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So over this past winter I have invested some time and money in to finding / or making a custom mixed ablative bottom paint that would match Whaler's desert tan. Up till now all that has been available are the standard Pettit or Interlux Black, Navy, Red, White, Grey, and light blue. Non of which looked good when painted on a whaler because #1 none matched the hull color and #2 when you bottom paint a whaler the paint line aesthetically disrupts the downward lines of the smirk. This has always driven me crazy with my hull being painted. I figured if you could get a paint to match the hull color you would achieve the look of the classic non painted hull with all the long term in water benefits of a ablative copper based hull paint. I did a good bit of research and finally found a place that was willing to do it. I have supplied them with PMS Color samples and I should be getting the first gallon of paint the coming week.

So my question to you guys is "If I could get a production run of this paint who would be interested?" I am sure I could at least meet if not beat by a bit West Marine's prices for an Interux Micron CSC or a like Pettit Paint if I could get a large batch order.

Now I am not looking to sell any thing right now just gauge interest. I will be painting my hull with in the next couple weeks so I will keep you posted. If you think you would be interested in just a product let me know.

Also, on a side note I might have found a local shop here in Michigan to remake the Whaler Bow rails (starting with outrages) as 1 piece welded units. Also I am working on finding (fingers crossed) a place to remake the Marinium Bow Lights out of Stainless.

So let me know if you would be interested in the paint for now so I can start working to get things moving. I will post images of the paint when I get it this week.

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jeff, iwould definately be interested in the desert tan bottom paint.

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Tim I will keep you posted.

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thanks jeff, i appreciate your time and effort into this. the bottom paint on my outrage is driving me crazy too!

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Tim,

I sent you a PM please check it.

Thanks!

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I would be interested in this product. Would they or you be able to ship to Florida?

Key-z

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Key-z I am working on that I will let you know...

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Jeff.
seems like you got a better response to your question over at CW. Did you come up with a solution yet?

Rich;)

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Rich a better response over on CW? Well I posted there as there a couple days after posting here as there were just a few here who wanted it here. Of course the more people the better the price for everyone. I did get more responses from over there however, I also got the typical negativity and nay-sayers from the CW which I did not get here.

The boat is in the Driveway and I am stripping the existing paint off the boat. I hope to begin rolling the paint on this weekend. I have found someone willing to test the boat in saltwater so we will see how it turns out.

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Jeff,
I'd be interested for the boy's 13.
Thanks for the effort,
Mike

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Just finished the first coat. I will take more in the morning after the second coat. I am very happy with how it turned out.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/Bottom%20Paint/DSCN4373.jpg[/IMG]

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Looking good, I can't wait to see your finished product. It will be very interesting to see how she will hold up in the saltwater. I'm a big fan of the unpainted bottom whalers, although my has been soda blasted and has the 2 part interlux epoxy with paint. What type of prep work did you do prior? And were you able to remove all of the old paint? I'm just wondering how many coats it will take, is there any evidence of the old color bleeding through? I just might have to try this application, looks really cool!!!B)B)

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jeff, it looks great! i can't wait to get my paint. i'm about halfway done removing the old paint on my boat.

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Here are the shots after this morning. 2 Coats

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Jeff,

Great job on the bottom paint. I was also very intrigued by the hoist you built over the transom. I too take my whaler off the trailer for either repairs or bottom waxing. If you have any plans or closer photos of that hoist, I would love to see them. Normally, I just slide the trailer out and have the boat on blocks, but this is usually a little nerve racking because there is nothing holding the boat on the blocks while I slide the trailer on and off.

Thanks again and thanks for the effort.

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msl and 74MontaukErie,

You can see the stripping process gallows set up here.

I thought there would only be an 1/8" of paint and the bottom....I was wrong. Some areas had as much as 1/4"+ of paint built up. I started stripping with peel-away stripper and that got a good amount of the light blue interlux paint off. Then I used a heavy duty scrapper to get a good amount of the rest of it. From there I used a dewalt orbital sander (40 then 80 grit) to remove the rest of the blue paint. I found that under all of the crap was a nice 2 part epoxy barrier coat that had turned dark blue from the light blue interlux however with some sanding I found out the barrier coat was really white. Once I sanded it all down to the barrier coat (19+ hours of hell) I found a couple areas I sanded back down to gel coat to do a little glass repair. Once finished with that I was able to tape off and start painting. I started stripping paint at 6:30AM last Tuesday and I finished painting 8:30AM today (Wednesday). I have been working non stop since I started to get this done.

Here are all my photos of the process

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Jeff,

I'm sold, this looks like a great winter project. Our fishing season has already begun and offshore is about to fire up. I would like to get more information on the paint, so we can get rid of the black bottom. Also how much paint did you figure on using for yours, and what cost range did the paint run. She sure does look pretty!!!!!

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I can't even imagine removing 1/4" of bottom paint. :o
The tan color is a great idea. I really like tan Whalers too.
I will most likely buy in on some paint.
Your enthusiasm and documentation is killer. B)
Thanks Jeff

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Jeff,

Very nice work! The bottom looks great. B)

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i removed my boat from the trailer today using a frame that i built and a floor jack.the materials cost about $50 and i can reuse the frame for any other repairs down the road. it not as elaborate as jeff's, but it works good and i removed the boat by myself.

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a closer picture of the frame.