Here in the Northeast, where after a bout of good early-spring weather we've been suffering lousy late-spring weather, lots of boats have yet to launch for the season. (And many of those that have launched haven't yet left their slip or mooring.) And some of us still haven't had a free day of good weather to apply the season's bottom paint. I confess to being one of the latter, although my excuse is that I have to wait for some fiberglass work and hull repainting to be completed - courtesy of Hurricane Irene when she blew through last August and caused some damage. So again this year I looked at the wide range of bottom paints available, including the new ones without copper that are supposed to be better for the environment. Have you looked at these new paints? Some have a lot of advocates, while others claim the traditional types of bottom paint are still the most effective choices sailors have. For me, I'm still checking into it, since I can't paint anyway until the fiberglass work is done. Just hope I'm in the water for some good sailing before the first hurricane of 2012 blows in and wrecks this season too!