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Author Topic:   Bottom paint vs boat Lift

freboat posted 01-14-2007 08:24 AM ET (US)
Presently I have my Conquest 285 in a high & dry. I'm considering having bottom paint applied and keeping it at a dock at my house (Waterfront Tampa Bay). Other option is to install a boat lift (+/- $18K).
Also, can the Mercury Verados be fresh water flushed when they are tilted in the trailer paoition?
outragesteve posted 01-14-2007 01:43 PM ET (US)
I would definetly utilize am lift. Although the initial cost is $$$$'s you will save in the long run. Bottom painting is pricey and should be done annually. The value of the boat used in a few years will be higher if it has no bottom paint. Bottom painted boats still need someone to clean them every so often if they grow weeds, etc. The fuel used on a boat with a dirty bottom or painted bottom can be significant. good luck
deepwater posted 01-14-2007 05:34 PM ET (US)
why would paint the bottom of a boat that spends most of its time in the air ?? the paint is made to keep stuff from growing on the bottom because you dont have a lift,,
freboat posted 01-14-2007 08:43 PM ET (US)
Deepwater
If I paint the bottom I would not install the lift and would keep it in the water.
contender posted 01-14-2007 09:21 PM ET (US)
once you paint your bottom, after a while it looks like crap, If you can make payments on high and dry make payments on a lift, If the boat stays in the water parts of your engines will start getting junk on them too. No matter how often you use the boat the sea creatures will still grow on the bottom paint or no paint...good luck
RJG posted 01-15-2007 09:50 AM ET (US)
I would spend the money up front and put in the lift. Much better to keep the boat out of the water and still have in the back yard ready to use. No worries of bilge pump failures or thru hulls going bad. Easy to keep the boat clean and maintained. I would think the expense of painting the boat and then having to haul, clean and repaint every few years would be enough to convince you to install the lift.
deepwater posted 01-15-2007 05:13 PM ET (US)
Or you could get you an old alum boat trailer and some plastic 55gal barrels and a small air pump and build your own flooting lift ,,once you air it up you can replace the bung caps so it will hold air,,it dosent have to be pretty ,,it only has to work once for under $400,,
baja_alabama posted 01-15-2007 06:10 PM ET (US)
Not to mention, much safer from wave/ storm damage in a lift
where2 posted 01-15-2007 10:21 PM ET (US)
Get a No-Profile lift. http://www.noprofileboatlifts.com/
The ability to remove the hydraulic pumps when a hurricane comes makes it the ONLY choice I would consider. Mount it on concrete filled PVC pilings from SeaCure Docking Systems http://www.seacuredocking.com/ and you'd have a long term enhancement to your waterfront property's value.
Even if you go with an ordinary vertical lift, upgrade to concrete filled PVC pilings. They don't leach preservatives into the water, and they are impervious to wood borers. The PVC pipe, filled with concrete and reinforced with steel rebar forms an incredibly strong vertical column, encapsulated with plastic.
I admire their new floating no-profile lift concept, but I want to see one in person. I know what a Bellingham floating concrete dock looks like (before and after a category 1 hurricane).
I'm in the middle of building my own floating dock, and I already own a floating lift I designed and built myself. The ability to walk around the entire boat while it is on the lift is a real asset, when loading and unloading, as well as when washing the boat. (fortunately, I'm on a protected 150' wide canal and not on open water).
I have no financial connection to any company I have mentioned. I have seen the aftermath of a neighbor's boat falling from it's conventional vertical lift due to cable failure. Two sunken engines was an expensive way for my neighbor to learn lifts can drop your boat unexpectedly when you may or may not be home. The cable design on the no profile lift keeps 90% of the cable straight at any lift position. The use of a hydraulic ram makes for smooth actuation, as opposed to a gearbox.
Whatever lift you buy, be certain you ask what frequency the cables should be replaced. They are NOT lifetime items even if they have a no-pinch spiral winder.
As for leaving the boat on the lift during a hurricane. I could show you more than enough photos to convince you that is NOT as good an option as you think, especially if you live on open water. I've only seen Category 1 storms (30 miles south of the landfall of Frances and Jeanne, the eye of Wilma went over my house but she came in off the Gulf to get to Palm Beach!) My favorite photo to show you would be the 28'-30' twin engine Grady-White which pitched forward off it's lift, nose first into the seawall when something on the lift broke. When something happens in the middle of a storm, your boat is at the mercy of the storm. My whalers live in the back yard on their trailers, chained down to four mobile home hurricane tie down anchors per trailer. The boat is strapped down to the trailer with a trailering strap, and the bow is winched tight to the bow stop using the trailer winch. They're plucked clean of anything removable that will catch wind. I was amazed that the 3/4" thick plywood lid over the anchor locker on my 15' Sport blew open during Wilma.
Yiddil posted 01-16-2007 10:59 PM ET (US)
Thought I would chime in on this ...I have a Nantucket that was bottom painted and kept in the Potomac for a few years...since 2004......
I painted her once a year and she looked just fine...I never felt she was worth less cause she was painted...and still dont..........
I reently bought a place that had a lift and dock, and used that lift thislast summer, and it was fantastic...if I wanted to leave her tied to the dock for more than a day i could because she was painted:)
preference is to keep her out of the water....less wear and tear...but when ernesto came along this summer, I wanted her off that lift in a hurry, buy the super high tide washed over 5 feet above my lift mottors and starnded her ...she was fine, but others were not so lucky...boats left on lifts were tossed off stern first, boaw first, or floated away because they were not tied to the dock in addition to the lift...
So, no you never want to leave youre boat ona lift! in any storm, take her down and pull her out onto a trailer and stake the trailer down...IMHO........
If you have to keep the boat in salt water for any length of time, bottom paint her, if not, use the lift, if a Hurricane comes, get her the heck out of there:)
BWLucky13 posted 01-17-2007 10:25 AM ET (US)
You had best check with your neighbors to learn about the fouling conditions in your waters. It will vary from year to year and season to season. In my area, premium bottom paint applied in the spring can be an impressive reef by mid-summer, depending on the waterway conditions. In that case, a lift or trailer may be preferable.
Over 50% of Florida drinking water is used outside the home. A lot of that irrigation water, and rain water, carries excess fertilizer and other nutrients back into the waterways. I don't have to tell you what fertilizer does.
freboat posted 01-21-2007 07:49 AM ET (US)
Thanks for all the feed bck. Very helpful. The lift is the winner.

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Author	Topic: Bottom paint vs boat Lift
freboat	posted 01-14-2007 08:24 AM ET (US) Presently I have my Conquest 285 in a high & dry. I'm considering having bottom paint applied and keeping it at a dock at my house (Waterfront Tampa Bay). Other option is to install a boat lift (+/- $18K). Also, can the Mercury Verados be fresh water flushed when they are tilted in the trailer paoition?
outragesteve	posted 01-14-2007 01:43 PM ET (US) I would definetly utilize am lift. Although the initial cost is $$$$'s you will save in the long run. Bottom painting is pricey and should be done annually. The value of the boat used in a few years will be higher if it has no bottom paint. Bottom painted boats still need someone to clean them every so often if they grow weeds, etc. The fuel used on a boat with a dirty bottom or painted bottom can be significant. good luck
deepwater	posted 01-14-2007 05:34 PM ET (US) why would paint the bottom of a boat that spends most of its time in the air ?? the paint is made to keep stuff from growing on the bottom because you dont have a lift,,
freboat	posted 01-14-2007 08:43 PM ET (US) Deepwater If I paint the bottom I would not install the lift and would keep it in the water.
contender	posted 01-14-2007 09:21 PM ET (US) once you paint your bottom, after a while it looks like crap, If you can make payments on high and dry make payments on a lift, If the boat stays in the water parts of your engines will start getting junk on them too. No matter how often you use the boat the sea creatures will still grow on the bottom paint or no paint...good luck
RJG	posted 01-15-2007 09:50 AM ET (US) I would spend the money up front and put in the lift. Much better to keep the boat out of the water and still have in the back yard ready to use. No worries of bilge pump failures or thru hulls going bad. Easy to keep the boat clean and maintained. I would think the expense of painting the boat and then having to haul, clean and repaint every few years would be enough to convince you to install the lift.
deepwater	posted 01-15-2007 05:13 PM ET (US) Or you could get you an old alum boat trailer and some plastic 55gal barrels and a small air pump and build your own flooting lift ,,once you air it up you can replace the bung caps so it will hold air,,it dosent have to be pretty ,,it only has to work once for under $400,,
baja_alabama	posted 01-15-2007 06:10 PM ET (US) Not to mention, much safer from wave/ storm damage in a lift
where2	posted 01-15-2007 10:21 PM ET (US) Get a No-Profile lift. http://www.noprofileboatlifts.com/ The ability to remove the hydraulic pumps when a hurricane comes makes it the ONLY choice I would consider. Mount it on concrete filled PVC pilings from SeaCure Docking Systems http://www.seacuredocking.com/ and you'd have a long term enhancement to your waterfront property's value. Even if you go with an ordinary vertical lift, upgrade to concrete filled PVC pilings. They don't leach preservatives into the water, and they are impervious to wood borers. The PVC pipe, filled with concrete and reinforced with steel rebar forms an incredibly strong vertical column, encapsulated with plastic. I admire their new floating no-profile lift concept, but I want to see one in person. I know what a Bellingham floating concrete dock looks like (before and after a category 1 hurricane). I'm in the middle of building my own floating dock, and I already own a floating lift I designed and built myself. The ability to walk around the entire boat while it is on the lift is a real asset, when loading and unloading, as well as when washing the boat. (fortunately, I'm on a protected 150' wide canal and not on open water). I have no financial connection to any company I have mentioned. I have seen the aftermath of a neighbor's boat falling from it's conventional vertical lift due to cable failure. Two sunken engines was an expensive way for my neighbor to learn lifts can drop your boat unexpectedly when you may or may not be home. The cable design on the no profile lift keeps 90% of the cable straight at any lift position. The use of a hydraulic ram makes for smooth actuation, as opposed to a gearbox. Whatever lift you buy, be certain you ask what frequency the cables should be replaced. They are NOT lifetime items even if they have a no-pinch spiral winder. As for leaving the boat on the lift during a hurricane. I could show you more than enough photos to convince you that is NOT as good an option as you think, especially if you live on open water. I've only seen Category 1 storms (30 miles south of the landfall of Frances and Jeanne, the eye of Wilma went over my house but she came in off the Gulf to get to Palm Beach!) My favorite photo to show you would be the 28'-30' twin engine Grady-White which pitched forward off it's lift, nose first into the seawall when something on the lift broke. When something happens in the middle of a storm, your boat is at the mercy of the storm. My whalers live in the back yard on their trailers, chained down to four mobile home hurricane tie down anchors per trailer. The boat is strapped down to the trailer with a trailering strap, and the bow is winched tight to the bow stop using the trailer winch. They're plucked clean of anything removable that will catch wind. I was amazed that the 3/4" thick plywood lid over the anchor locker on my 15' Sport blew open during Wilma.
Yiddil	posted 01-16-2007 10:59 PM ET (US) Thought I would chime in on this ...I have a Nantucket that was bottom painted and kept in the Potomac for a few years...since 2004...... I painted her once a year and she looked just fine...I never felt she was worth less cause she was painted...and still dont.......... I reently bought a place that had a lift and dock, and used that lift thislast summer, and it was fantastic...if I wanted to leave her tied to the dock for more than a day i could because she was painted:) preference is to keep her out of the water....less wear and tear...but when ernesto came along this summer, I wanted her off that lift in a hurry, buy the super high tide washed over 5 feet above my lift mottors and starnded her ...she was fine, but others were not so lucky...boats left on lifts were tossed off stern first, boaw first, or floated away because they were not tied to the dock in addition to the lift... So, no you never want to leave youre boat ona lift! in any storm, take her down and pull her out onto a trailer and stake the trailer down...IMHO........ If you have to keep the boat in salt water for any length of time, bottom paint her, if not, use the lift, if a Hurricane comes, get her the heck out of there:)
BWLucky13	posted 01-17-2007 10:25 AM ET (US) You had best check with your neighbors to learn about the fouling conditions in your waters. It will vary from year to year and season to season. In my area, premium bottom paint applied in the spring can be an impressive reef by mid-summer, depending on the waterway conditions. In that case, a lift or trailer may be preferable. Over 50% of Florida drinking water is used outside the home. A lot of that irrigation water, and rain water, carries excess fertilizer and other nutrients back into the waterways. I don't have to tell you what fertilizer does.
freboat	posted 01-21-2007 07:49 AM ET (US) Thanks for all the feed bck. Very helpful. The lift is the winner.