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MLerner
07-31-2002, 01:58 PM
Hi All, took out my '93 classic 18 yesterday and, according to the hand-held GPS I borrowed, hit 56 mph with a half tank of gas on a light chop (Cobra 5.8L, OMC outdrive). My question: when I bought the boat last year, the previous owner had painted the bottom (boo-hoo). How much of a difference in performance does standard bottom paint make and what's the best way to get the damn stuff off? Do I need to re-gel coat if I do it? Thanks for your sage advice.

Moody Blu'
07-31-2002, 02:02 PM
I used peel away on my bottom, but I repainted it.......( I keep my boat in the water all season)- NO ramp stories THANK GOD...

peel away can be bought at home depot...

it works really good...

it is a bit messy but gets the job done, it won practical sailors 1st place 2 years in a row...

HyperDonzi
07-31-2002, 02:03 PM
i have bottom paint also on and wonder the same thing.
i also have a primer underneath the paint

if its just paint, use a power washer.

Forrest
07-31-2002, 02:41 PM
Pressure wash, Casrtol Super Clean, oven cleaner, Scotch Brite pads, etc. No matter how you do it, it's really a nasty labor-intensive job. If you go with any kind of stripper, including Peel-Away, be very careful since any of this stuff can and will eat into the gelcoat finish leaving you with no other choice but to fair and paint or re-gelcoat.

Cuda
07-31-2002, 03:55 PM
It depends on the bottom paint. The last two boats I bought had it. The first one, I rented a 3000# pressure washer with a sand blasting attachment. It took it off pretty well, but you have to be carefull on convex curves or you will go through the gel coat. My second one, I took down to have bead blasted. DON'T DO THIS!!! It did a horrible job, and some places it looks like my boat was shot with #8 birdshot. It is rough and nasty, I wished I'd have done it myself again. I was told ez off oven cleaner will take some of them off. On my second boat, it didn't touch it. But I had a few spots on my first boat that it turned the paint into a gel and could be rubbed off. I tried the Removes-it stripper from Home Depot, and it didn't do anything to either one of the paints. Try an inconspicous spot first. I used 550# of sand to blast a 20 foot boat. Use the finest sand they have at the rental place. If you have access to a pressure washer, you can rent just the sand attachment from a rental place for just a few dollars a day. It took about 3 hours to do the 20 footer, of course there are spots that had to be touched up with a sander afterwards.

MLerner
07-31-2002, 04:56 PM
Great advice, thanks Cuda.

MOP
07-31-2002, 07:56 PM
Your boat will look a ton better clean and spiffy, but honestly don't expect a whole lot of extra speed. I used to leave all my boats in, I worked at marinas got off cheap or free it was kinda nice to just jump in and go. I sold my Ski boat to a guy that was horrified that the bottom was painted. When he bought it the only fair measure of preformance was tach readings 5600, he stripped it and just about buffed like a babies butt. It did maybe a 1/2 a needle width faster, I had to chuckle when my new boat beat him about a month later with paint. Another thought remember the Americas Cup race in Austrailia when Conners put the aircraft rivlets on the bottom, he proved as did Boeing Aircraft smooth is not always fast.

Cuda
08-01-2002, 03:21 AM
MOP, you may be right that smooth isn't always fast, but bottom paint is always UGLY! :D

MOP
08-01-2002, 07:36 AM
Excellent Point madmoodle! Ugly as it may be, whats under may be uglier requiring alot of sanding.

MLerner
08-01-2002, 09:16 AM
M.O.P., good advice to think about before I break my back trying to get the paint off. I am definitely interested in testing that Raker prop to see the difference in performance. Please let me know if that is a possibility and I'll arrange to pick it up at your convenience. Thanks, M

HyperDonzi
08-01-2002, 12:43 PM
MOP, you may be right that smooth isn't always fast, but bottom paint is always UGLY!

i must disagree. red with black stripes 19' with black bottom paint. i think it looks pretty nice.

MOP
08-01-2002, 12:46 PM
Poked around the only Viper Loose right now is my 23, your welcome to try it. Not sure if its to much pitch for you.

MLerner
08-02-2002, 05:44 PM
M.O.P., I think a 23 is a bit too much pitch. Thanks for trying.

MOP
08-02-2002, 06:44 PM
I will keep looking around, I get into alot of shops.