Keeping a Mac at a Slip

[ChrisNorton]

I keep my boat in the water from April to November up here in Connecticut just 5 minutes from my home. Two years ago, I could see my marina from my office building but now sadly I work farther away. When I worked near it, I can't tell you how many lunchtime sails I took and how many times I just ate lunch at my slip. A slip is awesome. I could never go back to trailering like I did with my old fishing boat. The cost is not insignificant but I find I use my boat 4 times as much being in the water than I would if on the trailer.

Bottom paint is a must IMHO. Barnacles and slime growth are a nightmare to deal with and I don't pull my boat once it is in the water. I'm a scuba instructor and I can tell it is no fun diving in my marina water. I do my own bottom painting in the off season. Let me suggest if you do apply bottom paint, go with Interlux Micron Extra with Biolux. Yes it is $160 a gallon but for the Macgregor, you can get two complete applications out of a gallon and you don't need to apply it each year. The stuff is self-polishing and ablative so there is no build up over years (it basically slowly dissolves) so no need to sand anything when you apply a new coat. The stuff keeps everything off the boat, even slime. You only need to lightly scrub the scum line that forms right at water level.

As for other things you need for berthing:
-A dock box is real handy for storing extra stuff like tow tubes and cleaning supplies
-Don't skimp on dock lines, especially where large thunderstorms are prevalent. I've seen dock lines chafe through in a single wind storm. I nose in at my slip and use four dock lines, one on each of the bow cleats placed at 45 degree angles to the bow, one on the dockside stern cleat also at a 45 degree angle, and a spring line attached mid-ship dockside back to the same cleat as the stern line. I bought a rail cleat that locks on my jib track mid-ship to attach the spring line. The spring line keeps your boat tight against the dock and bumpers and prevents it from surging forward and back.
-Dock bumpers (2 are enough for the Mac)
-A good hatch lock to prevent burglars. I even put in a $30 Radio shack alarm in my cabin to deter people from stealing electronics, binoculars, etc
-If you have a sail furler, make sure you have the UV protection and a main sail cover to protect from sun damage
-I bought a two step ladder for the dock as it can be hard for some people to straddle the high sides of the MacGregor
-Shore power is real handy to keep everything charged and to allow for no worries extended dockside use of lights, electronics and fans.
-A 50 foot (30 is too short for many dock configurations) 30 amp shore power cable.
-Keep your keel in the up position to keep barnacles out of your slot and to prevent the ceaseless banging noise when you are attempting to sleep.
-Practice several times in light winds the approach to your dock. Typically, you share an opening with a boat next to you and the Mac is not the most maneuverable boat at slow speeds. In higher winds, docking can be a real challenge. Buy a boat hook with a rubber tip to help push you off your neighbor's boat. He'll thank you.
-Make sure you seal up as many leaks as you can as without the benefit of storing under a cover or trees, you get a lot more water in the boat.
-Consider a pedestal cover to prevent sun damage and to assist with leaks as the pedestal is a big source of leaks
-Always park with rudders up or else they will be covered with slime and barnacles

That's about all I can think of. You won't regret keeping the old Mac at a slip.

[Terry]

ChrisNorton wrote:

Let me suggest if you do apply bottom paint, go with Interlux Micron Extra with Biolux. Yes it is $160 a gallon but for the Macgregor, you can get two complete applications out of a gallon and you don't need to apply it each year. The stuff is self-polishing and ablative so there is no build up over years (it basically slowly dissolves) so no need to sand anything when you apply a new coat. The stuff keeps everything off the boat, even slime. You only need to lightly scrub the scum line that forms right at water level.

Sounds interesting enough, how complicated is it to apply, do I have to sand & do the Epoxy thing or can I just paint it onto my freshly cleaned hull? If I decide to give up on it can I just leave it to disolve away and return to waxing the virgin hull? How do I remove it if I change my mind?
Chris, I left you a PM on it.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

No doubt you need bottom paint for a slip. Maybe not as much in cold fresh water though. I recently scraped, lightly sanded, and re-painted with Interlux Ultra with Biolux. It took me most of a gallon to do one coat but I also painted the whole trunk and the whole CB. Seems like you would have to put it on pretty light to get 2 coats on a Mac26 though. Of course my paint goes up to a couple inches below the stripe so maybe others dont paint as much.

[ChrisNorton]

I should clarify, it took a half gallon but I already had a different bottom coat on it. It takes less on subsequent applications. I've done it twice and it took a half gallon the second time. In any event, even if you slathered a full gallon on it each time, it's still worth the money for the good stuff (Micron Ultra or Extra) as it works so well.

I don't think it would ever fully disolve back down to virgin white though. If it did, it would take years. But comparing boats in the water for even 4 weeks without bottom paint, I can't imagine not having it at least up here in the Northeast. I am originally from Michigan and many people skip it there but slime is still an issue which is why something like Micron Ultra or Extra are good for even fresh water.

I bought my boat used so I'm not certain about the original application. Can anyone who bought their boat from Havencraft in Massachusetts confirm if they did any epoxy before putting on bottom paint? From the looks of it on my boat, I don't think they did but I'm not certain. I've never had a problem with blistering being in the water continuously for 6-7 months each year but then the boat dries out for the remaining months each year. Would the bottom paint itself provide some blistering protection? I am not certain but I would assume it must help somewhat.

I find application of the bottom paint quite easy. I tape off using blue masking tape about 2-3 inches below the strips. Then I put on a painters coverall, eye protection and a cannister respirator as the paint is toxic. Then I roll it on. I jack up the trailer and boat, then block the boat's rear when it is high, then drop the trailer, then paint under the bunks. There are detailed descriptions on this site on how to do that. It takes 2-3 hours. I recommend getting a roller with a broom handle if you are at all claustraphobic. You will work up a sweat doing it but it is fairly easy. With the Micron Extra or Ultra, there is no sanding required.

[KaiSchuler]

Chris Norton asked:
"Would the bottom paint itself provide some blistering protection? I am not certain but I would assume it must help somewhat. "

Chris, there might be other opinions here, but I am pretty sure the anti-blister effect of pure antifouling paint is next to zero. During my time in college, I worked on boat shows a lot and sold bottom paint, epoxy, and all that other stuff. Everybody I talked to (boaters, manufacturers,...) always made very clear that the antifouling does not protect against blistering. Basically, the epoxy coating is required for all boat that were not built with epoxy resin (or something similar available today). It is basically required because most boat manufacturers save a few bucks when they build hulls with something cheaper. For a trailer boat that might be acceptable, because it's not designed to be in the water all the time. But if you have it in the water for more than say a month I'd highly reccomend the barrier coat (Interlux Interprotect 2000E works fine).

Happy sailing.

Kai

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Wow Chris, 2-3 hours total to paint your boat? You must be superman!

Took me 2-3 hours just to cut the jack posts, jack up, and take down the boat. Scraping all the barnacle bases and other crap off took the most time...was probably about 10-15 hours worth of work. Another hour or two to tape the stripe. Another 2-3 hours worth of work to get the CB out and then put it back in afterwards. The actual painting took me the better part of a day, probably about 8 hours. So altogether for me, it was more like 30 hours worth of work spread out over 3 weekends or so.

Even if you didn't scrape or sand anything and you didn't remove your CB, you are still about 3-4 times faster than me.

[Randy Smith]

Bottom painting sucks, yet I would not have a boat in the water for a period of time without it. I keep Breezy in a slip at Boardman Oregon, on the Columbia river. Even though it is fresh water, "icky stuff" will attach to the boat. When I take the boat out of the drink, and that is rare as I enjoy the boat year round, I go to the car wash and let her have it. 5$ and 15minutes later I have to choose if the boat goes back to the marina or home for a few repairs and a coat of bottom paint. Usually, I recoat every two years, but have waited as long as four. My boat is a 96 and she is still a beauty, with a nice bottom , yes, Admiral too. Randy

[Hubert]

I keep my X in a slip on a lake from May to Oct. When I pulled it out and cleaned at the end of the first season I found small blisters. The next spring I light sanded and added an Interlux Barrier, 1 gallon will do 2-3 coats. I then added 2 coats of Micron CSC antifouling which lasts 2-3 seasons. It's not diffult to do, the hardest part was getting the boat up of the trailer, finding sufficient supports was my biggest challenge. I got info on how to lift it from this board.

[Ron]

About growth in the centerboard channel, I had a lot of growth in there even though I kept the centerboard raised all the time. There is enough clearance between the centerboard and the walls that water is always in there and barnacles, clams, and what not like it in there. I think you need to paint in there good too.

[Kenoten]

Next weekend we are putting our boat in a slip for the second year. It was an easy decision. We got a lot more use out of the boat and it was so much more relaxing to just jump on and go. We considered putting the boat on a mooring, but it would be difficult to flush the engine after each outing.

We just make sure we have spring lines set and pull the boat in all directions to make sure it can't whack the dock.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I had always just put a little bit of paint on the areas of CB and trunk that were reachable without removing the board. When I did my full paint job last fall, I pulled the whole board out and was surprised to find barnacles on the top of the board too. So, I scraped it off, and painted the whole board and the whole trunk. Added a bit of time to the job as I noted above but I should never have that problem again hopefully.

One thing to note, my fully painted board has been a bit more sticky than it used to be. I can get it unstuck by letting it a bit further down and then bringing it up. It is also much more sensitive to lateral force now...ie, the fully painted board takes slightly less lateral force to get stuck than the unpainted one.

As I also replaced the CB bracket, everything is brand new so the only explanation is that the paint is causing a bit more friction and making it stick. Again, it is fully functional and I would rather not deal with barnacles on the board. I expect that eventually, the paint will wear off at the wear areas and it will be less sticky.