Have question on waterline location for M bottom paint?

JonBill · Post by **JonBill** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:22 am

If you have done a bottom job recently on an M boat and know exactly where the water line measured then please let me know. For example fully ballasted and fully loaded was your true waterline 2" or 1.5" or 1" or 0.5" under the waterline black stripe on your M boat? Or was it right on the bottom of the black stripe? I would think it would be under the black stripe an inch or so but I'm not sure what a safe (conservative) measurement would be.

I'm going to start a bottom job soon and I've got the boat a long way from the water at the moment and don't want to tow it down there and put it in and ballast it down to check it out as that would take me an entire day to do. Call me lazy but it ought to be pretty standard on these boats where it falls.

I understand engine size, amount of gear and number of people on the boat varies and all adds weight and that this would all make a slight difference but I'd like to try to get a consensus of opinions from those who have observed and measured it on where it would fall fully loaded and ballasted as measured from under the black stripe.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Kind Regards,
JonBill

beene · Post by **beene** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:30 am

I would say 2 inches.... but I plan to paint up to the black line.

G

Divecoz · Post by **Divecoz** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 8:53 am

beene wrote:I would say 2 inches.... but I plan to paint up to the black line.

G

I agree with Beene. If your going to do , protect yourself go the extra inch{?}
Then again .. . . the last inch or s would be an easy weekly maintenance and you'd still have a nice clean white strip between the boot stripe and the bottom pant.
Whos and which bottom paint did you decide on???

Compromise · Post by **Compromise** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:33 am

The X has a similar line and I think it boils down to a personal preference.
I've seen people match up to the line, so the entire bottom is black and I seen a 2 inch seperation between the paint job and the line. I chose the 2 inch seperation.

Whatever floats your boat sir

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 11:12 am

Actually, leaving a 1-2" gap would look nicer, having a black racing stripe above. But, think about it, for the duration of time most growth happens the boat is sitting still, slightly higher in the water at a slip, especially if there is no ballast. It only sits considerably lower when you and your crew climb aboard with all your extra gear and then fill the ballast. But then you are headed out for a sail or a trip so the boat is moving therefore slowing marine growth. I would paint mine (still agonizing over the decision) with blue bottom paint and leave a space since I have always noticed the space is there (higher w/empty ballast) even with ballast full every time I arrive.

bscott · Post by **bscott** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:43 pm

My

anti-foul is 3/4" below the painted stripe

pokerrick1 · Post by **pokerrick1** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:29 pm

I had my 2006 M painted up to the black stripe - - I am in salt water 100% of the time.

Rick

Matt19020 · Post by **Matt19020** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:43 pm

This is my first boat in the water. I did the bottom paint on it this year. I referred to my best friend who has owned a boat all his life and he told me to definitly go to the stripe. Otherwise he said that if you stop short of the stripe it will discolor and you will be unhappy. I took his advice and I am glad I did. I posted the pics of before and after.... this is in freshwater East coast full ballast. In water about 6 months before and after pressure washing. (You can see the scum line under the stripe)
FYI........I do believe I lost at least 1 mph with paint but I'm a cruiser not a racer.........I hope this helps.

Derrick · Post by **Derrick** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:49 pm

I painted my 07M this spring. I left one inch between the black stripe and the bottom paint. I to thought the white stripe between to blacks would look nice. It does on the trailer and did unitil the scum build up starts and then it actually looks worse.

It is also a lot of work to clean that 1 inch stripe around the boat.

When I did this I thought the boat would actually sit higher than it does. The 1" white stripe is barely above the water line and I don't have a lot of weight and gear on the boat and have a lighter E-Tec OB.

My boat actually sits lower in the front if you check the water line stripe and this is more noticeable with the 1 inch stripe.

I think the 1 inch stripe looks better when clean, but If I had to do it again, i would probably paint to the original black stripe. Less work in the long run to clean and maintain.

JonBill · Post by **JonBill** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:48 am

Thanks for everybody's response so far they are interesting to read and I guess there is no consensus but a lot of varied experiences.

I emailed Todd at BWY and asked him how he does it on new M boats that he sells and he told me he leaves 1.5" under the black stripe.

I also copied Gail in accessories because I know she has an M (or X?), but got a response from Cheryl (maybe Gail’s on vacation) and she said she always puts a 1" blue painters tape at the bottom of the black stripe and hence she leaves a 1" gap.

I like the idea of the gap but some responses said they just go all the way to the black line and are happy with that. There is an X in the marina where I plan to put my boat and he left a gap of what looked like about 1.5" or so and didn't have any fouling on the gap that I could see.

To answer Divecoz:
I think I've decided to go with Interlux Micron Extra. It is a self-polishing copolymer antifouling paint that wears down with use. Unlike some bottom paints, Micron Extra can be hauled and relaunched without repainting. Contains Biolux, Micron's slime blocking chemical plus cuprous oxide for superior protection against shell, weed and slime fouling. The copolymer compound is designed to self polish (or wear like a bar of soap) over time and use.

Also I like that it can be hauled out without repainting being required or any special washing to recharge the paint.

BWY recommended Pettit Ultima SR, but in Pettit's sales literature they hype that paint as "equivalent" to Interlux Micron Extra. Also West Marine carries the Micron Extra and I've got 3 West Marine stores in the area and the prices are comparable to Pettit. So I'll just go with the paint that sets the "standard" that others feel they need to measure up to instead of the "or-equal" so to speak. Either would be fine I'm sure. I know it's a slower paint (not a hard paint like for racing) but if I want to go really fast I got 90 hp Tohatsu (lol).

Special thanks to Louis Holub who is loaning me his "A" frame and other supports and who is giving me a lot of good advice.

Now I'll be embarrassed if I can't get the boat off the trailer. My new trailer that I've been bragging about goes all the way to the stern of the boat (I ordered it that way so I could put a transom saver on the back). However this will make it very difficult to block up under the stern and pull away as there is no room for a block. So it will be kind of dicey getting it off of the trailer but will give it a go.

Please keep the responses coming to my original question.

Kind Regards,
JonBill

parrothead · Post by **parrothead** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:22 pm

JonBill,
I didn't reply to your original question, as our

is blue, but probably the blue stripe is in the same location as the black one is on a white hull. We have about 1" of white below the stripe, which is just right at the bow when she's in the slip with a full tank [the stern sits higher with nobody aboard].

We have used Interlux Micron Extra with Biolux [black] and it works great. The waterline and the corners of the transom needed minor touch-ups after our first season in a slip, but in '07 we moved to a much more sheltered marina and didn't experience anywhere near as much "erosion" of the paint due to hull motion in the slip. One caveat about hauling & re-launching, however: there's no way to get the boat onto the trailer without a bit of slipage across the trailer bunks - which very effectively removes the antifouling paint in those locations.

Doug

JonBill · Post by **JonBill** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:43 pm

parrothead wrote:JonBill,
I didn't reply to your original question, as our is blue, but probably the blue stripe is in the same location as the black one is on a white hull. We have about 1" of white below the stripe, which is just right at the bow when she's in the slip with a full tank [the stern sits higher with nobody aboard].

Doug,
Cheryl had the following to say about blue hulls and it sounds spot on to what you did:
"We take a 1" blue masking tape and have it follow the lower line of the black water line around the boat. If you have a blue boat you will follow the bottom of the blue stripe which is just under the white water line stripe. This way you have a line to follow around the boat that is already straight so your tape won't wobble. Make sure you rub the tape down really good so the paint does not slip under. Once painted the blue tape will come off real easy and you have a nice bottom paint line."

parrothead wrote: We have used Interlux Micron Extra... One caveat about hauling & re-launching, however: there's no way to get the boat onto the trailer without a bit of slipage across the trailer bunks - which very effectively removes the antifouling paint in those locations.

How bad is the problem of the paint rubbing off due to contact with the bunks? Does it just wear it down more or does it rub it completely off where it makes contact? If it rubs it completely off then maybe I need rethink and go with a harder paint because my bunks run the full length parallel with the boat. Please let me know.

Kind regards,
JonBill

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:04 pm

I also copied Gail in accessories because I know she has an M (or X?)

She has a Hunter!

Lived on it. My wife & I were on it with her at BWY dock two years ago.

JonBill · Post by **JonBill** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:38 pm

Terry wrote:
She has a Hunter! Lived on it. My wife & I were on it with her at BWY dock two years ago.

I only gathered that based on a recent conversation about faulty mast rotation bearings. I thought she told me she noticed the same problem on her boat with the bearing. I must have been mistaken. She must have been refering to another boat at the Marina.

Thanks!

Kind Regards,
JonBill

parrothead · Post by **parrothead** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 2:26 pm

Does it just wear it down more or does it rub it completely off where it makes contact?

The major variables are probably the angle and length of the ramp you're using [and the height of the tide at pull-out time]. I just snapped this photo of the starboard side of the bow -- as you can see, Blue Heaven has a grey epoxy barrier coat under her black Micron Extra antifouling paint.

In Matt19020's photos [above], it appears that his bow bunk merely cleaned the gunk off the surface of the paint - so it would be interesting to know what kind of paint it is.

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Have question on waterline location for M bottom paint?

Have question on waterline location for M bottom paint?

Bottom Paint