What Sets the Cost of Bottom Paint in Florida, and How Long It Lasts

The price depends on the boat's size and shape, the condition of the old paint, the paint and the number of coats, the prep, any repairs found, and the haul and wash lines. Two boats of the same length can be priced far apart, and a number quoted for someone else's boat is not a price for yours.

Ask for an itemized written quote, and read on to see what each part is. For the yard's own jobs, bottom jobs shows the order of work and published rates shows the lines that have a rate.

Seven things move a bottom-job price, and each one is a line to look for in a written quote. They are general cost drivers, not a description of any one yard's quote.

Size and shape

Length and beam set how large a lift the boat needs and how much paint the hull takes. A wider boat of the same length takes more paint and more time.

Paint condition

Paint that is old, of unknown age or flaking can need sanding or removal before new paint goes on. Paint in sound condition needs less preparation.

Paint and coats

The paint type and the number of coats set the material and the labor. A maker's data sheet states a minimum number of coats: Pettit's Trinidad Pro sheet, for one, calls for a minimum of two coats per season. Ask whether an extra coat goes at the waterline.

Prep and repairs

Blisters, damage and other repairs are separate work. They belong on their own lines and should be agreed before the work starts.

Haul, blocking and wash

Check how the lift, the blocking, the pressure wash and the launch are charged: inside the bottom-job price or listed on top of it. A quote that leaves them out cannot be compared with one that includes them.

Hull material

Aluminum hulls need a bottom paint its maker approves for aluminum, over the primer the maker specifies. The same Pettit data sheet says not to apply Trinidad Pro on aluminum hulls or outdrives.

Time on the blocks

A job that keeps the boat out of the water longer can add charges for the time, so ask how long the boat can stay and what happens after that.

Only what the quote lists, so ask for these lines in writing, from any yard. The bottom jobs page has the longer checklist.

The haul

Lift, blocking and launch, and which of them the per-foot rate includes.

The wash

Whether the pressure wash is built into the price or billed as its own line.

The paint

The product by name, the coats and any extra coat at the waterline.

The prep

Wash only, a scuff, sanding or removal, and who approves extra prep.

Repairs

Blisters and damage found under the old paint, priced as separate lines and agreed first.

Fees and terms

Tax, any fees, how long the boat can stay on the blocks and who calls you if the total will change.

Compare the scope before the total: a much lower price can mean less is included. Put the quotes side by side and check three things on each: the paint and the number of coats, the prep, and whether the haul, the wash and the launch are in or out.

Ask who calls you before the total changes, and what needs your approval first. Ask for an itemized written quote before approving the work.

If the topsides are dull or chalky too, ask whether a boat detail can be lined up while the boat is out of the water.

No single interval fits every boat. How long bottom paint lasts depends on the paint, how much the boat is used, how it is kept and how fast growth builds on it.

The data sheet for the paint on your boat states the maker's own recommendation, and the old paint after a wash shows whether it is due. Ask the yard to look at it when the boat is out of the water.

It depends on the paint, so read the data sheet for the one going on your boat. As one example, Pettit's Trinidad Pro data sheet gives minimum dry times in hours that change with the temperature, and says the paint can be launched up to 60 days after it is applied. Ask the yard which paint goes on your boat and when it can go back in the water.

It depends on the beam, the paint and the number of coats. Interlux gives this rule for the area of one coat: the hull's length times its beam times 0.85. Divide that area by the coverage on the paint's data sheet, and multiply by the number of coats.

With round numbers, a boat 30 feet long and 10 feet wide has 30 × 10 × 0.85 = 255 square feet to cover per coat. The gallons follow from the paint's stated coverage, so ask for the paint and the coats by name in the quote.

Ablative paint wears away slowly as the boat moves through the water, so fresh paint keeps being exposed; hard paint stays on the hull and is cleaned instead of worn off.

Which one suits a boat follows how it is used and kept, so ask the yard which it recommends for yours. An aluminum hull needs a paint its maker approves for aluminum either way.