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I need your feedback, guys. I am almost done with the sanding of the four layers of bottom paint that my new to me Outrage 22 had (i'll post pics later on).

Here's the question, the kind of boating and fishing that i do does not require me to leave the boat on the water (i pull it and wash it out every time after coming back). I am having second thoughts about painting the bottom with antifouling paint because very rarely will the boat stay on the water more than 24 hours. Any of you guys had the same dilemma?

How about painting it with the same color and tone of the antifouling (sans the cost)

I do not want to paint the entire hull since i want to keep the original paint at least from the waterline up.

Your thoughts??

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robaguero,
Unless your boat had a paint job done after leaving the factory it will have a gelcoat finish not paint.

Some questions to help form recommendations:
Why would you want to paint it the same color as the anti-fouling paint?
What process did you use to sand off the anti-fouling paint?
Dry or wet sanding? Combination of the two?
Did you use progressively larger number grits - (i.e. 400-600-1000)?

If so - is the bottom gelcoat in good enough condition to just buff it out with rubbing compound then wax and polish?

If the gelcoat is in good condition 24 hrs in the water shouldn't pose a problem.

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Thanks for responding Mike. We dry sanded the antifouling and the gelcoat appears to be in good condition. I am going to try wet sanding starting with 1000 grit and then i will wax it.

I have recollected a lot of info from the posts about wet sanding, buffing and polishing.

The only reason for painting the bottom is to hide the tone between the upper and lower hull but if the gelcoat shines again after the wet sanding and buffing, im going to leave it as it is.

I'll post pictures so it's easier for you to get an idea on how the hull looks.

Regards

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Our '63 Nauset never had bottom paint until four or five years ago, when the gelcoat was finally redone...after 40 something years of use in salt water. My Dad never left it in the water, and it was always the kids' job to get under there and scrub 'er off after use....she always looked good, and even better when we discovered ON-OFF bottom cleaner.
Now that the boat is in fresh water, I'm having second thoughts about maintaining a coat of bottom paint...it's not really necessary and a lot of work to touch up every year.
It's your call...but it's the old....
If it ain't broke...don't fix it!

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Thanks for your thoughts danedg......you're absolutely right, if i don't need it why should i apply it. I'll post pics as soon as possible and i'm crossing fingers that the boat will loook much better after all that has been done.

Regards