boat use has several components. First, how often is the boat used. A boat that sits in a marina for weeks between uses will have considerably more growth than a boat that is used several times a week. Also if the boat is in a marina in a constant orientation the side of the boat that gets more sun will have more growth and may actually need a different paint or at least more coats on the side that gets more sun. In contrast a boat on a mooring that gets more uniform sun exposure won't have that problem. Another part ofIf iuse is how is the boat used. Is sailed aggressively with the bottom cleaned multiple times during the season, or is the boat day sailed on light air days and the hull never cleaned? The former use case may requires hard paint to stand up to cleaning, plus many marina now ban cleaning hulls painted with ablative paints to minimize copper build up in the sediments. Finally, boat use includes the haul out schedule. In cold climates the boat is very likely to be hauled out every Fall and stored on the hard for the Winter. In this case, the anti-fouling paint won't matter much, although using a multi season ablative paint may allow the boat to go two or more seasons with just pressure washing in the Fall. A hard paint will also likely last several seasons, but as you noted, will require sanding in the Spring before launch. A final consideration is water based versus solvent based paint. Where I am there is a strong preference toward water based paints to minimize solvent emissions. That is now at the point that I know of a yard or two that requires the boat to be moved into the paint shed where the air is filtered before being released. That adds significant cost to a bottom job. That brings up cost. Paints that require sanding will always cost more to apply than paints that can be over coated after only pressure washing. There is also a very wide range of bottom paint costs. A $100 per gallon paint may do the job in one place while a $250+/gallon paint may be the ticket for a different location/use case. Also, who is doing the bottom work. Many yards will not allow the owner to paint the bottom. So using a hard paint in a full service yard may cost several times as much as a multi season water based ablative.

[cb]

Trinidad on the hull of my Jeanneau 50 in Florida. Divers do check and clean every other week and growth is easily wiped off. When we sail the bottom is perfectly clean and divers aren’t needed for a few more weeks.
I guess, as you said, it is about how you use the boat.
Thanks for the reviews!

[DavidRHiller]

On our Formosa 51, we repainted the hull with Trinidad SR three years ago. When burnished smooth, and shiny (try doing that with an ablative paint) our paint has needed only normal monthly cleanings in the waters between Manzanillo and San Carlos, MX. I'm hauling out in Penasco around July 15 and will give it a quick sandblasting and repaint with the newest version on the Trinidad.

[freemansmith]

Great video. A wealth of knowledge. Thanks Tim!

[javacup]

Great video, and informative. I'm indeed in the market for paints, so I took notes. One thing I can't seem to find is information as to how long a boat can be left on the hard, with just primer while deciding on which paint to get (hard or ablative) and cost research. I might have to go back to PS archives for that. The current paint is unknown of brand, but definitely a hard paint as it's over 8 years old, and the boat has been on the hard for 5, and pressure washing did not remove all of it, so I have to go to near the gelcoat and then prime and new paint. Good show.

[MrJacrider]

As a few comments point out, for the Great Lakes and our short sailing season with winter haul-out, VC-17 is very popular. We are in the northern part of the Great Lakes with cooler water, so our VC-17 coating lasts better, requiring spot touch-ups each spring. Keel and rudder generally require full recoating. As pointed out, little to no build-up allows us to keep a smooth finish.

[haydenwatson]

In the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest, I get 9-years of hard growth free service from Trinidad Pro. I dive the boat spring and fall to remove a thin layer of soft growth.

[janpavelkovar]

After ordering krypton for a small skiff on the bay, I came to find this video. It helped to secure with further evidence that my purchase was not a waste.

[peterjohnson]

I sail on a relatively clean freshwater lake. Something I found by accident is that car wax works well for up to two seasons. Expensive or cheap, slather it on, let it dry, apply a total of three coats. Don't buff between coats.

[DDixon]

Since the early 90s I've used Petit Trinidad with excellent results here along the Mississippi, Alabama, and northwest Florida coasts. For the last eleven years I have owned a 1996 Beneteau 42s7. I pull her every two years, give her a good sanding followed by a thorough washing, and then two coats of Trinidad. Two years ago, during a haulout, I tried Bare Bottoms, a antifouling paint remover hoping to eliminate sanding. It didn't work at all and was a total failure. I followed the manufacturer's instructions to the tee, even purchasing the spraying equipment they recommended. I documented the entire process using video. When I complained to the man who is the US distributor ( I met him at the St. Petersburg, Florida, boat show) at the next show and shared my disappointment he immediately said I hadn't applied it correctly. I knew he would say that and walked away vowing to never purchase that product again. Perhaps you could discuss Bare Bottoms in one of your videos. Many years ago (and on a previously owned sailboat) I got my hands on some bottom paint used by the US Navy on Arleigh Burke Class destroyers (and other surface combatants) and enjoyed several years of no growth at all.

[billcoleman]

Used to use VC 17, then tried the Pettit 60, this will be my fourth year with Triton Odyssey. Never had such a clean bottom here on Lake Erie. Everyone who has seen my boat come out in the fall has switched over to it.

[windonwater]

Great review - thanks. I've used Petit Hydracoat for a number of years. I too am on the Chesapeake above the Bay Bridge. I like that I can give it a light scrubbing several times a season without it removing much paint. I've used paints before that you basically can't scrub since much comes off and is bad for the Bay.

[robertgannon]

I have used West Marine PCA for the last 14 years. I got four seasons out of the first time, and three "ish" over the last ten years. After on of those season, paint was applied directly on top of a barrier coating. All the others were applied on top of lightly sanded ablative paint. It does have one of the highest copper content of all ablative bottom paints. As to cost, wait till the second season sale, it can be beneficial on the financial side

[foxnfrill]

Awesome real world testing, valuable information

[TimAch-pc]

What about paint compatibility?

Does one not need to match paint chemistry between whatever is on the bottom & a new antifouling?

For many on the Great Lakes we are looking for a new paint now that VC-17 is no longer available.

Lady K has a video about the issue.