What's the best way to clean the bottom of a boat stored on a Texas lake?

Question

I pulled my boat out after about 7 weeks on a slip on a TX lake to clean the growth off of it and even with a hose and a scrubbing brush, it was very difficult to get it completely clean. I don't think a power washer will have enough power to get this gunk off. Is there a chemical or alternate solution to thoroughly clean the underside of alge, etc.?

Answer 1

Hondu and Capt. Bill have the best answers.

Stay away from the sandblaster.

Work with the pressure washer, but be careful not to harm the gelcoat.

Muratic acid is great stuff, but you have to be extremely careful with it. Wear goggles and gloves and please don't let it drain into any waterways.

How about a lift in the future? On my lake in Minnesota almost every boat sits on a lift. That will keep scrubbing to a minimum.

Answer 2

bring it to me in odessa texas and ill do it for $300.00,,,,or you could use a pressure,,,or a steam washer to do it yaself..

Answer 3

There are special products to remove this.

I dont remember the name but bought it at a marina special for this, after mixing some chemicals myselve to save costs and halve a day scrubbing under the boat with minor result.

I sprayed it on and the green just flushed off!! I washed it after and the hull looked like new and only took 10 minutes!!!

Was not cheep but worth every penny.

Wear a mask though as it smells awfull.

Frank

Answer 4

Do not try the sand blaster, it could harm your boat. Works great on a steel hull vessel but on fiberglass could do some cutting into the gel coat.

A pressure washer should be able to help to remove the growth.  You can use a commercial hull cleaner to help loosen the growth first, like MaryKate's On & Off Hull & Bottom Cleaner.  You may still have to do a little scrapeing to get rid of the tough growth.  

Try to clean the bottom as soon as you get the boat out of the water.  That will make it easier to remove the growth.

Answer 5

you could ask someone to sand it and put gelcoat back on?

How about try spraying bleach to kill anything and then get a 0 grade steel wool and put some elbow grease into it.  Don't go past that gelcoat if you can help it.  sounds bad.

Answer 6

You need a pressure washer that can do at least 3000 psi. I blast barnacles and growths from up to a year in the water off with mine. Just aim at a shallow angle to avoid damaging your gel coat.

Another method is to use a sand blaster. Again, stand back, dial down the pressure and blast at a shallow angle. This works as well, but can do more damage to your gel coat.

If all of that fails, try putting some TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate) mix (1 cup TSP per gallon of warm water) in a mop bucket and mopping it on the algae every 15 minutes or so for an hour or two. That will clean up algae stains.

Answer 7

Don't use a sandblaster on your boat.  They are designed to remove everything down to bare wood, metal, or fiberglass.  You will not have a finish left whatever your boat is made of.  

A pressure washer will remove most algae or there are muratic acid solutions you can buy from the local marina.  Follow label directions carefully.