Cleaning the hull

[ethelwright]

It was a sad day indeed here in northwestern ontario as I dragged my boat out of the water for the winter . At the marina where I keep the boat I rented the gas pressure washer and cleaned as much of the brown crap off the hull as possible .This was not easy as the trailer is not too tall and I must say I got soaked to the eyeballs. My question is how can I clean the remaining brown stain off the hull ? I intend to spend the entire day saturday cleaning the hull and giving it a lot of coats of marine teflon wax. Any suggestions?

 

[ethelwright]

Re: Cleaning the hull

Oops I forgot to add that the hull is fiberglass.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Cleaning the hull

The best and strongest cleaner for that brown crap is On-Off bottom cleaner.It works great but you must be careful because it is an acid so read the directions carefully.You can try spraying straight bleach on it first,that sometimes takes care of some types of growth.Charlie

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Cleaning the hull

I use Tidy Bowl toilet cleaner. Works great!<br /><br />Squirt it on, spread it around, let it sit, rinse it off.<br /><br />Good luck!

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: Cleaning the hull

I boat in the Orillia area and pressure wasing only takes the heavy stuff but leaves a brown ugly stain. I use muriatic acid in a garden sprayer and then pressure wash it off again, it can make the boat look almost new again. Can buy it for around $8 gal in most pool places and Canadian Tire. Caution...need to use appropriate safety gear, goggles, mask and gloves as it is very corrosive (doesn't hurt fiberglass but will eat anything that is galvanized)

 

[RatFish]

Re: Cleaning the hull

I'm with crazy charlie on this one. I used MaryKate On/Off on my stained fiberglass hull. Made it look like new.

 

[Oldsaltydog]

Re: Cleaning the hull

I also vote for toilet bowl cleaner acid. It's cheap and it works like a charm. Apply, leave on for 5-10 minutes, and hose off. (Goggles and rubber gloves would be a good idea.)

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Cleaning the hull

I used Starbrite Hull Cleaner (you can get it at Wal-Mart), it is Oxolic Acid. I let the brown junk dry for a day so it would fully die (this makes cleaning easier). Then I simply sprayed it on, let it set for a minute, and hosed it off, no work whatsoever. Good luck...

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Cleaning the hull

Jason,by waiting until the brown junk dries actually makes it harder to remove.If you are able to get to it before it dries up it will come off much easier.Charlie

 

[ethelwright]

Re: Cleaning the hull

Thank you all for your advice . I spent all day saturday cleaning the hull of the boat . I started with a regular boat wash and then did the bad spots with a caustic hull cleaner I got from a local boating store .I had to wear gloves to use the stuff and the few drops I got on my arms gave me a few burns . Oh well , the things we do for our boats . I am going to get the boat winterized this week so I will have the marine place I deal with do the underside of the hull as there were a few spots I could not clean completely as the trailer sits too low .They will also do both motors and shrink wrap my toy . Next year I intend to keep my toy at the marina again so I have asked about antifouling paint on the hull , to be done next spring . The person I talked to was not sure if they can antifoul my fibergass hull . I was told they may have to remove the gel coat then paint on the stuff and then reapply the gel coat . Is this right? I do not want to go through this again with the brown crap .