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I hesitate to paint the bottom of my Sport 150 but might have to. Is there some reason why Whaler bottoms seem to be blue instead of white? I would prefer to paint the bottom white so it looks like there is no bottom paint on the boat.

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Do some searching. Tom Clark did a few boats in custom colours to match the gelcoat and it looked great!

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X's 2 on finding the Tom Clark info. If color is desired I went with and prefer the black.
Garris

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Tom Clark found a Benjamin Moore color that matched Desert Tan. If you look at my personal page you'll see it. What color is your boat?

Chris

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I have use Interlux Micron (SCS I believe) in Shark White, which is actually a very light gray. Looks great and performs nicely. Just scrub off the scum from time to time.

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Looks like I'll be keeping my Sport 150 on a mooring this summer so I'll have to paint the bottom before I go up to Maine with the boat. How high above the chine on the sides of the boat should I place my tape for the waterline? I'm going to use a laser level.

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FYI, West Marine has an online rebate form for Interlux Micron CSC and other bottom paints. Here's a link to their rebate form.

http://content.westmarine.com/documents/pdfs/Rebates/020115Interlux.pdf

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If you are going with a matching bottom paint is there any need for the band? Also, when talking with the fellow from Magic Brush (decal supplier)....he worked at Whaler and at the factory. They would measure down from the gunnels and were scribing lay out lines very close together for the band.
Garris

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Since I haven't owned or used a Whaler before I need to ask before I paint the bottom: Do I need any bottom paint above of the chine or does the boat float high enough that no paint is need above the chine? Do I leave the sides of the boat free of paint?

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There is a primer you apply to the hull before you bottom paint. Gel Coat is not 100% waterproof. I used Petit Protect Epoxy Primer (comes white or grey) made specifically for gel coat application. The paint and primer follows the waterline. Mine (done by others before the purchase) is just above the water line but you should get it as close as possible and try to be as exact. One side is a little taller on my boat and I thought the boat was listing to one side.
Garris

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Thanks for the primer recommendation. And thanks to thers for their input. I guess that I need to sand the bottom prior to using the primer? What grit and type of paper should I use?

What I'm really puzzled about is if I need to paint above the chine at all. I look at pictures of Whalers and I don't see many with bottom paint above the chine, although I've seen pictures of one or two whose waterlines are above the chine. Should I just not paint above the chine and see where the marine growth grows - and see where at the end of the summer where I should have painted bottom paint? I don't relish the thought of having to scrub growth off of areas where bottom paint should have been applied. Why doesn't Boston Whaler make recommendations about where we should mark the waterlines on our boats? They claim to want cozy relationships with owners.

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Why don't you try the common-sense method?

1) Put on a bathing suit or shorts.
2) launch or moor your boat in a lake or shallow area about waist deep in a location where you can walk on the bottom all the way around the boat and the water is calm.
3) secure your boat by anchor or mooring lines.
4) get in the water.
5) use a sharpie and make marks, ( I make dots), at the water level that are close enough together to allow you to use a straightedge later to pencil your lines for the bottom paint.
6) Remove your boat from the water, take it home, straightedge the marks with a pencil or chalkline, paint the bottom in the perfect place. This will be to about 1" above the water line all the way around the boat.

Sometimes, what I am really puzzled about is why folks don't seem to think about what they are doing. I do agree it is much easier to complain that somehow this complete lack of thought is somehow the fault of the boat manufacturer, but then I might have to move further west or north.

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My smarmy comment about the Boston Whaler Corp. was a mistake.

I need to know if I can omit painting a narrow horizontal boottop-like area above the sides of the boat; above that sharp transition between the bottom and the sides of the boat. I haven't seen boats with bottom paint above the chine (that transition) so I think that this year I won't paint above the chine and I'll tape from chine to chine on the transom. then it should be easy enough to make a laser line underneath the forward part of the boat, both sides.

I like your water-based plan but unfortunately, for a number of reasons, I don't have the means to do that. I need to paint the bottom here in Massachusetts - on my trailer and in my garage - and launch the boat in Penobscot Bay when I get up there, then put it on the mooring.

Everything I do related to painting has to be done in my garage here in MA. So that's the scenario.

Thanks for your message. I wish I could find a scale drawing of a Sport 150 that shows an imaginary waterline so I could plot it on my boat.

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I'll project a laser line along the bottom of the chine forward to the bow stem. That should be pretty close. As summer goes on I'll check the waterline for marine growth, make the marks and adapt my paint scheme when the boat's out of the water for the winter.

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Ha! Nice Jerry...

Thats close to what we used to do -

Let the boat sit a couple days in the water..
Scum line appears
Mark it forward & aft
Hall it out - clean hull
Run a tape line
Paint