Maintaining your boat requires a lot more time, especially for the renewal of the paint on all its parts. In the case of the waterline, that is, the line that separates the submerged part of the hull from the emerged part, it would be ideal to adopt a new marine paint. Painting the waterline has an effect on underwater life, and its beautiful colour reflects the good design of your vessel. That’s why it’s important to paint it to the required standard.
What does the waterline do?
The function of the waterline is to separate the living works or hull of a ship from the dead works or the land area. The waterline allows the boat to carry a large load capacity depending on the desired craft from the start and even to the finish.
Why paint the waterline?
After many years of experience, boat builders have found that the waterline needs to be painted properly, especially when the existing paint is completely stripped. In the past, for boats with wooden hulls, painters used copper foil to prevent organisms from entering the hull. After a few years, most boats with steel or metal hulls were painted bright red
Nowadays, after various investigations, experts use specialised paints, called “antifouling paint”. These different types of marine paints protect the waterline and allow it to be painted in different colours, of different brands, depending on the type of coatings.
Preparation and steps to be taken
Any marine painting activity obviously requires careful preparation. For waterline painting, it is primarily a preparation of the hull or part of the hull. For this, a masking material for the boat is important. Then you need to provide the painting materials such as paint brushes, spray guns or rollers.
If everything is ready, you can start painting with the first coat, a light primer. Then move on to the thinner layer of colour and let it dry for about 10 minutes for a second coat. Finally, a third coat seems to be perfect and the waterline will look very pleasing in 2 hours.
What is the ideal paint for the waterline?
Almost all professional boats have a famous hull or red paint. Apparently the waterline is coloured a darker red. For the first coat, Interprotect or Yacht Primer are marine paints designed for professional use. For the second, there is a specialised paint called coatings or Epoxy. You can choose from different products such as “Watertite”.
Finally, in order to have a beautiful paint, specialists have advised to apply a third coat. Thus, marine paints called “interprime 880” or “One up” are the most suitable undercoats.
