waxing bottom

[javelin]

For seven years, I sailed on Lake Simcoe Ontario. I never put anything on the bottom except for car wax. This seemed to keep any algae or zebra mussels off. But now I'm back in Lake Ontario. Years ago I docked here and remember clinging moss stuff on the waterline. Can I still just wax the bottom each year and do I have to buy the ridiculously priced bottom paint ?

[Chrysler20%26]

I do not have a ancer to your questen, but thank you for the wax idea. My C-20 has never had bottom paint, now it will have wax.

[CaptainScott]

That depends on how clean you want your bottom and how often you can pull her to clean her.

Here in the Puget Sound area we keep Destiny in the water all year. It is cost prohibitive to pull her every month just to clean the bottom. I refuse to dive in our marina to clean her bottom so we do buy the very expensive bottom paint. We buy the sluffing kind. It is not a hard shelled type of paint you may want if you race. It is soft and intentionally sluffs as barnicles and plant life try to attatch. The paint sluffs off.

We can go two years on a paint job. The paint we buy is very expensive however I feel in the salt water, it is worth it versus the labor of cleaning a poorly painted or not painted bottom.

I have already bottom painted Lady Jo with the same paint. It is not really necessary since she sits on a trailer all winter so I expect that paint to last a much longer time. I will bottom paint Lady Di also. I have photos of Lady Jo on line after the paint if you are interested I can put a link here.

Hope this helps and I'd be happy to answer more questions.
Scott