This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
West Marine had a customer-invited sale last week with 20% off non-electronic (10% for electronic) items. I thought it would be nice to save a little on bottom paint, which I figured would be high. But I was surprised at the $199.99 per gallon price of Interlux Micron Extra. Soooo, I switched to Interlux ACT for half that plus another 20% off. When the new catalogs come out, I was told the prices would be higher.
Oh, well. What's a BOAT(Bring Out Another Thousand) for!
Whoa!! I stocked up on the micron with biolux (enough for the next painting which is this spring) last year when it was on sale. I think I got it for 159. I notice that at Boaters World they usually have micron/biolux at a standard price about $30 cheaper than West. The problem is that they seem to have mostly black and some blue. With these prices black and blue look pretty good to me.
Next painting I'll be looking for something cheaper.
Last spring I decided to paint Mary Ellen's bottom with Interlux VC17m with Biolux. The thinner for this paint is V172.
Before using the stuff I idly read the label. "Specially Formulated" it said. Upon opening one of the two quart cans of the thinner, I sniffed the contents and was strongly reminded of disinfectant. Suspiciously I looked at the contents. It's isopropyl alcohol! That's it! 16 bucks for something you could buy for a small fraction of that at your local Duane Reade.
Carter Brey wrote:Last spring I decided to paint Mary Ellen's bottom with Interlux VC17m with Biolux. The thinner for this paint is V172.
Before using the stuff I idly read the label. "Specially Formulated" it said. Upon opening one of the two quart cans of the thinner, I sniffed the contents and was strongly reminded of disinfectant. Suspiciously I looked at the contents. It's isopropyl alcohol! That's it! 16 bucks for something you could buy for a small fraction of that at your local Duane Reade.
Too bad it wasn't ethyl alcohol. Then you could have substituted Grey Goose or Tanquary . I guarantee ya' there'd be none left over. What you didn't use for bottom painting Mary Ellen I'm sure you'd find another use for. You just have to make sure you use the product in that order 'cause in reverse I seriously doubt there'd be enough left to bottom paint a dinghy!
"I desire no more delight, than to be under sail and gone tonight."
(W. Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice)
I don't understand you boys. Read the labels and almost all of those paints will come up with very similar ingredients. Some of the paints are only good for a certain amount of time out of water. If you hauling each year your wasting your money. I haul every three years and I very seldom find anything growing on the bottom. Mabe a muscle or two one in a while on the bottom of the keel. I use the cheapest paint West Marine sells. I wait until the end of summer when they are trying to unload there stock. Last time it was $45 after discount and coupons. I mix cayain pepper with the paint and it works. Im in salt water all year. If you want to use the big buck stuff be my guest. Money to burn go ahead . But if you want to save yourself from paying 4 times more that you need to give it a try.
yes I totaly agree WEST is a ripoff
like most chain stores they start low
then drive the local mom & pop type stores out of biz
then they jackup the prices to the sky soon as they can
support your local stores and donot use west
they wanted over twice the price of the locals
on a mini-kota prop and drain plugs for the dink
thats just to much markup
and the last time I will go near their store
Old Ben Gun wrote:I mix cayain pepper with the paint and it works.
Old Ben
How much cayenne pepper do you use? A pinch, 1/2 teaspoon, tablespoon, the whole 8 oz jar? I belong to the French school of cooking which relies on "feel" and taste more than exact quantities...and I'm not too keen to taste my anti-fouling paint regardless of how appetizing it may be
Thanks in advance.
"A sailor's joys are as simple as a child's." - Bernard Moitessier
If you want the least expensive, nastiest stuff ever made you should try "Kirby's" out of New Bedford-, MA , they make their own bottom paint for the fishing fleet-can you imagine trying to paint an 80' scalloper with $150 per gallon paint? anyway-this stuff goes on the day before splash down and stays wet all season-it stinks to high heaven and is really really nasty-your eyes burn from the fumes-it will burn your skin etc. I stopped using it and switched to the west marine "house brand" at $50 per gallon-cause you know what? no matter what you do-by the end of the season-you are going to have to dive in and scrub the little critters off the bottom anyway-so just get used to it-by the way-Kirby's advertises in the wooden boat magazines and sells via the web to to anywhere-I'm not sure if they can ship the bottom paint-it maybe regulated-but their yacht paints are the best-and are used by the various museums like the Herreshoff museum and Mystic, Ct-so if anyone wants to give their stuff a try-let us know how it works-
My yard will haul, powerwash, store, paint the bottom, and launch for one price. They use Fiberglass BottomKote, which I believe is about half the price of Micron Extra. I have only ever had maybe one or two barnacles, and no other growth when hauled each fall. This is on the South Shore of Long Island, NY. As noted below, Northeast sailors who haul once a year may not need more expensive bottom paint.
Mike
CD Ty"Regalo"
FWIW Two years ago I read on this board about putting cayenne pepper in bottom and decided to try it. I usually get a little more growth around the thru hulls than elsewhere so I painted my bottom and then mixed up a quart of bottom paint with a whole bottle of cayenne added (maybe fourth of a cup), and painted just around the thru hulls with this concoction. I'm hauled out this week and was surprised to see that after two years there wasn't a barnacle or mussel on the entire bottom EXCEPT around the thru hulls. Each of them had a massive wad of mussels hanging from it about the size of a loaf of bread. In 18 years of haulouts I never had any mussels around the thru hulls before. My impression is that cayenne is a mussel growth stimulator. You won't catch me putting cayenne in bottom paint again, but conditions are different in different parts of the country. Maybe it works in your area, but it doesn't work on the West Coast in Pacific Ocean waters. That's my experience.
per gallon price of Interlux Micron Extra. Soooo, I switched to Interlux ACT for half that plus another 20% off. When the new catalogs come out, I was told the prices would be higher.
. I guarantee ya' there'd be none left over. What you didn't use for bottom painting Mary Ellen I'm sure you'd find another use for. You just have to make sure you use the product in that order 'cause in reverse I seriously doubt there'd be enough left to bottom paint a dinghy!
