Waxing Hull

[jockokelley]

I have a 16 foot V-bottom bass rig with a stepped hull. The fiblerglass is white and has some staining that I plan to clean and then wax. I have always heard that you don't want to wax the pad, but I find that term "pad" to be ambiguous at best. Can someone give me more specific reference points for the areas I should avoid waxing (ie, how far forward of the transom and how far in from the side edges)? I want to protect and preserve the hull, prevent staining and reduce friction with the hope of increasing efficiency.

 

[Mikedg]

Re: Waxing Hull

Buy a good quality marine hull wax and do all of the hull. Some waxes have been specifically developed for high speed boats and they would work well for you.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Waxing Hull

If your boat Has a "Pad".....<br />It's a Very Pronounced Flat area, At the transom Center, as far forward as it's FLAT......<br />And, It's a Very Debated Topic, as to whether it's a "Good" thing or a "Bad" thing to Wax the "Pad".....

 

[jockokelley]

Re: Waxing Hull

OK, so then if mine is "V'd" all the way back, there is no pad and it would be OK to wax everything that I can get to? It is on the trailer and I cannot get to the areas resting on the carpeted bunks. Thanks for the quick responses. I am giving the StarBrite with Teflon a try. It claims to be good for fiberglass boats, so I will give it a whirl.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Waxing Hull

Yep, No Pad.....<br />You Can wax the Whole Boat... Just Jack it up off the bunks enough to Wax Under them.......

 

[AW]

Re: Waxing Hull

A lot of people say if you wax the part of the boat that is in the water at speed it slows it down. We tried it and we thought waxing was faster, but it wasn't enough that you could really tell either way.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Waxing Hull

The boat isn't faster because you waxed it...it's faster because you removed parasitic drag...(cleaned the hull)<br />Yes, wax creates surface tension and should not be used on the portion of the hull that's in the water at high speed.....it's actually faster if that part of the hull is sanded with 180-220 grit paper to break the surface tension.....not an idea, it's fact.

 

[AW]

Re: Waxing Hull

You keep thinking that.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Waxing Hull

What point are you trying to make??? do you race boats for a living???<br />The lack of knowledge is frustrating sometimes..

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Waxing Hull

Go to a stock outboard race some time and check the bottoms of all the boats. There isn't likely to be a single waxed bottom. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a single one with any sort of gloss to the running surface. I wet-sanded mine with 320-grit on a flat block - took several evenings to get it perfect, but I picked up 3/4mph on the GPS. That can be the difference between first and 5th in Crazy-Stock Runabout...<br /> The theory is that the rough surface creates a micro-bubble "pad" of air that the boat rides on - what little boat is in the water at over 60mph. Not an old wives tale - it's FACT...<br />- Scott

 

[AW]

Re: Waxing Hull

Walleyehed I don't intend to be rude, but I find statement of "FACT" on a controversial issue without backup equally frustrating<br /><br />I will give you the story of where my opinion comes from.<br /><br />I have seen ads by companies selling bottom wax that claimed a 1-mph improvement in top speed. You haven't put a mile per hour on it, but you obviously think it makes a big enough difference to be important.<br /><br />There were 6 of us with 15' whalers. All of us at one time or another had a set up that ran between 42 and 44 mph. 1 mph was a huge difference to us.<br /><br />I lived about a mile down the beach from the boat ramp. Every day there was race to the boat ramp. We were young, and during the summer if the weather wasn't really bad there was almost always at least two of us out.<br /><br />So one day in the never ending quest for speed, a couple of us take the motors off our boats, turned them over, wet sanded them, put a straight edge on then to make sure there was no hook, filled in the scratches with gelcoat, re-wet sanded those areas, compounded and waxed the bottom. It made a big difference - 1/4 mph, maybe even 1/2.<br /><br />OK, your going to say that so far all that you have proved is that cleaning the bottom made it faster. True, but the story is not over.<br /><br />After a while the wax comes off, and I could tell because when I hosed the bottom off at night it didn't bead any more. So I hung the boat from a tree to get it clear of the bunks, and while the neighbors made remarks about being a redneck, I waxed the whole bottom of the boat. The next day on the way to the boat ramp they guy who used to gain 50 feet on me over the distance of a mile only gained 40.<br /><br />Was that 10 feet just wishful thinking? Maybe.<br />Was that 10 feet because he ate a big lunch and I skipped breakfast? Maybe.<br /><br />But one thing is for sure: It wasn't 1 mph.<br /><br />I'm not saying that it won't ever make a big difference, or slow you down a lot. I am saying that at least in some cases it doesn't make a big enough difference to worry about.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Waxing Hull

Sanding the hull insted of waxing it works for the same reason a boat is faster in chop than on calm water....it relieves surface tension and allows "unclean" water under the boat resulting in less drag.<br />As chinewalker said, "Bubbles" and it is fact.

 

[muskyone]

Re: Waxing Hull

http://www.bassboatcentral.com/don'twax.htm

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Waxing Hull

let's just say it's a debated issue and leave it at that. i've listened to both sides and don't really know what to believe. but for the original poster, go ahead and wax the hull. it will provide minimal protection and you won't notice a change in performance on that boat, unless you plan on racing and fractions of a second are important to you. good luck-

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Waxing Hull

Of course the old sailers trick of rubbing the bottom with Joy dishwashing liquid. Interesting to see a dingy race with little bubbles coming from behind the boats. And yes it is illegal in racing circles.

 

[jockokelley]

Re: Waxing Hull

Thanks for all your replies to my origianl questions. I definitely cannot bring myself to sand the bottom of my boat. It would not make a significant difference at the speeds my boat runs and it would not be worth it to me. As for whether or not I will put anything on the bottom of my boat, I think I might go with the teflon stuff just to try it and see if it slows it down. If it does not have a significant impact, I will probably stick with that in order to protect it from staining, etc. Thanks again for your spirited debate!! I love this site!!!

 

[John Carpenter]

Re: Waxing Hull

I think the average boater is more interested in a degree of protection and ease of cleaning than they are in gaining a bit of speed at WOT. That said, many racing sailboats that are not left in the water have their bottoms wet sanded rather than painted. It's faster.

 

[dansoph]

Re: Waxing Hull

your average boater (like us) don't care about 1mph differance in speed. we care aboutkeeping the hull clean.a little work now means a lotless work later.

 

[Seaboo2]

Re: Waxing Hull

Wow.... I just want to state that I have NEVER heard of waxing the bottom of a boat doing any harm. Alot of talk (and common sense) says it is a good thing (for the boat, forget the speed thing) so I do it and will continue to do it.<br /><br /> It SEEMS to me as if the boat picks up speed and handling ability, even if it is a MENTAL picture it is a good thing to me.<br /><br /> Doing a boat some good (or at least no harm) while "inspecting" the bottom of a boat (even if it is by rubbing your hand over it) is a good thing so go for it.