Boat Maintenance, Hull scum

[Fozzy47]

Sorry guys, looks like I have to 'go to the well one more time'.

This is the first yr I've had the boat in the water all season. (at Honey Harbour).
I usually trailer the boat doing 1 or 2 day trips so hull cleaning has never been an issue.

Having pull the boat out today, I see a heavy hull stain/scum from the water line down. Does anyone know how to clean 'pond scum' off painted & non-painted aluminum hulls?

Sure hope there is some magic formula out there to clean the mess off the bottom of the boat?




Cheers,

[longfish]

Oxacilic acid works wonders......a cup in 3/4 of a pail....put on with a roller....wear plastic gloves.....leave sit for 5 minutes and rub it off....may have to do two rounds in the tough areas.

Muriatic acid also takes it off but is corrosive to steel and yourself.

Arnie

[colanut]

Lots of youtube videos on this. Purple Power Aluminum Brightener seems to do the best. Spray it on, wait 20 seconds, spray it off. I haven't tried it, but it was interesting to see how fast it worked. Environmentally safe as well.

[Fozzy47]

Thx colanut, I'll get on YouTube and check it out.

[RomanWarrior]

10x10x10 lysol toilet bowl cleaner,$3.95,wipe it on ,wipe it off ,brand new again

[Goshawk]

Whichever method is chosen, please make sure that you get ALL of the cleaner solution and residue off the boat. Not a good plan to have that stuff still on the boat when you put it back into the water and have that stuff leach off.

I get my boat acid washed then waxed by my mechanic at the end of every season. The previous owner used to keep the boat in the water 24/7 for the entire season and never cleaned it off for years, and the crud is so built up that it's now part of the gelcoat! When he's finished with it, it looks like the hull was just painted!!

[Fishnhunt]

We leave our boat in all summer and just before I pull it out for the year I get in the water with a car wash brush and it brushes right off. No chemicals or cleaners. If you let it dry even for a few minutes it takes a lot of elbow grease to remove. After the boat is dry I apply a good coat of wax as I think it makes the hull easier to clean.

[reelinginthebigone]

I just use a pressure washer with a medium nozzle. The pressure washer I use for the boat is electric and isn't super powerful like the gas ones, so I need to hold it about 4 inches away.

The trick is to do it before it dries once you pull your boat.

[Longshank]

2x with the pressure washer and you can have a pail of boat wash soap to hit some stubborn spots

I'd be very careful with any of the acetones..yup they will clean the hull but also take out the wax and gelcoat

If you are planning on putting a boat in for the season, check out bottom coat applications that may work for you especially if a fiberglass hull

[Disco]

Natural Marine makes a great product. It’s biodegradable also.
When you’re done use their wax as it’s a movable surface wax. Basically the surface of the wax when cured stays kind of viscous making anything trying to attach to your hull get pushed off even when your just driving your boat.

[flexkk]

I just did mine yesterday. First i pressure washed, then i used spray 9 marine spray . I sprayed it on when boat was still wet and scrubbed it with a wash brush worked great. Used water and vinegar mix to remove water spots then waxed ready to go away.

[reelinginthebigone]

Agreed - Vinegar/Water mix is amazing for removing hard water spots.

My procedure is:

1. Powerwash
2. Wipe
3. Vinegar/water mix