Making a cruising boat’s hull perform well

How many times have you said, or heard, “my boat is slow anyway, no use wasting too much time on the hull.” The speed of a sailboat depends in an important way on hydrodynamics, so not only on the shapes of the hull but also on the care the ability to glide that it will have. That is why from a good hull job the foundation is laid for a fast boat, even for a cruising model. Let’s go over how to be able to perform good hull work and what to pay attention to.

Preparing a performance hull step by step

Once winged, the first thing to do is to wash with a pressure washer to remove vegetation. Some spent antifouling will also fall off with this work. With that done, and allowed to dry for a few weeks in order to remove physiological moisture from the hull, it is time to prepare the bottom on which to pass the new antifouling.

We will give a general sanding to make the surface smooth before applying the new paint, or we will take the hull directly to zero, preferable, removing all the old layers. In the case of boats that will be used in regattas, it is advisable to use a hard matrix paint.

This will allow us during the season to be able to “take back” the hull with quick hauls to clean it with a sponge. In the case of a cruising boat that sails for a long time, however, the choice of a self-sanding paint might be more suitable.

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Performance hull – Better at spraying

The goal is to achieve a smooth and polished final surface to promote smoothness. No application of antifoulings better than spraying meets this criterion. This technique ensures a more controlled application of the amount of paint and eliminates the roughness of the roller pass. The latter remains a valid method, but provided that, after the last coat, we do a final sanding at least 24 hours later using a 600-grit sandpaper. An operation by the way that is also advisable in the case of spray application.