painting a catamaran

I am going to repaint my boat- a drysailed shark catamaran. I like the gloss look, but I understand that non-gloss has less drag. Can anyone reccommend a paint that puts up with an occaisional wet sanding? The gell coat was in pretty bad shape, which is why I had to paint it in the first place.

Even though it is dry sailed, I will probably go with two-tone. Gloss above the waterline, and "wet-sandable" below the waterline.

Thanks
Rob

 

drag is jus another word for friction right?,,,and doesnt something with a smooth high gloss cause less friction then a rough dull?...even tho i dont think that gloss or dull has anything to do with it,,,its the smoothness and roughness i would think that would cause friction.,,,,some of the fastest paint is bottom paint that "wears" off quickly.,,,but most of them dont stay on the market cause their sold as "bottom" paint,,,which has to do with "gunk" build up on ya hull (which slows you WAY down),,,instead of sold as "speed" paint.
i'll be glad to see the input on this thread
are you going to leave this boat in the water or just stick her in fer the occasional sail?,,,,because the extra "speed" you get out of the boat wont last but a few weeks,,,,,then you'll be slower then me in the mornin

 

we just race them sunday afternoons, and a few regattas. They only spend a few hours in the water at a time.

I'm not sure how valid this test is, but a sailor showed me how water beads up on a glossy surface, but doesn't on a dull surface. That would mean the glossy has a higher coefficient of friction.

 

the water may not bead up on dull,,,,,but did it spread out?,,,,i'd say a better test would be on ya rudder,,keep half glossy,,then dull the otha half,,,,put water on both,,,then tilt the rudder, see which one "hangs" on longest,,,the faster the water or "bead" runs off the faster it should be in the water,,,maybe,,,not sure,,ya confident,,heh .

 

Over in the material forum there has been an on going discussion on "shark" type finishes which are rough to the touch, but increase speed in the water. I don't believe that these very expensive, very high tech coatings are what you are looking for, but It's possible that this is the type of "rough" bottom coating you were trying to describe. An Awl Grip surface will be very slippery, shinny and you don't need to fine sand. In fact the Mfg. does not recommend sanding. I would stick to what we know works.

 

Hey Much,
Using your test, icould just see which way the boat turns- the side that has more drag would make the boat turn toward it!
I'm not trying to be High tech, but I did ruin the last paint job doing a few too many wet sandings. (granted, it was a poor paint job, so I'm not missing it too much!

I will probably be giving awlgrip a try

 

no i mean try it while your rudder is off hehehe,,lie it flat,,then put the water on and lift it,,,but since the rudder removal thingy is another thread hahaha it might not work for you,,,the side that the water runs off faster would be the side that you want,,,hahahaa,,,sorry im a little "unclear" most the time heh, but try painting a small piece of glass,,then do sanding (rough) on half,,then keep the gloss on the other half,,then tilt it,,the side that the water reach's the bottom first wins,,,,and sorry for the rudder mix up,,( well not really)

 

Go back to bed Jim. The meds are wearing off.

 

just cause it aint shiny dont mean it aint slick..did that make any since?

 

Is a shark's skin smooth and shinny?

 

med time

 

i think the slick test should be,,,if you can run ya *** across it and ya hear a "squeak" its slick,,,if all you hear is loud screaming in a voice that sounds like yours,,,its not slick.,,,,now is non-skid shiny or slick?,,,,,im making no cents here

 

I would take any boating advise from a guy living in the desert with a lot of caution

 

aw well, you know what i mean..

 

desert?,,,,im like in the frakin twilight zone,,,,81 yesterday,,,snowing this morn,,,and back to the 80's