How to Wash Your Boat in the Water
A boat is a beautiful, often expensive item that deserves to be taken care of properly. However, many people do not know how to clean their boats in the best way possible. Washing your boat in the water can be difficult and time-consuming if you don’t know what you’re doing.
When you give your boat a thorough wash, your boat will serve you better. You will also experience the aesthetic value that comes from cruising a clean boat.
Here are the steps you need to follow to ensure you successfully wash your boat.
Preparation
To wash your boat in the water, you will need to dock it in a shallow place with calm water where you can anchor it so that it does not drift away. You will also need to be prepared for the task ahead.
Your Protective Gear:
- Water shoes. To protect your feet from submerged sticks/ sharp rocks and other sharp objects.
- Sunscreen- This will protect your skin from getting sunburned as you wash your boat
- Sunglasses- To protect your eyes, especially from the glare of the sun off the white boat.
- A pair of gloves- To protect your hands from getting sore from rubbing, scrubbing and to give you a better grip on the boat.
Protecting yourself will ensure that you undertake your washing activities uninterrupted. However, you also need to be fully equipped with the correct boat washing supplies.
Boat washing Supplies:
- Environmental friendly boat soap
- Sponge (Rag)
- Old towel
- Hosepipe with a nozzle
- A bucket
- Glass cleaner
- Boat brush with long handles
Washing The Exterior Of Your Boat
Rinse Your Boat Using a Garden Hosepipe
Connect your garden hosepipe to the water tap in the boat and use it to rinse loose dirt off your boat and to dissolve harsh minerals. It is best to work your way from the top for faster and more organized cleaning.
Apply a gentle detergent to a boat brush and scrub the rinsed area. The boat brush will ensure you apply the boat soap to hard-to-reach places on the exterior of the boat.
Remember to remove your boat from the water once a month and spray it down completely with your garden hose pipe if you use it in saltwater. Saltwater is corrosive and can damage your boat if you do not rinse it off regularly.
Cleaning Products
When washing your boat in the water, remember to use environmentally safe products. In this case, a boat soap is much safer than a household cleaning soap.
Household cleaning agents have a PH balance that may damage the boat and may be dangerous to aquatic life.
To wash your boat with soap, squirt some boat soap directly into the sponge and lather your boat. A long brush with soft bristles will help you give your boat a good scrub.
Tackle Small Areas at a Time
Scrub and rinse small areas as you go with a wash mitt or a soft scrub. This will prevent soap from drying on your boat.
Gentle scrubs will do just fine so that you don’t end up scratching the surface of your boat from scrubbing too hard.
Stiff Bristle Brush for Dirt and Debris
If your boat has dirt and debris that water rinse can not remove, use a bristle brush to scrub them off the boat gently.
Dirt and debris come off easy when wiped off immediately.
Rinse the Boat
Once you are done scrubbing, buffing, and scrubbing, it is time to rinse off your boat using your garden hosepipe.
Remember to rinse your boat from top to bottom and from the front to the back.
Wash and Wipe the Windows
Wash your boat’s windows using boat soap or a regular glass cleaner but do not use it on any other part of the boat. Wipe the windows with a dry towel so that the glass windows don’t get permanent watermarks from minerals found in water.
A wash mitt will do an excellent job of cleaning fiberglass surfaces. You can also use a wash mitt to buff detergent with a mitt or a towel the same way you would buff your car. If your boat window has a stain, a soft-bristle brush will help to scrape it.
Use a high-absorbent towel to dry off your boat and to give it a good shiny appearance. This will also enable you to inspect the boat closely.
Cleaning Under the Boat
It is necessary to clean under your boat’s waterline to remove the boat hull off your boat which causes your boat to be slow and can cause the engine to overheat, and even damage your navigation engine.
For this, you will need a boat hull scraper and other tools. Cleaning under the waterline will also help you remove the waterline from your boat.
Cleaning The Interior of Your Boat
The interior of each boat has its own needs. You will need to consider the carpet, nonslip fiberglass, vinyl, cushions, and heads.
Cleaning the Seats and Cushions
Rinse the seats with a hosepipe once every month using a low-pressure nozzle. High-pressure nozzles cause the peeling and cracking of boat seats. Apply vinyl cleaner with a UV blocker on your vinyl seats to protect them.
Boat seats are prone to mildew. To remove mildew and to clean your vinyl boat seats, you will need hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, and water. Mix 180 ml water, 15 ml ammonia, and 59 ml hydrogen peroxide in a bowl. Dip a small rag in the mixture, wipe the stains, and rinse the area with fresh water.
Machine wash your non-vinyl cushion covers in cold water and let them dry in the sun. Do not dry them in a dryer, as that will cause your cushions to shrink.
To clean the form:
- Sprinkle some baking soda on the cushion and let it sit for a few hours.
- Shake the baking soda off the form and mist the foam with a 50-50 mixture of water and vinegar.
- Place the cushion in a ventilated area for a few days till the vinegar smell goes away.
- Sprinkle water using your garden hosepipe, and squeeze the water out and let the cushions air dry before you can put the covers back on the cushions.
Cleaning the Carpet and The Floor
The best way to clean the marine carpet is first to use a vacuum to remove loose dirt. The next step requires you to scrub it with a stiff-bristle brush, soap, and water. Use a wet vacuum cleaner to dry your carpet.
Use a stiff brush to clean non-skid flooring and teak. Avoid using a high-pressure nozzle as it can cause water to go into sealed-off areas.
Polish the railings, ladders, cleats, and crome to give your boat a shiny look. Wipe clean the instrumentation gauges with dash gear cleaners.
How Often Should You Wash Your boat?
You should wash the exterior of the boat once a month. This will help you inspect the exterior of the boat and prevent any wear and tear that may destroy your boat.
If you use your boat for fishing activities, wash it twice a month so that you can remove fluids and debris.
If you feel that your boat needs harsher cleaning products, it is best to pull your boat off the water and take it to a wash station with proper drainage and filters.
In Conclusion
Washing your boat may look like a challenging experience, however, with appropriate tools, you can successfully wash your boat’s interior and exterior.
You should remember to use environmentally friendly cleaning products because these will drain back in the water as you wash your boat.
