To bottom paint or not?

Marty-party

Marty-party

Member
Hey,

I have a 19 aluminum boat that is unpainted. It has been on a trailer so far but would like to have it in the salt year round. Do i need bottom paint or not? It will be moored on the sunshine coast.

Any advice welcome.

-MartinIMG_1422.JPG
 
I would or make sure you haul out every month and clean and scrap the zincs with a STAINLESS brush not a normal one
 
yup. what wolf said.
 
if you are going to do it it is worth the time savings.
 
I own an aluminum boat. I have it in the water for only short periods of time. So I would never bother to bottom coat it. The problem with aluminum is its not an easy cheap do it your self job like fiberglass. Aluminum takes a lot of preparation to paint. It requires a special primer and if the boat was brand new from the factory it might not require much work. Personally I'd just keep on top of it with a good power washing. Better yet just go fishing all the time and blow the gunk off with a good fast run. If you own a trailer it's not a big deal to pull it out to power wash. If there was no ramp to pull it out in your vicinity that would be a different story. As long as you can pull it out regularly for a bit of a clean up and keep on top of it then it's not that big an issue. Also depends on if the place you are moored has good water flow. Dead stagnant water will grow stuff way faster. Fast moving water won't grow stuff as fast.
 
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If you haul it out once a month to clean off the bottom you will not have any barnacles. More than a month and they start to show up and you will have to scrape them off. You will have minimal growth in winter months. Every 2 weeks is probably making more work for yourself than you need to.
 
Marty
Don't paint aluminum if you can avoid it. Use that money to buy a floating boat lift. The whole boat floats on bunks completely out of the water. Launches in about ten minutes and retrieves in about same time. My boat has been floating on one since the day I bought it six years ago. It will preserve the value of your boat. It's already to go when you need it. Never have to clean hull. Zincs last way longer. Just all around better for boat. My previous aluminum boat I left floating and tried to clean once a month. If you leave it too long it's a big messy stinky job to clean it. I got tired of that pretty quickly.
Feel free to PM me and I can give you the big picture.
 
If you leave your boat in longer than a month, you will thoroughly regret it. Bottom paint (proper prep and paint for aluminum) is not a bad idea for a permanent solution.
 
I run a aluminum boat 5 days a week all year round. I still have to power wash it once a month in the summer.
eastpoint said:
Marty
Don't paint aluminum if you can avoid it. Use that money to buy a floating boat lift. The whole boat floats on bunks completely out of the water. Launches in about ten minutes and retrieves in about same time. My boat has been floating on one since the day I bought it six years ago. It will preserve the value of your boat. It's already to go when you need it. Never have to clean hull. Zincs last way longer. Just all around better for boat. My previous aluminum boat I left floating and tried to clean once a month. If you leave it too long it's a big messy stinky job to clean it. I got tired of that pretty quickly.
Feel free to PM me and I can give you the big picture.
Click to expand...

Id like to see a thread started showing what this looks like and how it works.
 
Birdsnest
I will post some info as you requested when I have more time. Soon I hope, it is a topic I believe is well worth discussing.
In a new thread. I'll post here once it is up ok.
 
eastpoint said:
Marty
Don't paint aluminum if you can avoid it. Use that money to buy a floating boat lift. The whole boat floats on bunks completely out of the water. Launches in about ten minutes and retrieves in about same time. My boat has been floating on one since the day I bought it six years ago. It will preserve the value of your boat. It's already to go when you need it. Never have to clean hull. Zincs last way longer. Just all around better for boat. My previous aluminum boat I left floating and tried to clean once a month. If you leave it too long it's a big messy stinky job to clean it. I got tired of that pretty quickly.
Feel free to PM me and I can give you the big picture.
Click to expand...

If you could afford the lift option. It is money much better spent than bottom coating in my opinion. Way less wear and tear on your motor as it's not submerged in the corroding saltwater. Also removes all the stray current that eats everything when aluminum is submerged continuously. Unless you are pulling your boat out regularly to clean and or replace your zines religiously they lose their effectiveness after time.

Boat lift is definitely the best way to protect your investment if it is a viable option where you are moored.
 
Paint it. I am picking up mine tomorrow from the bottom painter. 21ft Aluminum NR. Sandblast, anti corrosion epoxy, epoxy barrier coat, and then 3rd top coat. Also make sure you replace your zincs with Aluminum anodes. All for around 2 grand
 
cj6530 said:
Paint it. I am picking up mine tomorrow from the bottom painter. 21ft Aluminum NR. Sandblast, anti corrosion epoxy, epoxy barrier coat, and then 3rd top coat. Also make sure you replace your zincs with Aluminum anodes. All for around 2 grand
Click to expand...

Excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong, but I thought aluminum anodes are only for fresh, or brackish water. I was of the understanding that zinc anodes should be used in the chuck.
 
IMG_0068.JPG I have been told that marine grade aluminum has close to the same nobility as zinc. That's why many aluminum boat owners have hardly any wear on their zincs (not working). Aluminum anodes are slightly more sacrificial than zinc and marine grade aluminum making it the better choice. The major outboard manufactures all use aluminum anodes now on their outboards. I didn't realize until recently that the anaode on my Yamtha F225 was aluminum making the zinc anodes on my hull useless. I now have all aluminum. You also want to attach you hull anodes with spacers so that you get more anode surface area for protection.IMG_0067 (1).JPG
 
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My boat has two brackets for the zincs. I have 3 zincs mounted on the hull. I have one bracket with zincs mounted front and back of the bracket. The other bracket I mounted an extra zinc behind the bracket that mounts my starboard plate for transducer mounting. A bit of over kill, but I figured why not.
 
If my aluminum boat sits on saltwater, I would like wash the boat everywhere freshwater wash salt off. I check with the zinc on the boat, main motor and kicker. If zinc is look like a Swiss cheese , zinc is corrosion . It is a must replace one.

Never never paint on the zinc.
 
cj6530 said:
View attachment 28463 I have been told that marine grade aluminum has close to the same nobility as zinc. That's why many aluminum boat owners have hardly any wear on their zincs (not working). Aluminum anodes are slightly more sacrificial than zinc and marine grade aluminum making it the better choice. The major outboard manufactures all use aluminum anodes now on their outboards. I didn't realize until recently that the anaode on my Yamtha F225 was aluminum making the zinc anodes on my hull useless. I now have all aluminum. You also want to attach you hull anodes with spacers so that you get more anode surface area for protection.View attachment 28462
Click to expand...
Your zinc looks good.
 
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