How Do You Clean Your Boat?

[nosliw]

I just wanted to ask how does everyone clean their boats? At home with the hose, at a DIY car wash or with a pressure cleaner?

I am thinking of purchasing a pressure cleaner as it simply does not seem feasible to spend $5-$8 every trip to spray the boat down.

Can anyone recommend a decent pressure cleaner or a more viable option?

Cheers,

[cut_loose]

Is your boat painted ? Only time i use a "Pressure Cleaner" is when i un-screw the floor and check for sinkers

[nosliw]

Is your boat painted ? Only time i use a "Pressure Cleaner" is when i un-screw the floor and check for sinkers

Yes my boat is painted. So I'm presuming you use a hose to wash your boat? I just find that there's not enough pressure with a standard hose to thoroughly get the salt out. I just thought why pay $5 every time when I can just buy a gerni and save on costs long term.

[GregL]

Best $99 I have ever spent on my boat. Cuts cleaning time by over 50% and the job is so much better done in getting salt out. If you have carpet get a wet and dry vac to suck the salt and water out of carpet and all the bits that fall down into the bilge area after washing. They are about the same price as the water pressure machines in most hardware stores.

Greg

Edited May 4, 2010 by GregL

[nosliw]

Best $99 I have ever spent on my boat. Cuts cleaning time by over 50% and the job is so much better done in getting salt out. If you have carpet get a wet and dry vac to suck the salt and water out of carpet and all the bits that fall down into the bilge area after washing. They are about the same price as the water pressure machines in most hardware stores.

Greg

Hey Greg,

Can I ask what model you purchased? and how long you have owned it? $99 sounds like a great price.

Cheers mate,

[Captin]

If you don't have a very big boat, maybe just one of those wash brushes with a extendable handle will do the do. I started using one of those after the thought of buying a Gerni, but by the time you set the Gerni up you could have washed the boat down with one of these brushes anyway.

[DGF]

i use a pressure cleaner coz im lazy n my paint is still the original paint so when it gets lil worse im going to respray the whole boat my self but yeh the karcher does kinda rip some paint off on the flaky spots if i go up too close but otherwise its fine.

[Stacer560]

just go get the multi hand gun from bunnings for $5. The jet spray is suffice for my boat.

You dont want to be straining your paint and stickers.

Hose it, sponge it with soap, wash it off. Simple.

[GregL]

Hey Greg,

Can I ask what model you purchased? and how long you have owned it? $99 sounds like a great price.

Cheers mate,

Not sure of model but it's made by Karcher and I have had it for the last 2 years and used at least twice a week. My wet and dry vac is the same brand. Bought at one of the BIG hardware stores during sale time.

G

[jewgaffer]

Hi nosliw, it sounds as though your boat is a painted alloy boat. If that's the case it might pay you to do some research on cleaning an alloy boat with a pressure cleaner...I've been led to believe that the aluminium used in boat manufacture has been treated with a protective coating which may also inhibit oxydization to some extent too...I was told that cleaning an alloy boat with a high pressure cleaner actually pushes salt residue further into nooks and crevices and can ultimately lead to corrosion, so it's would be better to "flood" salt out with an open garden hose rather than risk forcing it into to crevices etc by using a pressure cleaner. I was also told that unpainted sections especially the unpainted area on the bottom of an alloy boat etc should only be cleaned with a sponge and soapy water and just lightly hosed down, and that a painted boat should always be kept clean...protected the painwork with wax is ok, but any unpainted surfaces should not be cut back or heavily polished as such under any circumstances.

In an important matter such as this, it would better to get advice from someone like Craig or Roger at Huett Marine as they've had years of experience with boats and boat maintenance.

Cheers

jewgaffer

[danny412]

I have a quintrex coastrunner 455, when we get home I flush the motor, as this is happening we unload the boat of everything. Then as one washes with car wash and broom the other hoses off with garden hose, both inside and out, then get old fashioned garden sprinkler and put directly beneath axle, turn on... go get beer... finish beer, shammy dry, cook fish, more beer, you know how the rest goes.. cheers.

Danny

[defyet]

Being a detailer i have the joy of detailing cars and boats day in day out.. (ok maybe its not a joy all the time)..

I find the best thing for cleaning boats is just your garden hose, why? Because a high pressure washer is Low Volume Water and High Pressure, great for blasting but not so great if your wanting to hose all the salt water off with plenty of fresh water, you need high volume water to wash it all down, the lack of water means your still going to have salt in the nooks and crannies and by the time you get the high pressure washer out and hook it up you could have been half finished with the garden hose and sponge. I always used to use my pressure washer but the lack of water it puts out i was spending longer using that to wash it down properly even with a commercial pressure washer.

Your boat is most likely your second or third biggest investment, take the 10-20 minutes to wash it with car wash and hose it down properly because i can tell you now simply hosing or high pressure washing dried salt water does not completely remove it, and you still have a light film on the surface. This is why so many boats end up oxidized because owners are to lazy to wash them properly and just leave them out in the harsh environment with no protection on the paint.

I always take the 10-20 minutes or so to thoroughly wash my boat out after each trip and dry it, making sure i hose the trailer/hubs/axle down also.

Id be happy to post tutorials on anything from general washing, polishing fibreglass/aluminum boats and general cleaning/detailing of them but thats up to the admins if they'd want to make a thread sticky with tutorials.

Edited May 5, 2010 by defyet

[TheAlby]

cheap pressure washers have a low water volume rate which means it takes a long time to clean area's. When buying a washer look at the PSI and more importantly the flow rate.

i bought a 4 stoke Honda Unit with a high volume rate and it's goes well on my glass haines...got rid of all my brown water stains/rust stains and squid ink. just don't use it on stickers/paint.....