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I had been contemplating stripping my
bottom, the boat's bottom that is... ;-)
for some time and investigated the various methods of accomplishing such a big
job.
First of all, there is the DIY job but having seen a boating buddy labor for
almost a week using a chemical stripper paste and having him seen give up and
spend even more money to have the boat yard finish the job for him, I gladly
convinced myself there must be an easier and better way to do this.
So what alternatives do we have to strip bottom paint? Sanding! Blasting? OK,
blasting with what? Sand? Nut Shells? All possible but not very appealing.
What about baking soda? That is a lot of cake, you may think and you are right.
In my particular case, it was 150 lbs of baking soda!
Anyway, soda blasting it was. It is the most environmentally friendly way to get
rid off bottom paint without killing the whole neighborhood...
After receiving some junk-mail from the C-Map electronic chart people, informing
their membership about a 10% discount offered by MassSodaBlast LLC, I
rushed to make an appointment because, being a sailor, how could I give-up a 10%
discount?
The appointment was made and prior to the day of blasting, MassSodaBlast put a tarp
underneath the boat (even removing the stands to get the tarp underneath) and
then they tented the entire bottom in preparation of the blasting.
The blasting job must be a very tedious and tiring job. I watched them do it for
a while. There was a guy all dressed-up in a space-suit with a full helmet
connected to an air canister using a very noisy blaster, working long hours to
remove the bottom paint. I did not stay around but was told the entire job to
remove the bottom paint on my NC40 took them about 8 hours!
The end result is quite admirable. All of the bottom paint was removed and the
hull is really very smooth to the touch.
It looks like it is ready for barrier coating and new bottom paint.
Final note, the total cost for blasting
and material was about $1600.00 for my 40 foot hull. Considering the
alternatives, I think this is quite reasonable and I highly recommend this
process!
For readers in the New England area, you may
want to give MassSodaBlast a call. They may be able to help you. Call them on
508.337.3525 or visit their web site at
www.masssodablast.com and tell Dave Rapoza you were referred by me. Who knows, he
may cut you a deal, too!
Cheers,
Ronald Hiemann
"Bremer Speck"
1989 Nauticat 40
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"Bremer
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