Cover & washing boat

[strokeoluck]

Ok, two more naive (I'm certain) new boater questions. The boat we just purchased from a private party seller, came with a basic heavy cover that has straps that go underneath the boat (?) to secure it. Can I drive down the road with the cover in place? When he brought the boat to the bank he put the cover in my SUV and I didn't even think to ask him why it was off the boat. Before I drive it out to the farmer's pole barn where I'll be storing it I thought I'd better find out if it's safe to drive it w/the cover *on*.

Can I wash the inside of the boat with a hose and trust that the water will run out...somewhere, and not rot the inside of the boat out? Since this is a boat, that is designed to be in the water, I'm assuming it's safe to wash the inside with soapy water and a hose, but I thought I'd ask first.

Thanks!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Cover & washing boat

have you winterized the motor? yes you can wash the boat, then store it with the bow high, and the drain plug out. if you do not know where the drain plug is, you need someone to help you. and you need a safe boating course, before you put it in the water. cover off when towing.

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Cover & washing boat

We just bought the boat this week. Yes, the boat was winterized by a dealer. Thanks!

 

[bpmcl00]

Re: Cover & washing boat

even though boats are made for water use. i try to stay away from putting mass ammounts of water into the boat.

but if you must. like tashasdaddy mentioned store bow high with plug out.

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Cover & washing boat

even though boats are made for water use. i try to stay away from putting mass ammounts of water into the boat.

but if you must. like tashasdaddy mentioned store bow high with plug out.

Based on your response I have two follow up questions:
1) How do I go about getting the boat clean on the inside if it's "fairly" dirty and I can't really "hose 'er down"? The problem is that the guy who sold me the boat hauled it 60 miles w/out the cover on it down crappy ice/snow/salt-crusted MN roads. And then I hitched it up to my vehicle and hauled it 90 miles down the same type of roads to my house. You can imagine what it looks like. The outside of the boat is much worse than the inside, but still. Should I just treat it like a car and use hand towels, vacuum, etc. instead of hosing it down?

2) Is it ok to let the boat sit - as is...dirty - until I pick it up from the storage place this spring? I'm due to haul it to a farmer's pole barn this weekend.

3) How do I store the boat w/the bow high? I'm pretty certain the farmer is going to want me to back it in, unhitch it, and leave it. Not sure how I get the bow high if I *were* to wash out the inside w/a fair amount of water.

Thanks guys.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Cover & washing boat

Bow high means that the bow needs to be raised only high enough that any water inside can run to the back and out the drain. It doesn't have to be raised way up. That's what the tongue jack is for. If the trailer doesn't have one, you really need to install one. Otherwise even in the summer, water will gather at the front of the boat and you'll never be able to lift the tongue to hook up. Crank it up so the boat is bow high. As for trailering with the cover on, it depends on how well the cover is made, how well it fits, and how it is fastened down. It does not hurt to install the cover, drive at 40 MPH and watch the rear view mirror. If the cover is ballooning and flapping, it is not a trailerable cover. That doesn't mean it can't be made trailerable. You just need to add more straps to eliminate the flapping and ballooning. The reason that happens is air gets under the cover. Make a tight fit at the bow and that will help. As for cleaning the inside, vacuum cleaners are made for this purpose. But before doing that, get a stiff bristle hand brush and brush the carpet thoroughly and then vacuum. As for the seats and other surfaces, and spray cleaner and soft cloth can be used to clean them. In the spring when the weather warms up, then go about the interior scrubbing process. But for now, get as much of the crud out of the boat as possible.

 

[bpmcl00]

Re: Cover & washing boat

when we mean stow your bow high, on your trailer you should have a jack to raise the bow up. crank your boat up as high as you can to get the bow raised, that way water will drain to the back of the boat and out the drain plug. some people put a couple 2x4s' under the jack wheel/stand to give the bow some more leverage.

As for cleaning, yes some situations will require a good hosing down. so if this is the case hose away, just be sure to get the bow up when your done to drain, any water left sitting can pose a threat. And its better to clean it now then let it sit a couple of months then attempt to clean. i would go ahead and get it clean now. a good bucket of soapwater and some elbow greese should get 'er done.

also i like a good shopvac to help suck water out of carpets after a good cleaning. this will prevent water seeping into the deck and possible causing rot/ mildew


Hope this helps

 

[ziggy]

Re: Cover & washing boat

all good info above... only extra comment i'd make is store it with the drive down...

 

[woosterken]

Re: Cover & washing boat

I would not get overly carried away with the water inside NOW since you said you are in MN.
the water would probably FREEZE before it drains out!

woosterken

 

[salty87]

Re: Cover & washing boat

i'd wipe it down as best you can at least. will only be harder to clean if you let it all set.

with regard to washing down the interior....a boat is made to get wet, the hull at least. the inside, not so much. sort of like cleaning out a muddy jeep. there are some things that you don't want to get too wet. you've also got the temps to deal with.

a cover that's not fitted very well can easily do damage to your gel coat. there are trailerable covers but they aren't cheap. cleaning the boat is cheaper than fixing gel coat. a poorly fitting cover can quickly get ripped to shreds in the wind too.

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Cover & washing boat

Thanks much guys. I might try and run it through one of those drive-in wash-on-your-own car wash places if there's enough room to maneuver w/a trailer - just to do the outside of the boat. Otherwise I'll spiff it up a little in the garage by hand and then do the major cleaning in spring.

 

[packman35]

Re: Cover & washing boat

I'll second using the shop vac after washing the inside. I am restoring a used boat that was left out in the elements. I took the pressure washer to the carpet yesterday with a Simple Green / Bleach mix and it came clean!! I followed up with the shop vac on the carpet to get it as dry as possible. Worked great!!! Don't want to let that water stand on the decking any longer than necessary. Then store it bow up w/o plug to let any residual water drain out. It's amazing how much happier a clean boat can make you!!!