Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

[mjgates]

I generally do not get down on a creeper and wax the bottom, but this year I had to use a hull cleaner called On/Off as I was laid up at the end of last season and unable to physically clean it at the end of the season. Should I get down on a creeper and do this, or just wax as far as I can reach like normal.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

yes, I do, its probably a waste but I do it anyway and it gets me out of the house to do honey do's so its a win win depending on how you look at it, I have noticed that my wife rarely looks under the boat so long as there are feet visible so hiding the beer is pretty simple as well. I try not to wax the hull more then 3 times a month though

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

waxing the sides/top are fine, waxing the bottom is a waste and will be stripped off after a couple outings max.

 

[Tahorover]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

I do not wax it , but with the mussel inspections I have put up with I do scrub it.

 

[mjgates]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

So I guess the consensus is I don't need to wax it. It's spotless clean after using that acidic hull cleaner. But lay underneath it and pretend to wax with a cooler of beer anytime a honey do list comes out. Sounds like a great plan.

 

[emilsr]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

I wax mine once a season; helps to keep it clean (and makes it easier to keep clean).

It also doesn't get stripped off by the water as many people think it does. I can show you a spot right now where I put on wax last spring, couldn't quite reach it on the lift to wipe it off and the wax is still on there. Seems like the water spray would take it off but it doesn't....at least in my experience.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

i'm with emilsr. i wax the very bottom of mine once a year. i agree with him also that the wax don't get stripped off by use. right through the end of season i can see water beading up after i wash it on the very bottom. a sign that the wax is still there i believe. main reason i want to wax the bottom of the boat is to inspect it thoroughly at least once a season. + it can't be bad for it to be waxed once in a while... it is painful to do though. i have a white rock drive to do it in... what a bummer..

 

[Art Bernard]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

If you have bottom paint I wouldn't bother with it, just keep it clean, if you have gelcoat bottom it's really not nessairy but surely couldn't hurt. I don't usually don't wax my bottom (that just dosen't sound right) but if I did I'd use a very hard wax, not regular carnuba wax. Maybe something along the line of nu finish. Definatly something that was gelcoat safe though.

Art

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

sure, just as soon as I finish polishing the bilge pump.

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

sure, just as soon as I finish polishing the bilge pump.

you too, huh?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

Never have, never will.

Waxing the bottom of a boat is a complete waste of time. Not only does it slow down the hull, it's a pain in the back. I rinse the hull down once or twice a year with highly diluted hull cleaner and the hull is still as off white as the day I bought it.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

Never have, never will.

Waxing the bottom of a boat is a complete waste of time. Not only does it slow down the hull, it's a pain in the back. I rinse the hull down once or twice a year with highly diluted hull cleaner and the hull is still as off white as the day I bought it.

^^^^^^^^ +1

 

[RIDEPATE]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

Never have, never will.

Waxing the bottom of a boat is a complete waste of time. Not only does it slow down the hull, it's a pain in the back. I rinse the hull down once or twice a year with highly diluted hull cleaner and the hull is still as off white as the day I bought it.

+2 Surface tension..........................

 

[noworries79]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

I wax mine once or twice a year. I feel that it minimizes scum when I am in the "skinny" water. I do use hull cleaner to keep it clean as well and I feel it is good to give some protection to your gel coat if you use the hull cleaner products often.

How does wax slow down a hull Dingbat? Just curious. I will try diluting my hull cleaner next time...good idea. Does it still work as good?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

never heard the fish complain about it

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

Never have, never will.

Waxing the bottom of a boat is a complete waste of time. Not only does it slow down the hull, it's a pain in the back. I rinse the hull down once or twice a year with highly diluted hull cleaner and the hull is still as off white as the day I bought it.

If you tell my wife this we will not be friends anymore

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

How does wax slow down a hull Dingbat? Just curious.

think of a golf ball... The rough surface helps it. If you had a perfectly smooth golf ball, it would have higher drag. Same thing goes for a boat hull. The minor imperfections help to create localized turbulence, and you go faster. A nice smooth hull that has the imperfections filled in by wax will have more hull in contact with the water.

Is it going to make a difference on the speedo? nope. The fact it slows you down it mainly in the realm of high end sailboat and rowing. Pro pwc's racers also avoid wax like the plague, it can cause a small pwc hull to do all kinds of squirley things.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

As noted above, surface tension is your enemy.

Good discussion here http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/bassboard/boats_motors/message.html?message_id=158450


I use 1/4 bottle hull cleaner and a gallon of water in a garden sprayer. Takes me all of 5 minutes to spray the bottom of the boat. Let is sit for a couple of minutes then rinse.

 

[DJ]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

think of a golf ball... The rough surface helps it. If you had a perfectly smooth golf ball, it would have higher drag. Same thing goes for a boat hull. The minor imperfections help to create localized turbulence, and you go faster. A nice smooth hull that has the imperfections filled in by wax will have more hull in contact with the water.

Is it going to make a difference on the speedo? nope. The fact it slows you down it mainly in the realm of high end sailboat and rowing. Pro pwc's racers also avoid wax like the plague, it can cause a small pwc hull to do all kinds of squirley things.

Right on. If you've ever felt the hull of an Americas Cup type sailboat, they are NOT smooth.

 

[dramaminedragon]

Re: Do you wax the bottom of your boat?

Twice a year. Sometimes I polish and wax. Depending how dirty it was.