Bottom Paint Pros/Cons + Zyrex Thoughts


FastMarkA

FastMarkA

Member
My boat (2017 350CBR) sits in freshwater from about April until October, and right now it doesn't have bottom paint.

I'm told Formula's fiberglass quality *shouldn't* blister, but I'm also a realist, so I'd like to avoid the day when the boat gets hauled out and the hull is littered with bumps.

I have a scuba diver clean every two weeks to keep the growth off.

I'm also aware that this boat might live its next life on a smaller lake or the intercoastal, where access to in-water lifts are more prevalent than what I have in Chicago. For that reason, resale with bottom paint could be tricky.

I guess I have a few questions here:


  • If you were buying this boat, would you want it painted or just as the factory delivered it?
  • If you have a Formula that blistered, I'd love to hear the backstory.
  • Have you ever used/applied Zyrex?
  • Any other strong recommendations for a barrier coat and/or bottom paint?

If I'm going to apply something, I might as well take advantage of the opportunity and use a product that can potentially enhance overall performance instead of hinder it.
 
About 6 months ago when I was pondering Formula vs. Cobalt and visiting dealers, my local Cobalt dealer STRONGLY urged me not to bottom paint and to put my boat on a lift even though the lift was a significantly larger up front expense. He claimed that bottom paint reduced resale value by about 20% almost immediately. I ended up finding a few year old Formula 310SS that was never bottom painted. It looks wonderful both on and off its lift.
 
I'm on the other side of the Atlantic so have no call answering a local preference question but a well applied epoxy coat and AF below the waterline never devalued any boat but deemed less desirable for small trailerable or dry stacked speed queens. Particularly the epoxy coat, if applied as a preventative and not reactive measure, is seen as a boon.

I actually like a contrasting bottom coat

my old tub

YkBWlNx.jpg


in the water

u6D81WU.jpg
 
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I have seen quite a blister rash on a Formula 280 from being in fresh water seasonally. So, don't assume that the quality materials of resin and gelcoat that Formula uses will totally avoid blisters. It is best to have an epoxy barrier coat to keep the water from working its way through the gelcoat.

Some folks frown on any kind of bottom paint, be it barrier coat or both barrier and antifouling as it tends to reduce the re-sale value of the boat . . . but so does blisters !!!

Less expensive boat brands will probably develop blisters sooner that what a Formula would, but it is, with good probability, an eventual occurrence with keeping a boat in fresh water.

No direct experience with the Zyrex coating, but something that prevents water migration is better than nothing.
 
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My smaller boat for three seasons was in Lake Erie, from mid april till end of october with no bottom paint. I would correctly apply anti fouling wax at begining of season and then mid season pull her out clean and re wax then run rest of season. Looked as good as new after cleaning at end of every season. Yes many dealers will tell you bottom paint lowers value.
 
tpenfield said:
I have seen quite a blister rash on a Formula 280 from being in fresh water seasonally. So, don't assume that the quality materials of resin and gelcoat that Formula uses will totally avoid blisters. It is best to have an epoxy barrier coat to keep the water from working its way through the gelcoat.
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^ This. Even Formula cannot defy the laws of...chemistry, in this case, I believe. :)

I'm going to continue down the path of some type of barrier coat. I've been scouring the web and discovered very favorable reviews of Zyrex, and others want to burn the place down.

I feel if I can get a coating that stops the absorption of water (the root cause of blistering) and makes the hull more slightly more slick for performance (I'm not expecting a miracle), I don't think resale will be hindered as much as slapping on some friction-generating, dark colored bottom paint.
 
FastMarkA said:
I've been scouring the web and discovered very favorable reviews of Zyrex, and others want to burn the place down.
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This is pretty much the case with any product review on the Internet. Gotta take all reviews with a grain of salt
 
FastMarkA said:
I feel if I can get a coating that stops the absorption of water (the root cause of blistering) and makes the hull more slightly more slick for performance (I'm not expecting a miracle), I don't think resale will be hindered as much as slapping on some friction-generating, dark colored bottom paint.
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Trust me, where I am it's the lesser of two evils. This after just 7 months in the water. Note the black friction generating stuff is still smooth as a baby's bottom.

W7F9sFY.jpg
 
Okay, so I'll be the contrarian opinion on this one.
Our boat stays in the water on Lake Tahoe from May 1st through September 30th along with a fleet of about 100 other Formulas. None of them are bottom painted and I've never heard of an issue with the gel coat blistering. Some of these boats have been on the lake this way for more than 10 years.
Now, that being said, you can literally drink the lake water its so clean but it's still H2O.
 
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