How Much Does It Cost to Bottom Paint a Boat? $800-$1300
How much does it cost to bottom paint a boat? It costs around $800 to $1300 and more. Read our full post to know more.
Bottom painting your boat is necessary to maintain its quality and performance. Most people who own a boat take it slightly unless they face a heavy loss. It becomes more critical if you are a water lover and use a boat regularly. The bottom part of the boat mostly remains in the water, so it’s necessary to take care of it regularly.
How Much Does It Cost to Bottom Paint a Boat? Explanation
Primarily the cost to bottom paint a boat depends upon its size. A small-sized boat’s costs were lower than a medium or large-sized boat.
Moreover, the bottom of a boat depends upon the yacht. The more the yacht size, the more it will affect the cost. On average, a moderate-sized bottom paint costs almost $800 depending upon the paint covered by the boat. A large boat may cost around $1300 or more.
Read this entire post to learn what bottom paint is, why it’s necessary, and the total cost.
Bottom Paint: What It Is?
Bottom painting a boat is also known as antifouling, depending upon the paint type. Antifouling paint is a type of paint that is highly waterproof and is mainly used on the lower surface of the material, or you can say the material that spends most of the part in water.
In my experience, It may be a boat or any other thing you use in water. Not a single layer of paint but multiple layers of paint are applied to the bottom of the boat to avoid any danger which may be caused by the resistance in the water.
Why It’s Necessary to Use Bottom Paint?
Most of you are wondering why it’s necessary to use bottom paint on a boat as it always remains in the water and is washed out by water. There is no doubt that the boat remains clean as most of the bottom part remains in the water, and hence all the mud, dust, and other particles are washed out. Here are some reasons why it’s necessary to bottom paint a boat.
Antifouling is specifically designed to stop and hinder the growth of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that can quickly grow in the water. Hence, bottom paint’s first and most important purpose is to protect your boat from dangerous aquatic organisms.
Bottom painting the boat means preparing the boat for the paint. When you prepare the boat by cleaning and removing all dust, dents, and mud particles, the ultimate result is the boat’s durability. Cleaning and painting the bottom side of the boat makes it usable for a long time. It’s also necessary to avoid issues while boating.
All dust, mud, and microorganisms are the reason to slow down your boat while you are working as a kayaker or as an entertainer, so it’s necessary to bottom paint if you want to see your boat working faster. If it slows down slowly, you should understand that painting the bottom of the boat is now necessary.
Types of Bottom Paint
Here are some types of bottom paint. Knowing these types may help you to know the cost of painting the bottom of a boat.
1. Ablative Bottom Paint
It is an essential type of paint that eliminates your effort to wash and prepare bottom paint for the boat. Using this paint does not need to prepare the boat as it removes all the living and nonliving particles quickly. If your boat is running too slow in the water, this is the type of paint you need.
2. Hard Bottom Paint
Challenging bottom paint is another necessary type for large and fast boats. It washes away all the particles and biocides quickly from the bottom surface of a boat.
I highly recommend using this paint if you want to make your boat super fast as it tightly holds the coats of the boat, eliminating the need for bottom paint primer and many other products that are necessary to use on the paint coat if hard paint is not available.
Note: don’t use a hard paint over ablative paint and ablative paint over a hard paint.3. Hybrid Paint
Its name is semi-hard ablative paint. It is a mixture of both ablative and hard paint and has mixed properties. This paint is helpful for those unsure about what paint they should use on a boat. Hence, you can use it on all boats, even in the upper parts, besides only painting the bottom.
How Much to Bottom Paint A Boat When Hiring A Professional
Want to know the cost of bottom boat painting prices when hiring a professional because you are not experienced, or you don’t have enough time? Here is a complete guide:
Each of the professionals always costs per foot painting work no matter how low or high the area of a material you want to paint. Our cost estimation for bottom painting a boat when hiring a professional is about $1200 to $3000. It is probably typical for some people, and some find it high. (Those who find it high can DIY paint the boat bottom as I explained below).
1. Total Material Cost
Total material cost when hiring a professional is typical. All the necessary tools are available from the professional side. However, some are required to buy. These tools, including brushes and others, would cost around $400 to $700.
2. Cost per Square Foo
The cost per square foot of bottom paint on a boat is high comparatively. It’s around $6 to $15 per square foot and also depends upon the type and condition of the boat.
3. Labor Fee
Labor costs $50 to $100 per hour for the bottom painting of a boat. Hence, you can estimate the total cost by knowing the size of your boat and the total number of hours labor needs to spend.
4. Storage Fee
$100-$300 per month is the storage fee from the company or professional. Most of you do not understand why it’s needed to pay for the storage of the boat. It is necessary to pay as they have to store and save your boat for the time until the full bottom paint on the boat is completed.
Painting the Bottom of Your Boat Yourself DIY Cost
When you bottom paint your boat, the total cost is around $500 to $800, which saves money when I compare it with the cost of hiring a professional.
Materials Needed
A gel coat, boat primer, and paint are required. Moreover, some tools, including a brush, are required (check if these are available at your home, otherwise but from the nearest market). You can also buy second-hand tools if you don’t have enough money to buy a new one.
The total cost for the required material is around $750. It includes all costs for paint, primer, coat, and other tools.
Besides this, there is total time and per foot painting cost, which does not matter if you are doing it yourself.
Conclusion- Cost to Paint a Boat
Hopefully, now you understand how much it costs to bottom paint a boat. The cost is not high when you compare it with the boat’s price and durability. So, I highly recommend spending some money on increasing the value and age of your boat.
Bottom boat painting cost for DIY is meager when you compare it with a company or professional cost of bottom paint. But if you are not experienced enough, calling a professional is the best choice as it’s good to compromise on money over quality.