The number one reason boats have problems selling is presentation, from the most basic to the larger models, the thing that puts most people off is if the boat is dirty. One of the major complaints that I here is about boat cleaning services, customers thinking they are paying for a full time detailing service and not just maintenance cleaning. I have cleaned more boats than I care to remember, I used to have maintenance on quite a few, it is important to establish a level, maintaining a boat to a specific standard is the easy part, its getting it to that standard that's hard work.
One important thing that often seems to get confused, maintenance and cleaning are not really the same thing, when boatowners are paying for a service, it is important to make sure the difference is clearly understood. Maintenance is a broad term, everything from basics like making sure the shorepower is connected, fridges are on, no water in the bilge and the bilge pumps work up to full engine and generator servicing.
Benefits of cleaning your own boat
Pride in ownership
When it comes to sell the boat, a boat known to have been well cared for will sell faster, you would be surprised about how the rumor mill works in a marina. If you keep your boat clean and are seen to be diligent, everyone will know, the opposite is true also.
Money saving or value for money
Get some quotes for scheduled cleaning on your boat and then work out if you can do as good a job or an acceptable standard for you. There are cleaners who will go to the ends of the earth to maintain their clients boats, then there are those who look like they are watering a garden, good cleaning companies will be busy and have a presence in marinas and boatyards.
Finding potential maintenance issues before they become a problem
One thing particular that comes to mind is deck drains, they can get blocked, engine hatch gutter drains can block, electric hard top drains blocked, anchor locker drains blocked. You can see a pattern here, even the most diligent of boat cleaning companies cannot know every single boat, some who only work for a particular brand of boat are better than others in that respect.
Just say no to these cleaning practices
Dish soap
This is not a good idea for many reasons. First of all over time if will dull the gelcoat finish on the boat. Second, unless really well rinsed it can leave a fine film on the deck and your boat it now a giant floating slip and slide, I have had broken toes that prove this point. Someone recently bought it to my attention that most dish soaps are not very environmentally friendly either.
Garden brush
This is another one, do not use a garden broom to scrub the boat. Finding a balance between quality and value for money can be difficult, invest some coin in a decent purpose made deck brush, I like the ones from Shurhold. I bought mine 20 years ago and still have them, almost as good as new, the handles are perfect and they are telescopic, a very worthwhile investment.
A quick hose down does not clean a boat
This is fine if you are just removing muddy rain marks or lots of salt spray with the firm intention of doing it properly afterwards. That said, if you do little to no maintenance yourself, a good rinse down with fresh water is the best and easiest thing you can do, particularly if you do not boat in a very hard water area.
Pressure washers
However useful you think they are, they are too powerful, pushing water into areas that can´t withstand it. I particularly dislike them used on teak decks, it accelerates the damage to the wood and sealant.
Bleach
Please do not use bleach to clean the exterior of the boat, at least not on a regular basis. For a one off abandoned boat being prepared for a restoration project, maybe. Regular use of bleach does nothing except cause damage when used over a long period of time, its especially bad for teak decks and caulking.
Abrasive kitchen cleaners
Be they in powder or cream form, they are not made for cleaning the exterior of boats, they will do damage to gelcoats.
A better way to do it
Two buckets
One for a soap and water mix, the other with just clean water, every time you have finished scrubbing with the soapy water, rinse the brush or cloth in the clean water, this stops you from putting the dirt back on the clean surface.
Proper soap
Apart from not using the aforementioned dish soap, some soaps are just not good for the long term finishes of gelcoat, buy a soap especially made for gelcoat and boats. There are more products for boat cleaning now that are far more friendly to use and also for the sea, please only buy these. The point about using biodegradable products is so important, I have noticed lately that there are more products that are friendlier to the environment than ever before, the prices on some are still above the regular products but not on others, as boaters, we rent our bit of the sea and we are responsible for looking after it.
Hose
Buy a decent hose, too many dockside hoses have no way of controlling the water flow or setting the hose down because there are no pistols on the hose ends, so water is wasted, add to which, most ports don´t spend a great deal on hoses for berth holder use, so the poor quality hoses split and leave filthy marks on everything they touch.
Although I have no particular brand loyalty, those snake hoses that start short and grow to massive lengths when under water pressure are great, the better ones have a canvas type material covering that doesn't leave marks over everything and they are easy to store. Worth buying a few hose adapters too, these tend to go missing from the taps in marinas.
Drying
In order to not leave water marks everywhere, especially in hard water areas you must dry the boat, I use a synthetic drying leather for the large areas and microfiber cloths for almost everything else.
Method in the madness
There is a sequence to a successful boat clean, if you get into a routine you would be surprised at how quick you can knock out standard cleaning (not full detailing).
Tidy up
Leaving ropes, inflatables and other things lying around to trip you over and get in your way is going to get on your nerves, the first thing any decent professional service will do is protect themselves and the boat.
Remove the covers
This might be the first step if you need to uncover the boat before starting to tidy up. Wash the covers first, then get them drying before continuing.
Cushions
Where possible lift up the cushions, like foredeck sunbathing cushions or ones that sit of flat surfaces, if you don't they will soak up water and get moldy underneath. I have even seen blisters form in the gelcoat where the cushions have been constantly wet underneath.
Lockers
Moving on from cushions we have the lockers, these can get especially disgusting if they are not aired out, mold forms, ropes become disgusting to handle, smells develop, some lockers have carpet lining, if the lids or cushions that form locker lids are not taken off during cleaning, no matter how sparkling the outside is, the moment a locker is opened all that hard work will be wasted. This is also one of my pet peeves, liberal use of a hose like the cleaner is putting out a fire or only cleaning what they see, its these details that make all the difference.
Start at the highest point
This could be the hardtop or the upper decks of flybridge, get used to knowing where the water falls to, observe areas where water pools and find out why, why doesn't it drain? Pay particular care when cleaning dashboards, instrument panels etc. Although they are made for the marine environment, they do not like full hose power at close range.
Dry, like washing, start at the high point and work down. Not drying or leaving the boat to air dry might work under certain circumstances, but for the most part not drying will leave water marks. If you are working on a large boat, you might want to try washing, then drying in manageable size sections.
Taking it up a notch
So now moving on from basic maintenance type washing and drying, now we start to take care of some of the details, once you have the dealt with all the details, maintenance cleans are much easier. It does not mean we have to spend a fortune, just being a little more selective will help us work smarter, not harder.
Invariably, I would not try to tackle every different part of the boat in one go, takes too long, do one part each time its washed. For instance, clean the stainless steel, detail the anchor locker, ensure the fenders are clean and not all sticky. When your boat is clean and detailed to start off with, maintaining it is easier, it´s getting there that is the challenge.
Use magic
Well a magic wand would be handy, but the next best thing is a product called magic sponges, they draw the dirt out and don´t damage delicate surfaces. Buy a pack of them, they wear out as you use them For all those who have used bleach to remove black spots from gelcoat, using these sponges does the same thing but without damaging the gelcoat.
Filter the water
Hard water with lots of mineral content is prevalent is Southern Europe. These minerals leave chalky marks when they dry, if its the same water source you use to fill the water tank in the boat you may well find white, hard water deposits on the taps, shower heads etc.
A double filter setup is ideal, first filter takes out any large particles in the water, the second helps to reduce the mineral content (cal) of the water, it won´t remove 100% of it, but it will make a noticeable difference. The filters are easily available at the hardware store.
Glass
One of the most difficult things to keep clean, especially in hard water areas. The typical glass cleaners you get from the supermarket have a hard time at removing the tough dirt on the glass. I definitely recommend something better, the glass cleaners used by auto detail professionals are well worth the money. There are also cleaners and glass treatments with added chemicals that leave film so the water water is repelled and beads more easily, RainX is one well known example.
Rust
Even stainless steel rusts. The areas where water pools or drains are blocked, anchor lockers are often in a filthy rusty mess, simply because they seldom get opened. The anchor chain is left sitting in water and rusts, leave orange streaks everywhere. Most of the better rust removers are fairly caustic, please use with caution and remember to rinse the area very well, eye protection when using sprays is also recommended.
Bilges
A personal annoyance of mine, for me there is nothing worse than the engine room, storage or machinery spaces areas being filthy. I can promise you, brokers, surveyors and technicians all hate dirty bilges, added to which if mechanics and technicians see a clean bilge area, they tend to be more careful and will make the extra effort to not drag dirt everywhere. The bilge also tends to be the root of odd smells on a boat, keeping it clean helps to reduce this.
Legal woes of dirty bilges. It is inevitable that water from rain, washing and rinsing and condensation will find it´s way into the bilge. The bilge pump will then be activated when the level rises sufficiently. If the bilge is not really clean, any grease, oil or fuel that´s there will likely also be pumped overboard with it´s associated sheen on the water. The potential exists for bankrupting fines for environmental pollution.
Teak, I am deliberately not writing much on this, please read my post on teak decks, Teak tock. Decks, exotic woods and looking after them
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to follow me on social media.
Comments
Post a Comment