Newport Beach, Ca
(714)328-4405
Start at the highest most forward point and work down and back - the direction of water flow on most boats. Pre-rinse, and then wash with a waxy, mild soap and a
Wooly Bully Wash Pad
. Use a
Medium-Stiff Bumpered Wash Brush
on the non-skid decks.
Rinsing
a large area first before you wash it gives any salt that's present time to start dissolving before you get to it, and helps ensure you don't leave any behind.
Rinse sliding cabin-side windows from the bow toward the stern to avoid getting water inside.
Break
the wash job into sections, especially if it's sunny. Avoid letting any section air dry before you rinse or chamois it to avoid soap residue or spotting.
U
se an extendable brush handle to reach the higher areas from the deck and the hull sides from the deck or dock. Adjust to a comfortable length when scrubbing decks to prevent back strain and injury.
A
Threaded Pole Adapter
will allow you to use threaded brushes, swivel pads etc. with quick connect/disconnect poles and vice versa.
Use
a good, lightweight
Plastic Marine Hose Nozzle
as opposed to a metal one. It's less likely to scratch or damage the boat. The marine nozzle by Gilmour is the best we've found.
To remove blue-grey stains that sometimes settle on boats in the boatyard, first wet the affected surface. Put some Soft Scrub With Bleach on a wet Wooly Bully Wash Pad . Carefully put a small amount of Lime-Gone over the Soft Scrub, being careful to keep your face away from the pad to avoid inhaling the vapors. Use the Wooly Bully to spread the mixture over the wetted surface. The stain should dissappear within a few seconds. Make sure you keep the area wet. Rinse very thoroughly. Don't use this mixture on fabrics.
Bare unsealed teak can safely be scrubbed with the Doodlebug Swivel Scrub Holder with a Medium-coarse Scrub Pad.
Teak should NOT be cleaned with a stiff brush - it will gouge out the soft grain of the
wood, eventually leaving deep permanent ridges.
Non-skid decks can be cleaned with a moderately
Stiff Wash Brush with a Bumper
. The bumper is important for
protecting paint and gelcoat from damage, as it's difficult to scrub any deck without bumping into something with the scrub brush.
Washing with non-detergent soap that contains wax or conditioner will help you get maximum life out of your paint or gelcoat finish. Most marine or automotive stores carry such soaps.
Drying with the
Water Sprite Synthetic Chamois
is much easier than using a real chamios and far superior to any of the synthetic chamios we've tried. It has excellent absorption, is easy to ring out, picks up dirt and will dry almost any surface spot-free .
Windows look great when we follow the Water Sprite dry-off with a surgical towel. For isinglass (or Strataglass, or Barrett, etc.) enclosures, the Water Sprite followed by a diaper works very well.
Deionized water can save a lot of drying time. Instead of washing and drying in small sections, wash and rinse the whole boat from the top to cockpit, then go back and wipe any remaing water spots with a damp chamois. Two-tank (where the two silica components are seperate) deio systems are better than one-tank (mixed-bed) systems, but both are a big time saver.
A 1/2" diameter hose is much easier to use than the usual 3/8" garden hose. It's lighter, especially when filled with water, and easier to manuever around the boat. Make sure it's one continuous length that's long enough to get completely aound the boat you're washing, to avoid dragging a metal coupling over the paint or gelcoat.
Apply non-detergent wash & wax soap
to everything except the decks with the
Wooly Bully Wash Pad
. It holds lots of soap and is safe on delicate surfaces such as isinglass, plastic windows, and varnish. It also reaches easily under handrails and in tight spaces. A
Soft Bristle Bumpered Wash Brush
can be used alternatively on gelcoat, teak, and windows, but not isinglass.
Boatyard Fallout
Boat Washing Made Faster
Dear Doug,
Can you Tell me what's the best product to use for cleaning a fiberglass boat?
Thanks, Amy
Hi Amy,
If you mean washing, I would say any wash-and-wax soap diluted in
water and a Wolly Bully wash pad. For non-skid decks a white medium-
stiff brush works great - just make sure it has a bumper around the
edge so you don't damage your boat when scrubbing. The Water Sprite
drying cloth is the best product I've found for drying. It's fast,
virtually spot-free, and carries away any dirt that's present without
redistributing it.
