Good Hull Cleaner

[four winns 214]

Knowing I was going to be using it frequently while my daughter was visiting, I put my Four Winns 214 deckboat in an Ohio River marina slip for seven days. I removed it today and the bottom was a MESS. Here's what I used to clean it and how I did it.

The product I used was Seasense Hull Cleaner that I purchased at Wal-Mart. I've used this product before with excellent results. The product bottle says to apply it with a sponge, but I decided to try a different application method today.

I poured the bottle of hull cleaner into a one-gallon plastic tank sprayer and used that to spray the cleaner over a large area, then let it sit the recommend two minutes. Next, I used a soft-bristle brush on a long handle to wash the sprayed area with a sudsy mixture of water and Dawn dish soap and then rinsed with a hose. The Seasense Hull Cleaner is like a miracle potion. The nasty brown muck just comes right off. The sprayer and brush make the job much, much faster and easier than hand sponging.

I feel fairly certain that this hull cleaner is available under other brand names (probably Starbrite), if Seasense is not available at your local Wal-Mart.

 

[MAXXIE]

Re: Good Hull Cleaner

I've looked at the same product at wal mart. I'll most likely try it out this weekend. The only difference with my boat is that it has not been done for several years, the perv. owner was not into appearance at all, just fishing. I had a weeks worth of cleaning on the interior alone & most of that was the seats, lots of stains on the tops of the seat backs. I still have yet to get them totally clean & will be replacing them in the off season. I'll give the wal mart stuff a shot & hope to get the same results as you.

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Good Hull Cleaner

You may have to use a little elbow grease. One place on the side of my hull just above the waterline where the brown muck was covered by sun-baked-on algae required two applications of the cleaner and the use of a "bug sponge" scrubbing pad (small rectangular sponge covered with soft nylon found in auto detailing section). But work it did. I wish I had taken before and after photos.

 

[djspady]

Re: Good Hull Cleaner

My Cobalt detail guy has been using this method for years. Most of the hull cleaners are acid base, so I just buy muriatic acid and mix a 10% solution with water. I follow-up with a citric cleaner. Make sure you wet down your trailer and rinse well.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Good Hull Cleaner

I also use muriatic acid mixed with water, but at closer to 50% mix rate.
The grunge practically dissolves before my eyes. That's after the boat sitting in freshwater for almost 6 months straight. Cheap and effective, just take the necessary precautions, and rinse extremely well.