SouthPaint

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Floridians face some of the worst fouling problems in the country, and when it comes to picking the right paint formulation, the combination of warm water, abundant sunshine and a year-round boating season tips the scales toward biocide-content paint. Pros spraying racing bottoms in both east and west coast yards combat the influence of warm nutrient rich water through the use of the best high-biocide paints and they tend to apply more material than their northern cousins. Many club racers from Texas to Florida opt for high-copper, non-ablative coatings like Pettit's Trinidad, Interlux's Ultra-Kote, and Sea Hawk's Tropikote as products that keep warm water marine growth to a minimum. These hard, high-copper, leaching paints are initially less smooth than their lower copper content cousins, but they can be burnished through wet sanding to a smooth surface. Many pros in the south recommend top-tier ablative coatings, and once again Interlux's Micron 66, Awlgrip's Awlstar Gold Label, Pettit's Ultima, and Sea Hawk's Islands 77 have strong followings.