Hey Guys, after reading Mike288's reply it got me thinking that I had read somewhere that they now apply some kind of a barrier coat at the factory so I emailed Four Winns and have copied their repsonse below. In short they do apply a barrier coat to prevent blistering, but interesting enough it is applied between the fibergalss and the gel coat! Four Winns does recommend bottom paint if it will be in the water for an extended period of time, but it sounds like you may be O/K if you keep after it with a good wax like Mike recommends. Here's Four Winns response. Good Luck!
From:
Boating@fourwinns.com
To:
jimbuscemi@aol.com
Subject: Re: General Contact from Four Winns Website
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 8:55 AM
Four Winns does apply a vinyl ester barrier coat between the fiberglass
and the gel coat to prevent moisture from penetrating the gel and
causing osmotic blistering but it is a good idea to bottom paint the
hull if the boat is going to be in the water for an extended period of
time.
Bottom paint does help prevent you boat from build up on the hull and
also protect it from other environmental issues in your specific area of
boating.
There is a section in your owners manual that will give you more
information regarding bottom paint.
Thank you
Four Winns
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