New Member need info on bottom painting and prep

[Serenity]

Hi everyone I am new to forums and new to owning a 2001 I will be hauling boat to San Carlos Mexico but first think I should apply some kind of bottom finish to protect the hull. As it is the haul looks really clean, appears to have had NOTHING on it. It does have really tiny bumps like dimples everywhere (I do not believe blisters). I would also drop the center board and paint it as well. I have read a lot of posts and still don't know what process I should follow. Wash soap water, dewax, clean with alcohol wipe, sand (100grit) wipe with alcohol OR use Interlux no sand primer, then apply 2 0R 4 coats Interlux barrier coat OR 2 coats of Pettit protect expoxy primer, then 2 coats of Interlux Bottom Kote or 2 coats of Trinida Anti Fouling paint.

Please help. I inquired on the cost of getting this done in Mexico and it was well over 75000.00 pesos ($5700.00 cdn) so I have read how many of you have done the work yourselves well still on the trailer. I will build the supports I require to get access to hull (plan to do it safe). Will the trailer lifting procedure work with a tandem axle?

The produsts I have listed seem to be the easiest to use the West System sames a little over kill. What would you recommend?

PLEASE HELP....... I want to get started.

[sailboatmike]

Wow I thought the labour rate in Mexico for cheap, just for interests sake what rate are they charging per hour??

While Im far from an expert on these things I think they saw you as a gringo and decided to try it on.

I know the standard rate here in Australia (which has very expensive labour rates) is less that $1000Au or about the same in Ca$

[yukonbob]

Go with an epoxy barrier; pick your poison and follow the instructions for application. Same goes for paint. If you're slipping in warm water for long periods go albative, if you're trailer go with a harder trailering paint. Pick one buy it and follow instructions. Each product has different requirements although very similar if not the same. With a bare clean hull you have the opportunity to do it right. having a shop is now to reduce debris in you layers but not a requirement. Do it on the trailer with a good beam, bottle jacks and jack stands. You can even throw on some lateral stands if you're worried about the boat moving sideways on you.

[Serenity]

Thanks for the info. I spoke with a Interlux rep and he says with my hull being like new that I can just go with dewaxing then sanding the gel coat with 180 grit wash down with alcohol then apply 2 coats of Interlux Micron CSC and I am done. As for the Mexican labor rate it is 310 pesos or $22.00 cdn. They have reduced the price now by 1/2 to 39000 pesos. But the price of materials is double from our price here. My material costs are only $500.00 plus material to support boat and rollers brushes masks etc. So $2800.00 cdn to about $800.00 cdn.
So what do you think ........ go with the Interlux Rep sand and paint.

As for lifting the boat off trailer .... I was wandering will it work the same as a single axle trailer as I have a tandem axle.

I hope to get started jacking boat this week. I will order materials tomorrow so let me know what you think of my decision.

[dca81]

Not an expert here...but my first concern would be that those dimples are blisters and should not be covered with a barrier coat. I would suggest you do a form search for blisters. When I first purchased my I cleaned the bottom of crud and found clusters of little dimples in certain areas. Consensus of this board and local repair guy was that they were blisters. Seems Macgregor's gel coat technique are prone to blistering if they set in the water unprotected for prolonged periods (at least that's my impression from comments on this board). I had the blister areas repaired (cost $2000-2500) and then I applied 4 coats of barrier coat (Interlux). The bottom 2 coats were gray and top two were white. The concept was that I would know I was getting close to the hull if I saw gray. I then applied a top paint of Interlux VC 17. I applied the barrier coat and paint myself while the boat set on the trailer. I used floor jacks and boards to lift the boat a few inches off the bunks, doing the front first (transfer boat balance to rear bunks) and then the rear (transfer boat balance to front bunks). I have the stock single axle trailer but don't think your tandem will have any impact since you are only transferring the weight on the trailer , not transferring the trailer itself. It was simple and intuitive enough that even an accountant could do it.
I slip my boat about 5 months a year and it spends the other 7 on the trailer. I have had no re-occurrence of dimples (blisters). I touch up the VC 17 top coat each year and the hull cleans easily at the end of the season. This all happened about 5 years ago, so my issue seems to be fixed...good luck with yours.

[Serenity]

Thank you for the Great advice. I will definately check on the small bump issue further. Those bumps are over the whole hull below waterline forward to aft, evenly dispersed and the bottom is still same clean white and bumps have no discoloration. Inside bilge is clean red color. The boat was very well taken care of. What other checks can I do to varify the bumps are not blisters?
Thx again.

[yukonbob]

Those do sound like blisters. I'll second Dc's comments and look into that before going any further.

[Serenity]

So what do you think. If I am sanding anyway I might as well do the Inter-Protect 2000 over the hull first. It would not hurt right.
Thx

[adrenaud]

i had the blister issue with my 2008M, i sanded them all down, made sure they were dry, then i prepped the bottom and used Interlux 2000 for the bottom coat, i used intervals of white and grey to make sure i got complete coverage. I used up all the paint i had purchased, i think it ended up with 6 coats of paint.

[yukonbob]

i had the blister issue with my 2008M, i sanded them all down, made sure they were dry, then i prepped the bottom and used Interlux 2000 for the bottom coat, i used intervals of white and grey to make sure i got complete coverage. I used up all the paint i had purchased, i think it ended up with 6 coats of paint.

X2 this is the way I'd go too.

[Serenity]

Thank you Guys very much. I have ordered the Interprotect 2000 2 gal. 1 one white 1 gal. grey. Also 1 gal. Micron CSC black. I don't know how many coats I will get with the 2 gal. of 2000 but I should get at least 2 maybe 3 with the Micron CSC.

Does anyone know the time process between coats of the 2000 and then the time when to place the Micron on top.

I feel much better doing this the right way.

I will wash down with 2o2 dewaxer then I will sand with 150 grit then wash again ...... right ... then start placing the 2000 ........right. then the Micron CSC..... then I am finished ....right....????????

Thx again

[Calin]

Did the same thing ( to the letter) as adrenaud in 2010. Mine is a MacGregor 26M 2006.
În addition to the barrier coats i've added the Petit brand anti fooling. No more blistering formed since. Had the boat at least 3 years in the water. Then in and out periods.
Good luck in your project.

[yukonbob]

Just an FYI I recently read somewhere that when using solvents to clean surfaces, isopropyl alcohol is one if not the only solvent that doesn't leave any residue when dry. Even acetone (commonly used to prep FG surfaces) leaves residue.

[Serenity]

I ordered a interlux product 202 solvent wash. Hope it will work.

[Sumner]

.....Does anyone know the time process between coats of the 2000 and then the time when to place the Micron on top....

You'd be far better off to get the instructions for proper time intervals and sand paper grit and so forth from the manufacture vs. on here. The instructions were readily available for the products I used, SeaHawk, and I'm sure they will be for those you are using also.

I also agree with others here that the dimples you have are probably blisters. If you can prick them and open them up they are. If so you really need to open all of them and make sure the hull is dry before spending time and money on the barrier coats and bottom paint. I would not trust just sanding over the, they need to be opened for sure. We had this problem with the Endeavour....



http://1fatgmc.com/boat/end-1/endeavour ... age-1.html

... and it took about 6 months for complete drying but the hull is thicker and thus more water can be trapped. This can be an expense that you didn't count on, it was for us, but I'd try and do it right the first time .



I had no blisters on the Mac but did put on barrier paint and bottom paint before taking longer trips and the products performed great so I used the same ones on the Endeavour. That info is here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-39.html

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links