Contemplating the Bottom

I have sanded the bottom of my Owens, and done a little patching, screwing down the corner of an old pacth that was loose, and screwing silicone and plywood inside to cover a small crack made by the bunk trailer she came down here on. I'm going to get some more epoxy and make sure that patch is watertight from the outside. I've wire brushed and picked old caulk from the 4 joints that run the length of the boat, and somewhat hapazardly smeared caulk over the joints in the plywood running across the beam. I didn't pick them because they seem to be relatively good, and I'd have to wreck too much of the old paint surface including a few patches that appear to be epoxy or something almost as hard. I've sanded the entire bottom surface in an effort to assure adhesion of the new paint.

My original thought was to go with what they call the west system, and epoxy her inside and out to be watertight, but after a little research and evaluation of the funds on hand I have just about decided that replacing the paint similar to the way I found it will be the best bet. Some experts say the epoxy although it will make her tougher and tighter for the short term may eventually trap water inside the wood leading to irreversible decay. This school of thought says a boat should breathe and be able to release any trapped moisture. Seeing as both points of view make sense, and the later one fits my budget a little better I'm probably just going to paint her bottom.

The next question is what paint to use. I have some wood sealer with a wood preservative ingredient that was actually made for exterior decks that I scrounged in the bent can and color mistake section of Wal-mart for a really good price. I haven't decided yet if that is a good compromise basecoat a little less intense than the epoxy but hopefully providing a decent seal and some additional rot protection. I have some good oil base paint which is what I'm definitely going with above the waterline, and probably as the second coat on the bottom and maybe even the first. A cool guy from Romania at the marina named Mike gave me some genuine antifouling bottom paint which will be the final outter coat. Judging from the labels on the cans, and how rusty they are this paint has been around since like 1980 or so, but it is the real thing, and still liquid when you take the lid off. At the moment, although still undecided I think these three paints, with maybe two good coats of the oil will be my bottom finish. I may skip the wood preservative step, I feel a little funny about it, but I can't find any good information one way or the other as to what to really expect to happen if I use it.