Boottop or not?

[Rivers & creeks]

Slurry blasted hull, primer all on, ready to antifoul - but do we bother with a boottop? It seems like a lot of effort and expense - it's £17 for 375ml and we have 20m of waterline to do! Does anyone else just antifoul to 6 inches above the waterline or are we going to look odd without an 8 inch strip of white paint that'll probably cost me about £60 and 5 hours work? Antifoul is navy blue and top sides are Oxford blue.

 

[BarryH]

I've never understood why "boottop" is more expensive than antifoul. Is there a difference?

 

[Caer Urfa]

Slurry blasted hull, primer all on, ready to antifoul - but do we bother with a boottop? It seems like a lot of effort and expense - it's £17 for 375ml and we have 20m of waterline to do! Does anyone else just antifoul to 6 inches above the waterline or are we going to look odd without an 8 inch strip of white paint that'll probably cost me about £60 and 5 hours work? Antifoul is navy blue and top sides are Oxford blue.

Many people add a boot topping not only for looks but for more practical reasons, we get a lot of 'Dirty foam' at times in the river and with just antifoul if you scub it a few times it will start to come off.

I tried a few of the so called 'boot topping' paints with poor results, I now use 3 coats of 'Toplac' and it last me 2 years while I am 'in', antifoul is 2 x Jotun 'Seaqueen'.

Mike

 

[MoodySabre]

I just antifoul about 6 inches above the waterline.

 

[VicS]

I've never understood why "boottop" is more expensive than antifoul. Is there a difference?

I think probably the only difference is to use a hard type that can be scrubbed. International Trilux is a hard(ish) type that comes in conveniently small tins and is therefore a common choice for the job.

Slurry blasted hull, primer all on, ready to antifoul - but do we bother with a boottop? It seems like a lot of effort and expense - it's £17 for 375ml and we have 20m of waterline to do! Does anyone else just antifoul to 6 inches above the waterline or are we going to look odd without an 8 inch strip of white paint that'll probably cost me about £60 and 5 hours work? Antifoul is navy blue and top sides are Oxford blue.

There was a recent discussion about the merits, or otherwise, of boot topping. A search should find it

 

[Rivers & creeks]

I thought there had been but a search didn't find one, just threads about how to do it. Maybe a different spelling of boottop?

 

[VicS]

I thought there had been but a search didn't find one, just threads about how to do it. Maybe a different spelling of boottop?

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?353049-Boot-Top&highlight=boot

 

[William_H]

I would think with blue top sides and a slightly different blue a/f that you would need some different colour to separate the 2. But yes boot top is all about asthetics and looks. Now if you had a wite a/f or even a red a/f if might not look so bad without boot top. olewill

 

[srm]

The origins of applying a boot top was to provide an area of hard paint just above the waterline that would resist scrubbing to remove green slime etc. better than the antifouling or topside enamels then available. Since then it has become more of a cosmetic / aesthetic issue as gel coat can withstand quite a bit of scrubbing.

A neatly cut in boot top can look very good, but when I applied Coppercoat to both my current and last boat I simply took it up to above the waterline. I also did this with the antifouling on previous boats, usually using a colour that contrasted with the topsides. With modern materials its simply a matter of taste and how much effort you want to put in to the job.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?353049-Boot-Top&highlight=boot

Thanks that's the one, different spelling left it out of my search.

I would think with blue top sides and a slightly different blue a/f that you would need some different colour to separate the 2. But yes boot top is all about asthetics and looks. Now if you had a wite a/f or even a red a/f if might not look so bad without boot top. olewill

I agree, white or red a/f would probably look OK. Suggestions on earlier thread and this one that topside paint isn't necessary, just use Toplac or other white gloss.

 

[Zagato]

Another recent thread here that may help. http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?349932-To-Boot-Top-Or-Not!&highlight=

Glad I did mine in the end, used the International Trilux stuff, easy to put on with a cut down roller!

 

[Athene V30]

I just antifoul about 6 inches above the waterline.

+1

 

[rob2]

It does depend on what type of a/f you have. With a hard type, it isn't strictly necessary, as scrubbing doesn't smear it all over the topsides - but with a soft eroding type, the boot top can be scrubbed to remove the fringe of growth on the waterline, common to most areas, without smears.

Rob.