Are you interested in the carbon , Cu and Ni filled paints? The carbon
based paint is commonly called Aquadag and is sold by companies such as
SPI for electron microscope sample prep. It is expensive (MUCH less so
than the silver based) if bought from them but my technician says he
has seen it sold in bulk somewhere else and I will ask him. I bought
the Ni and Cu based from an electronics supply house and forget which
one, they use toluene as a solvent.
As far as electroplating the boat bottom, I thought about it and there
are several issues relating to plating rate. For my normal
electroplating, a current density of 10 amps/ft2 will give a deposition
rate of .0005"/hr. I think you really need a thickness of .001". This
means either VERY long deposition times or very high currents. A
coating might take over a week requiring that the copper cable be moved
many times during that period.
The idea may have some merit but I havent worked it out yet.