---

i keep my dauntless 200 in the water all summer on the great lakes, and looking for white bottom paint treatment that is eco friendly and fast. the bottom is currently gel coat. recommendations include ep2000 over sprayed epoxy barrier coat, vc17 performance epoxy over interprotect epoxy (use vc17 performance epoxy as top coat), petit vivid. i'm less concerned about the growth than the speed, as i can jump in the water and scrub the bottom a couple times a year. ideas welcome. thx!

---

When I restored my 1961 Eastport 16 I used Interlux 2000E barrier coat and and then applied Interlux VC performance Epoxy which is a hard coating designed for rack or trailer stored boats. I went with the white color to blend with the white gel coat. I am very pleased with the results.

---

Pettit Hydrocoat ECO, water-based anti-fouling. Easy to use, cleans up with soap and water, and comes in white.
Goes over virtually any previous paint.

---

I did the same two products that Eastport used. They are both great. VP is not meant for boats kept in the water.
As he said, rack stored or trailered.

---

I'll second the Hydrocoat recommendation. It's highly effective in salt water and I'm sure it will also do well in fresh water. It should be applied after the barrier coat. A roller does a great job per the instructions on the product but a brush may be needed here and there.

I like three coats. The first coat should be a contrasting coat. The next two coats can be white. The reason for the contrasting first coat color is so that you will know when it's time to reapply the two outer coats without the chance of losing protection before applying.

---

thanks for the recos all! does the pettit hydrocoat eco have a fast finish like vc17 with a west roller, or would it have to be sprayed to get that finish? thx.

---

I'm not sure what you mean by "fast finish". On your Dauntless 20 I seriously doubt you'll be able to tell any difference in performance between a bare hull and a hydrocoat finished hull. I believe the roller application is the easiest for a smooth even coat. The finish is ablative so wears off eventually. I suspect this makes for a very smooth hull finish. I'm quite pleased with the roller applied finish on our hull.

---

thanks, butch. probably right regarding noticing speed, but every mph counts! also, i'm going to spend a lot of money and emotion going from a gel-coat bottom to bottom paint (paying someone else to do it). just want to be sure i'm getting the best balance of being environmentally conscious, achieving maximum smoothness / speed, and minimizing build-up, while sticking to white. no perfect solution, just need to land on best solution.

---

A bit off the OP's original query, but I keep a Montauk in the water in So Ca. and I also applied the Interlux epoxy barrier coat under the 'rolled-on' antifouling paint w/out any diminished speed noted.
But I 'barrier coated' specifically as insurance against water ingress thru the gel coat, not that you will ever stop it completely [nature always wins], but as far as I know, this is about the best you can currently do if you plan to keep a f/g hull in the water.

FWIW, Many might already know, but for benefit of others,
a few very important steps before applying epoxy barrier coat/antifouling paint:

Make repairs to gelcoat [and any laminate damage] and ensure a fair gelcoat surface.
Clean gelcoat w/prescribed wash solvent [can't remember Interluxs'].
Apply barrier coat primer asap after gel coat cleaning.
Apply barrier coat within prescribed time window after primer [temp dependent window]

All of that, depending on size of hull, can be tough to accomplish in one day by one man.

I put 2 coats of Interlux epoxy barrier before my antifouling [Interlux UltraKote in blue].
It's been 3 years this July and just in the last 6 months I have increased bottom [wiping] cleaning to every 30 days [vs every 90], and even then, I just use a piece of trailer bunk carpet[in/outdoor carpet] to get the 'bio-slime' off and an old credit card as a scraper for any hard growth that tries to start.

BTW: Except for gelcoat repairs, I collaborated and sub'd to boatyard all of the prep and coating work for best outcome and so far it's wearing very well.

---

Hull, I hope the boatyard remembered to sand the fibreglas first, even though you did not mention it - a key step to getting good adhesion. Some years ago companies were promoting a no-sand process to save labor and it didn't work very well - my sister-in-law has an 18 with a lot of water intrusion because of it.

The paint companies typically have excellent, comprehensive guides. Here is the one from Interlux: http://www.yachtpaint.com/LiteratureCentre/BPG_US_2016_web.pdf

---

Yes tedious- I omitted citing that step; my bad.
I remember they used 150 grit on the gelcoat [not the fiberglass].
My hull bottom had a thin layer of spray paint on it- [thinking someone wanted to emulate bottom paint?] so I had the yard remove it before any other prep. It wasn't that hard a task since I had stripped the entire boat of everything including the motor and they just flipped it hull up to do the work.