Help with antifouling ?

[Hawkeye]

Hi,
I have a 18 ft GRP Reiver Sportsman and am thinking of takeing it out of the marina soon to give it a fresh coat of antifoul.
To take it out of the water I have a roller type trailer.

But because its on a trailer I won't be able to paint all of the hull that needs painting as the rollers are in the way . Can I paint round the rollers and then winch the boat back a bit when its dried and paint the bits I could'nt reach, or will this cause a problem with the paint job.



Any advise apretiated

Cheers
Martin

[JeremyFisher]

Hawkeye,

Thats exactly what I've done the last two years on my trooper. Its on a sm during season and on my drive in winter. I've seen no ill effects to this. usually give it 24hrs in between.

A note of caution though, depending on the balance of your trailer you may want to put a jack under the back end before moving the boat backwards or you may see the tow hitch go skywards!!

[Hawkeye]

Cheers Jeremy, looks like thats the plan then.

Do you sand the old coat down a bit before painting or just put a new coat straight on.

Martin.

[JeremyFisher]

Always sanded it down a bit with wet and dry, fine grit 1200. Either do it wet, horrible cold job lying on your back this time of year. Or wear a dust mask.

Also, with the antifoul I have (ultraspeed), the sooner the boat goes back in the water the better, apparantly. I tend to prep it all then antifoul the weekend before trailing the boat back to its mooring for the start of the season.

[Salar]

Always sanded it down a bit with wet and dry, fine grit 1200. Either do it wet, horrible cold job lying on your back this time of year. Or wear a dust mask.

Its a really bad idea to dry sand antifouling, even with a mask. The dust will get in your clothes and you are bound the breathe the toxic dust. I would use wet-and-dry, wet. It is easier to sand that way. Also, I use a much coarser grit than 1200! Antifoul is coarse thick stuff and needs a good key, and you need to ensure any flaking stuff gets off. I use those sponge sanding blocks with built-in abrasive, I usually wear out two on a 23 foot hull but its worth it and the paper never rips.

[JeremyFisher]

Cheers Salar,

I have always done mine wet in the past, but like I say, horrible and cold. I will heed your warning though and the advice on a coarser grit paper. Hopefully it won't take as long to prep!

[Salar]

I have always done mine wet in the past, but like I say, horrible and cold.

Thats one of the reasons I do it in summer - fishing quietens down a bit in August which is a good time for a lift-out for a week. The yard power-washes the underparts so there is no dried-on crud to sand off. I find that as long as I keep the routine up year on year, I only need to rub down with a coarse sanding sponge used wet, hose down, wipe down with an old towel and let it dry off while I mask off the waterline, then the paint goes on with a mini B&Q roller. Job done in a day, including the outdrive leg which I do in a special outdrive antifoul paint. And thats on a 23 foot hull, a shorter boat has a lot less surface underneath. The only problem is the yard is surfaced with granite chippings which is a right pain to kneel on!

[congerclive]

Salar - get yourself some skate boarders knee protectors! Er indoors got me some about ten years ago. They are padded on the inside with hard plastic on the outside and are held in place with velcro fastenings. They come out for all sorts a jobs around the house but are an absolute blessing when scrambling around doing the anit-fouling. Littlehampton marina's yard has all sorts of **** on the ground where the boats are placed for doing this job. The other tip is to use a board to lean on when you have to get right under the boat - this saves your back and elbows.

Must be getting soft in my old age!

[Salar]

That is a dang good idea, I'll get some for next time! Thanks. My son will think I have some street cred at last