Dealership error in Bottom Paint application ?

[Dantheman]

The dealership that brokered my 06 gulfstream purchase applied a coat of anti-fouling bottom paint before delivery of the boat to me. (The prior owner kept the boat on a rack when not in use and the boat was never bottom painted) After having the boat for a few weeks, I noticed that in the stern and aft area the bottom paint appears to be higher that the water line by about an inch or two. However, it looks like in an area in the forward section of the hull, (5 feet long) the ani-fouling paint is an inch or two below the water line and some kind of brown buildup appears to forming in the area that is not covered by the anti-fouling paint. In addition to ruining the look of the boat, I am afraid this will cause damage in the long run. I am new to boating but common sense would be that the anti fouling paint should be evenly applied so that none of the non-applied area sits in the water. Was the bottom paint not applied correctly? what should I do? wait until next year and apply a new coat, or does this need immediate action? Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[leek]

Bottom Paint

I would take the boat back to the dealer and have them clean the hull and repaint it, unless you did something to influence the way the boat floats (lots of chain in the anchor locker(or other added weight in the bow) or no fuel in the tanks).
If left undone it will stain the boat but may not structurally affect the hull. Depending on the water it may grow barnacles or grass as well.

 

[Tashmoo]

To properly paint the water line the boat needs to be put into the water with full fuel, water and normal equipment and the water line marked. Then the boat is pulled, the bottom is prepared and painted to the level that was marked. To do it otherwise is a crap shoot and most of the time will require a second shot to get the water line correct. When finished the paint line should be about an inch above the water line, I would not get worried about it if it is two inches but it should be consistent for aesthetic purposes.

Other then the aggravation factor this is not a big deal. Call your dealer and tell them they missed the water line and ask them to come to the boat, mark the correct line, pull it and repaint it.

 

[gradyfish22]

Tashmoo is 100% correct, the boat needs to be dunked to form a scum line. Have it taped off maybe 1/2" inch above that( boat needs to be dunked with gear and full gas, otherwise account for that and it makes it much harder to do, atleast have full fuel if nothing else. The scum line will not harm the hull, just looks nasty. Use collinite 920 hull cleaner and clean the hull, it will come off. If that does not work use mary kate on off hull cleaner, but then you need to apply wax to the boat, both products will leave you with bare gelcoat which you do not want, you want something over it. Was your hull waxed for the season, if not that is not good, the salt will eat the gelcoat instead of the wax. If it is only a brown mark not much can happen but you need to have it redone this fall when the boat is hauled. If you never change it, where the boat sits in the water over the years can be absorbed into the gelcoat and swell the hull, especially if it is not protected correctly. I'm hoping the dealer used a hard paint for the first application. If you plan to stay in a marina from here on out, use an ablative paint over the hard, it will last longer and wear off the boat as you use it where a hard paint stays on and needs to be soda or sand blasted off after a few coats. I would recommend using Micron Extra paint. Not a fan of petit paints, interlux has been a better paint for NJ waters, especially if your marina does not have good flow and the water gets warm. Micon Extra can be applied over most hard paints, but using an interlux hard paint is best. If it was not used and it was a cheap paint, call interlux to see what to do, likely you will just sand some paint off clean it with paint thinner and paint over it without a problem.

I would be very angry with the marina, they should have did the job right. Seems like they skimped out on a bit of work by not doing the lines properly. I think they should cover the fee to have the boat hauled and do much of the work for you, but I'm not so sure I'd trust them again either, plus they will likely not fit you in any time soon just to spite you, depends on the brokers integrity. Sorry to hear about the bad paint job. Also find out what paint he used to see if he charged a fair price, regardless you need to know what it is for future paint applications.

 

[HDGWJOE]

ditto the comments above. I like my water line 2" above the water and parallel to it from bow to stern... dealer did it the first time(which I had to have them redo... and which they gave me zero hassel over) and it has taken me the past two seasons to get the water line the way I want it. The only way to know is to see the boat in the water as mentioned above. It took me two additional seasons only because I didn't haul the boat till the end of the season. The dealer got it close on his second try but there were still a few low points I wanted to bring up which wasn't reasonable to ask them to do.

You would think dealers would have some sort of template for each model they sell(brands they are authorized dealers for) that would at least give them a very "close to the mark" water line when all tanks are full and an extra 1000 lbs is loaded(or whatever is apprpriate for the model)... but they don't seem to have them. If I were a dealer and I painted dozens of boats each year I would think bottom paint templates would cut down on taping time and repainting(redo) time. That would at least give them a quick starting point that wouldn't end up below water and be fairly parallel to the water.

 

[Dantheman]

Thank you for the advice. Since I took delivery of the boat, I used about half a tank of gas or 75 gallons and also added 12 gallons of water to my water tank. I still dont think that the paint job should be such that you have to always keep the fuel tank full....unless that is standard procedure in boating...once again I dont know because I am new to this.

I do have to say that I am really disappointed with the dealership. One of the reasons that I chose Grady White in addition to the quality of the boats, was the supposed excellent customer service. This dealership was only interested in making the sale and once that was done, they simply do not care. They didnt tell me about the manner in which to transfer the hull warranty, they didnt give me any documents reflecting the extended yamaha warranty other then telling me that I "should get something from Yamaha in the next few weeks" -- havent received anything yet. When the E80 and speedometer crapped out they didnt even bother responding to my e-mail.... this is not what i expected from Grady...I'm sure that they will not be willing to do re-do the bottom paint....I'll try to deal directly with Grady White and see if they are more responsive.....I'm glad that this forum is available, and thank everyone for their input and advice.

 

[BobP]

You need to relay your experiences both positive and negative to Grady HQ in Greenville SC, find the GradyWhite website for contact info. Address it to Joey Weller, Director of Sales & Marketing.

You have every right to expect premium service, if the factory doesn't find out about it, it will only continue in the wrong direction.

Don't be overly concerned with the paint, no damage will come of it, and it is easy enough to redo the low areas.

 

[gradyfish22]

You want the paint line where the boat is full with a little showing above to prevent any growth for when the boat is full. Yes most of the time it will not be full and bottom paint will show, but that is better then getting the brownish stain you talk about. For Grady, Interlux dark blue matches perfect and offsets the boat nice when a little shows so it is no problem. As Bob states, be happy they went too low and not too high. A guy in my marina painted his boat by guessing off others, it is painted maybe 5" above the waterline when half full of water and 3" above when full....boy it looks dumb and cannot really be fixed easily.

 

[uncleboat]

I am assuming your Gulfstream has the aluminum bracket as well. I don't intend to add any more stress to you situation but do you know if they used the proper bottom paint for the bracket? There are many posts on this site that discuss galvanic corrosion. Having said that, I myself have a 2001 Gulfstream and I have confirmed with my marina that they use the same paint on my bracket as the rest of the bottom of the boat. They claim the powder coat will protect the bracket. I have not seen any issues yet but after looking at some of these posts I always have it on my mind.

 

[jehines3]

My marlin line is about 2" above the water line when full of fuel. A guy asked me a few weeks ago why it was so high. Answer because I'm light by about 1400lbs of fuel, 400lbs Ice, and four gas sharing friends (another 800lbs). So you see weight plays a big part of the overall at rest waterline.

I prefer slightly higher than slightly lower. Nothing worse that a nice shiny hull with a thin brown scuz line just above the bottom paint. The Previous owner used a crooked roll of tape when originally painted. When my guy put the new botom on this winter it got straightened out and adjusted to my specs. Mine now looks great.

Give your yard a chance to make it right, there are allot of variables.