Why Do You Need To Paint The Bottom Of Your Boat

1. Why Do You Need To Paint The Bottom Of Your Boat Boat bottom painting is usually associated with antifouling paint. The hull of your vessel is subjected to waterborne critters and growth. The growth is more invasive if your boat spends most of its time in saltwater. The critter and growth attach to the hull and other slick surfaces. The hull of the boat becomes slimy with algae in a short span of time. Algae makes it easy for other organisms to adhere to the hull and other surfaces. The general term used for these organisms is fouling.

2. Fouling affects the speed and performance of the vessel. It makes it hard to maneuver the boat. And, if you are keeping the boat in the water for a long period of time, this growth can even affect the durability of the boat. As a result, the boat uses more fuel. Boat bottom painting is the best way to avoid these problems. Here is a list of organisms growing on the bottom of the vessel. Barnacles Barnacles are millions of tiny shellfish forming a crust on boat hulls. This can reduce the speed of the boat by up to 50 percent. Cleaning, extra fuel, loss of time and wear and tear due to the barnacles cost a large amount of money every year. Sea Squirts Didemnum vexillum is a sea squirt that grows rapidly. Sea squirts have a spongy texture and distinctive yellow/orange color. This texture feels leathery but not slimy. When attached to the boat, the sea squirt resembles dripping wax. This problem is pretty common in northern Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the US. Seaweeds “Wakame” is an invasive Japanese seaweed that is spread to other countries via boat hulls. This seaweed resembles Elizabethan ruffles.

3. Polychaete Worms Polychaete worms produce a structure on propellers, hulls and rudders that is similar to calcium carbonate coral. The European worm covers marine pontoons. There are many more worms attached to hulls. These worms are also drawn to the engine through the cooling water intake and cause damage to the engine. Zebra Mussels Fingernail-sized, invasive mollusks attach to different surfaces made from wood, aluminum, fiberglass and steel. Veliger is a microscopic larva that settles in the cooling system of the boat. There it grows into an adult zebra mussel. The growth of zebra mussels blocks intake screens, hoses, internal passages, strainers and seacoks. Why Paint The Bottom Of Your Boat? This growth is a serious problem as it affects the performance and fuel efficiency of your vessel. Some of the organisms can even damage the engine of your boat. Painting the bottom of your boat is the best way to avoid the growth and consequential problems. It’s also nice for the bottom of your vessel to have a nice shine. Types Of Bottom Paint Following are the two categories of boat bottom paints:

4. ●Hard bottom paint ●Ablative bottom paint Hard Bottom Paint It is a hard modified epoxy. This paint is very durable. It does not wear off easily. This coating gets oxidized and becomes less effective. Use hard bottom paint if your boat sits in the water for long periods of time. Ablative Bottom Paint It is also known as self-polishing bottom paint. It is softer. As the vessel moves in the water, the paint slowly wears away. As it wears away, it exposes new oxidized paint. So, to preserve the performance, speed and fuel efficiency of the boat, it is obviously a good idea to paint the bottom of your boat. Source Link: https://skippersreview.home.blog/2019/10/18/why-do-you-need-to-paint-the- bottom-of-your-boat/