Removing A25 from trailer for bottom paint

[WillieC]

While the engine, fuel tank and batteries are out, I thought this might be a good time to paint the bottom. This is our first boat so we are plenty green and I had a hard time finding info on how to do this part of the project. Many thanks to Beta Don and others for their advice. The real key was seeing this done on a video. I owe this guy a debt of gratitude:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2uP2g2VHec

The basic idea is simple. The marina we got the trailer from said it was pretty easy, just lower the tongue, block the back with 4X4 cross stacks, raise the tongue then block the keel and work your way forward. Well there are a few gaps in that info so look closely at the video. Here are some of my pics:

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Went to the Brownell website and they have a good tool for choosing the correct stands. Ended up with two MB-2 stands from Seamar in Seattle. In stock, go get them. I usually wait until AFTER I need something before I break down and spend money, but this time, I tried a new approach.

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My location seemed pretty level. The leveler, the better. I tried compensating with the stands, but one of the stands carried way more weight than the other. Easy cowboy, don't tip it over.

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Used 6 ton bottle jack and piece of steel on cylinder then block of wood under keel. Boat is now supported at three points. A little sketchy until you've done it a few times I imagine.

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I had a few missteps that I will gloss over. START with the trailer hooked up to the truck, forget what the boat yard said. Go back and watch the video. Notice also my travel limit. My trailer has two axles and one additional cross brace, so take your time. I was working alone. Yes, Don, she did go to town. I measured my allowable travel, then placed a block at that travel distance in line with the tire path.

The trailer is out!

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Around five hours of fooling around including scrounging around for braces, and plenty of head scratching.
The King Trailer uses bunks as you may have noticed. They were set up to closely mimic the bulbous belly of the A25 DeLuxe, not unlike the owner's. I tried lifting the boat over them, but ended up removing the rear bolts of the bunks and dropping them down. The Brownell stands are higher than I would like, but barring The Big One (earthquake) it should be fine. Disclaimer alert! Do not try this at home! You could get killed or worse.

[WillieC]

I do not believe this. We just had an earthquake about five minutes ago. A real shaker. I heard it before I felt it and of course I had to check on the boat. No news yet, but all over the Facebook. That was a good one, nothing gentle about it. (Edit: 4.2 Richter. 5 miles away, some 5 km deep.) Yikes. Gotta get that boat back in the water!

https://www.google.com/search?q=Earthqu ... e&ie=UTF-8

We are near the blue dot.

[denchen]

I think I would find a short rope and tie the tops of those two stands under the stern together, and hope not too much wind...

[WillieC]

Will do. Should I lower the whole thing?

[Beta Don]

Don't you love it when a plan comes together??

I would keep it as high as you have it now - Easier to work on the bottom plus it will be easier to get it back on the trailer

I *would* add a couple more 2 x 8's under the rub rail on each side though

Don

[WillieC]

Another Will Do regarding side braces.

Thanks for the experienced advise, all both of you. I have been around heavy equipment and material handling most of my working life, but not boats. I am amazed at how nicely balanced the whole thing is. None of the blocks or stands are now overly loaded. I also know how quickly a three-legged ladder will tip over. I am very used to working on 4-legged units, but one of my earlier bosses brought a bunch of three-leggers to the jobsite because they would fit between studs easily. But reach out too far? Boom! No warning. The real lesson is DON'T reach out too far on ANY ladder. Which is part of why old people have to retire. New safety rules are tough to learn, but absolutely critical. Everybody gets to go home at the end of the working day. Too many don't.

BE SAFE. Even painting your boat.

[WillieC]

Started scraping today, at the transducer through hull. About 1/8" or so of red ablative and a lovely blue against the glass. Is the hull supposed to be shiny under all this paint or did I miss something on the day I skipped class? Except for some scraper gouges I think I could wax this baby and go skiing.
Guess I shouldn't complain, it all pops off fairly easily. And I have a lot of volunteer help. HA!

[Beta Don]

When a boat is carefully leveled sitting on blocks, almost all of it's weight is on the blocks and the props are just keeping it level . . . . but, if you're going to be working under it, you can't have too many things keeping it upright, that's for sure

If all the paint pops off that easily, likely it wasn't properly prepared - Sanded and degreased - Before the initial coat was applied. If the bottom is THAT pristine (no sign of any blisters or water intrusion) then you may not need to apply any of the various epoxy treatments and you can go back with just bottom paint. Could be that it's always been a cold water boat?? Warm saltwater is what causes most of the 'pox' problems on boats - Freshwater boats and those used in cooler saltwater seldom see bad cases of it

I lost the foot off the kicker on an O'Day 25 while at a marina near Port Townsend in August one time and had to go diving for it - I know how cold the water is up your way from personal experience . . . . my wife said my lips were blue when I got out

If it was mine though, I think I would still give it a couple coats of something like Interlux Interprotect 2000 (or your preferred equivalent) under the first coat of bottom paint, just for added insurance. Down here, I saw a man last month who put two coats of West System epoxy and then seven coats of 2000 before he applied his bottom paint on an older sailboat which had a nearly perfect hull . . . . and he paid someone to do the work - Talk about preventative insurance

I would lightly sand the hull with some 36 or 50 grit paper and then wipe it down well with lacquer thinner before you apply anything to the gelcoat. Bottom paint shouldn't be that easy to get off

Don

[WillieC]

I think it has been a pretty much cold water boat, but we are warmer here on the end of Hood Canal. That warm layer is only about a foot thick though. For some reason the Starfleet Commander thought we were approaching the pier at the boat ramp a little too rapidly. I could just make out the end of the pier with the binoculars so I was mildly surprised when she popped it into reverse, somehow forgetting the dinghy-in-tow. Oddly, there was a loud clunk and sudden drop of rpm. By then the end of the dock had appeared over the curvature of the earth and I could clearly see why we had to reverse thrusters.
Exposed the shaft and spun it by hand forward, as it snagged the painter in reverse, and was able to retrieve most of the line, except for about three feet. I had to know, so in October, on a sunny day, in my skivvies, I got to experience how warm Hood Canal is outside our regular swimming season. Not. Warm. Apparently the missing line went to the bottom as the shaft was clear. I use a floating painter these days.
BTW, I may have a tendency to exaggerate, just a bit. The old paint didn't quite all fall off in the earthquake, it still takes persistent effort, but it does come off in chunks and the hull beneath is shiny. Still debating a barrier coat, but I have time to ponder these things. I'll be at this a while and it snowed again last night with more forecast tonight.

[Beta Don]

All too frequently when the dealer preps a brand new boat and puts bottom paint on it, they don't bother to sand the gelcoat at all plus they do nothing to remove the mold release chemicals that are on it - The boat is sold, so a slap-dash bottom job to get you on your way is all you get. Nothing sticks very well if the mold release isn't dealt with . . . . the whole purpose of it is to make the gelcoat not stick to the mold and nothing sticks very well to those chemicals

I think the water temps in Hood Canal are a bit warmer than the rest of Puget Sound - Shallower water?? We used to vacation on Hood Canal when I was a kid. In the deeper waters of the Sound, temps only vary from about 45F (in winter) to about 60F or 65F in the summer. I was definitely NOT used to that! Water temps here along the Gulf Coast reach into the upper 80's and lower 90's during the summer - Not quite like bath water, but you can stay in for a long time and not come out with your teeth chattering

Don

[11kolive]

Great to hear the scraping removed things so quickly! Sounds like you are on your way to being finished. Fun wok isn't it!

[DesertAlbin736]

Well done! But I would perhaps think about trying to beg, borrow, or steal about 4 more of those "poppet stands". Or, if that's a gravel driveway try to stake down those support boards so they don't get knocked loose on a windy day. In our case I had the luxury of concrete floor, a gantry crane, and a forklift, and three pairs of stands but could just as well done it with just bottle jacks and poppet stands. On the other hand, with 4 cross members and 2 axles it would have been fun. We were able to roll the trailer out from under the boat without it being hooked up to the truck due to the fact of having a nice flat concrete floor and a wheeled tongue jack. The other thing that helped was having adjustable bunks on the trailer that could be lowered so they would clear the curve of the hull & not have to raise the boat up any higher then we did.

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Since our bunks follow the contour of the hull all the way aft, it would have been more difficult to pull the trailer had the bunks not been adjustable. Once we got the trailer back under the boat we used the lifting strap and forklift to keep the boat level & used bottle jacks to raise to the bunks back up to proper height.

Only other thing to add is be sure to suit up and use a good respirator so as not to breath that sanding dust. My experience was that the old copper paint dust gave me a rash.

[WillieC]

Thanks for the advice, Steve. Quick question: What did you do to prep your metal parts, through hulls, skeg, cutlass holder, etc.? To "do it by the book" would use a bunch of stuff I would never use again, hopefully, at no small expense. Or, since I pull it out often, I could just deal with as needed for touch-ups. Just curious.

[Beta Don]

If you're going to epoxy barrier coat the hull, that's all the primer the metal parts will need

Don

[WillieC]

That is a good push to epoxy barrier coat. I understand, being epoxy, it is a two part. I will be painting by brush and roller, no fancy stuff here out in the wild west. How much working time do I get, obviously dependent on many factors.? Am I dreaming or is it do-able? So much to learn.