Painted Catalina 36s

25 posts / 0 new
Last post
LCBrandt's picture
LCBrandt
Offline
Joined: 6/26/07
Posts: 1282
Painted Catalina 36s

I dug back through the photo libraries as far as I could, looking for painted topsides. I found four of them. I seem to recall a dark green hull somewhere, but I couldn't find it...maybe I was just imagining High Flight in that color. Ah well...

Found four of them. Amante, Regulus III, Tara, and Drake Equation. Three blue, one red. Man, they all look great!

(Chooch, we need a photo of your boat under sail, so we can better see the full effect of your red and gold paint scheme!)

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

wfahey's picture
wfahey
Offline
Joined: 2/12/08
Posts: 157

I would love to have my boat painted but if you have ever seen me try to back into my slip or even pull in bow first in a blow, the fancy paint job wouldn't stand a chance. :(

Bill
s/v Lucky
1984 MK I Hull #266
San Antonio, Texas

Ciscocat's picture
Ciscocat
Offline
Joined: 6/25/07
Posts: 244

while it would be great to get a new paint job, do you have any idea of the the other toys that you could buy with the moneny spent on painting the boat? I have had prices from 15,000 dollars to 26,500 to paint both the topsides and cabin top, yikes! just painting the topsides looks like it would be a 6~8 thousand dollar proposition. that would pay for a auto pilot, dingy dingy motor radar and several other associated goodies.

Mike Hogan
s/v Ciscocat #226
Mark I XP25, std rig

ProfDruhot's picture
ProfDruhot
Offline
Joined: 2/8/09
Posts: 354

I know that Catalina is a production boat; but have always wondered why they haven't produced boats (lately, i.e.) with a hull color other than white. Kind of reminds me of what Henry Ford once was quoted when someone asked him what colors his automobile came in.

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

deising's picture
deising
Offline
Joined: 11/3/08
Posts: 1351

My secret (well.. not anymore) wish is that almost all C36 owners will paint their hulls a color. Then my white hull will be admired for being both different AND incredibly functional in the typical heat of SW Florida!

Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/

BudStreet
Offline
Joined: 9/4/09
Posts: 1127

I've always been a sucker for Navy Blue hulls, just love them. We had a dark brown hull on a powerboat way back in the 80s and it faded so bad it scares me off though I understand that modern paints are better than gel coat. We saw a Cal 29 a couple of years ago that the guy had painted Navy Blue with a one part urethane using roll and tip and until you got within a couple of feet it was truly spectacular. Even up close it was damn good. He said it cost him about 400 bucks all in.

chooch's picture
chooch
Offline
Joined: 6/25/07
Posts: 52

Tara's hull and striping was done in red and gold Awlgrip (Two Component Linear Aliphatic Polyester Polyurethane) by a local specialist. It looks like a mirror close up and NEVER needs wax. Just wash with biodegradable Awlwash when needed.
Cost? Well, we could have had a new engine installed instead...:rolleyes:

Fair Winds,

Glenn "Chooch" Jewell
Nautae Luna 1232 (RIP Tara 389 Hurricane Sally 2020)
GO NAVY - BEAT ARMY!

bcam's picture
bcam
Offline
Joined: 6/29/07
Posts: 77

[QUOTE=chooch;4241]Tara's hull and striping was done in red and gold Awlgrip (Two Component Linear Aliphatic Polyester Polyurethane) by a local specialist. It looks like a mirror close up and NEVER needs wax. Just wash with biodegradable Awlwash when needed.
Cost? Well, we could have had a new engine installed instead...:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

:p:p, but no one can see the new engine!

My Coronado 25 had an Awlgrip paint job. great return on the investment.

Bruce Campbell
Evergreen Dreams #1409

ProfDruhot's picture
ProfDruhot
Offline
Joined: 2/8/09
Posts: 354

Bud, It is funny how you stated that you are a "sucker" for blue hulls. My wife and I have always felt the same way. We just love blue-hulled boats. We are smitten by them, I have always wondered why. We may just consider having our hull pained some day.

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

Phil L's picture
Phil L
Offline
Joined: 1/15/08
Posts: 104

Our local Catalina dealer had both a brand new C400 and new C42 that had factory royal blue hulls. Looked beautful.

Phil L 
Southern Cross
Channel Islands, CA
C36MKI #400

ProfDruhot's picture
ProfDruhot
Offline
Joined: 2/8/09
Posts: 354

Brand new Catalinas??? Really?

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

ldnicholson's picture
ldnicholson
Offline
Joined: 1/21/10
Posts: 5

Here is a photo of our 1985 navy-hulled "Mahayana" in Hadley Harbor, Cape Cod, MA last fall. We love the blue hull and it was a strong selling point when we bought the boat. Feel free to add to the photo library!

Lauren & Drew Nicholson
S/V Mahayana
1985 Catalina 36 #493
Palmetto, FL

Attachments
WD-40's picture
WD-40
Offline
Joined: 3/15/09
Posts: 19

Very nice!

WD
S/V DRAKE EQUATION
www.drakeequation.org

Phil L's picture
Phil L
Offline
Joined: 1/15/08
Posts: 104

Yes, they were new. I'm going up to the boat this weekend and if they are still for sale I'll take pics and post.

Phil L 
Southern Cross
Channel Islands, CA
C36MKI #400

Steve Frost's picture
Steve Frost
Offline
Joined: 12/14/07
Posts: 788

At some point the old gelcoat just gives up all luster, mine fortunatly still has some life in it and yearly wax still makes it shine.

I have followed the posts here regarding painted hulls and I am a bit surprised that all input has discussed sprayed on LPU jobs that are quite costly. For the ambitious there are some great epoxy paints that can be rolled on and tipped with a brush that give results that rival spray on jobs.

Hulls are far easier than topsides where all the bolt on equipment must be removed or masked.

Have any of you had experience with roll on systems?

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

BudStreet
Offline
Joined: 9/4/09
Posts: 1127

Steve, see my post #6 in this thread. I didn't do the job I referred to but as I mentioned it was a very good roll and tip job.

We painted the cabin floor in our 28 with Interlux Brightside and it did a tremendous job. That's a 1 part urethane and we brushed it to get it into all the little non-skid depressions, despite that it came out super shiny with very few brush marks. Looked slippery but wasn't. Easy stuff to work with and tough as nails.

Steve Frost's picture
Steve Frost
Offline
Joined: 12/14/07
Posts: 788

Thanks Bud, I did miss that one.

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

ProfDruhot's picture
ProfDruhot
Offline
Joined: 2/8/09
Posts: 354

Brand new Catalina 40's and 42's with blue hulls? Really?

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

benethridge's picture
benethridge
Offline
Joined: 5/13/09
Posts: 446

Hi, everyone.

How well do these paint jobs hold up? My C36 is getting to the point where it needs painting but I've heard horror stories about how they scratch easily and how the scratches are difficult to repair. True or not true?

Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263

chooch's picture
chooch
Offline
Joined: 6/25/07
Posts: 52

Ben,

Awlgrip is a very hard, durable paint that resists minor scrapes and scratches. However, it can be scratched by hard, sharp objects. Then, it becomes very difficult to restore a perfect mirror finish. You just need to be more careful than normal.

To preclude the hazards of returning to the slip with less-than-experienced crew, I've built a protective web of anchor line with hole-through-center fenders to keep Tara from contacting the finger pier and/or neighboring boats.
So far it has worked; just drive it into the web at idle and retrieve the docking lines.

If you still have a white hull and want to restore the shine, you can use a polymer coating, like Vertglas [url]http://www.vertglas.com/index.html[/url] or New Glass 2 [url]http://www.newglass2.com[/url]. We used Vertglas to restore the hull of our dear departed 'Wallaby' (RIP Hurricane Ivan, 2004) with great results. I now maintain Tara's topside white with New Glass 2 to keep it gleaming. It's a bit time consuming to apply once a year, but yields excellent results. And, it is easy to do yourself and costs much, much less than an Awlgrip paint job.

Fair Winds,

Glenn "Chooch" Jewell
Nautae Luna 1232 (RIP Tara 389 Hurricane Sally 2020)
GO NAVY - BEAT ARMY!

benethridge's picture
benethridge
Offline
Joined: 5/13/09
Posts: 446

Thanks, Chooch.

When you say "a bit time consuming", how much time are we talking about? Reason I ask is that when I look at the Vertglas website, they say that it takes several coats a year to maintain the shine and C36 has a lot of surface area to cover.

Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263

chooch's picture
chooch
Offline
Joined: 6/25/07
Posts: 52

Ben,
The time consumption takes place with the original preparation.
You have to scrub off the chalked surface, and that does take some hours.
Then, it takes multiple coats (number depends on the starting roughness) to begin to get a shine. Once, the shine comes up, it gets easier.
I short-circuited the process by using 800 grit wet-or-dry sand paper. It really cut the chalk and left a smooth enough surface to build the shine quickly.

Now, if you live under the Florida sun, you'll need to apply the coating more often than advertised. Last year, I let her go... :cool: and had to rework all the topsides surfaces again.

Just remember to add a couple of coats when it is still looking good and you'll be OK.

Fair Winds,

Glenn "Chooch" Jewell
Nautae Luna 1232 (RIP Tara 389 Hurricane Sally 2020)
GO NAVY - BEAT ARMY!

benethridge's picture
benethridge
Offline
Joined: 5/13/09
Posts: 446

Thanks, Chooch.

So, let's figure, say, 4 hours for rubbing off the chalk?

How many hours for each coat of vertglas?

Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263

chooch's picture
chooch
Offline
Joined: 6/25/07
Posts: 52

takes me, on the average, about an hour a coat.
But, then, my old knees are not very happy with the kneeling :(

However, once you get a shine on the glass, it becomes much quicker and uses less product. Maybe 15 to 30 minutes a coat.

Just keep it clean and the shine on and you'll have no problems.
Here in NW Florida (AKA Lower Alabama to some) we get the black mold every spring - if the glass goes dull, the mold sets in and you start all over again.

Fair Winds,

Glenn "Chooch" Jewell
Nautae Luna 1232 (RIP Tara 389 Hurricane Sally 2020)
GO NAVY - BEAT ARMY!

benethridge's picture
benethridge
Offline
Joined: 5/13/09
Posts: 446

Sounds like a great system. Thanks for the info, Chooch.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263

Log in or register to post comments