+1 An acquaintance of mine took the decals off his RV and destroyed a whole bunch of the waterproofing with a pressure washer.there is nothing on the boat that needs more than around 1000psi to clean it off.... too much pressure will damage the lines and canvas products, and has the potential to blow out the bedding compound of some of the mounted hardware. any of the mold, mildew, moss or black gunk that is growing is easily removed after wetting it and letting it soak for 20-30 minutes, and then a few hundred psi will easily remove it.... the small $79-100 dollar pressure washers are great for boat washing and are usually small enough, depending on the brand, to be stowed onboard.
After sitting under a walnut tree for a few months, all the soaking and scouring powder in the world didn't touch this. My 3100 psi power washer with a 25 tip, followed by a Clorox bath did. The 40 tip is great for lighter cleaning, but the 0 tip can strip paint, decals and skin. BTW, my electric 1200psi machine would only do it on a needle point stream, and that's like cleaning your deck with a pencil eraser.there is nothing on the boat that needs more than around 1000psi to clean it off.... too much pressure will damage the lines and canvas products, and has the potential to blow out the bedding compound of some of the mounted hardware. any of the mold, mildew, moss or black gunk that is growing is easily removed after wetting it and letting it soak for 20-30 minutes, and then a few hundred psi will easily remove it.... the small $79-100 dollar pressure washers are great for boat washing and are usually small enough, depending on the brand, to be stowed onboard.
Well said; I have the same opinion about the small electric washers. When you're using a higher pressure machine, you've got to use common sense. Use a tip with a larger orfice to step down the pressure and increase the surface are to be cleaned. Keep the jet at a safe distance from the deck. Avoid using it on decals, canvas, lines, and fittings that are bedded thru the deck. Works great!View attachment 135539
BTW, my electric 1200psi machine would only do it on a needle point stream, and that's like cleaning your deck with a pencil eraser.
I bought the same unit on sale last year for about 50 bucks less. It does a great job, much better than my brothers 2800 PSI unit. My opinion is that those who are afraid of damage are using too narrow of a nozzle. Oddly enough, when I used my brother's pressure washer, there seemed to be the potential for damage, even though it really didn't get the boat clean. With the one from Costco, it worked nicely, extremely fast, but yet didn't seem like it was going to damage anything. The only thing I'm guessing is that the nozzle allowed more water with less force. I think these lower pressure units tend to put out such a fine stream of water, that the cleaning force is like a bunch of small pins. It doesn't clean very well, but will easily damage stuff. A little more water just works much better.Got this one at Costco a couple of years ago. Absolutely love it, haven't had a lick of trouble with it. https://www.costco.com/PowerStroke-...-Electric-Start-Engine.product.100338562.html...
I have a 3100 PSI Honda-powered Simpson washer that won't even TOUCH my bottom paint. Man do I WISH it would.I have a 3000 psi max gasoline powered washer, but used the 2000 psi setting for taking the old paint off my boat. I used it mainly for removing the old bottom paint.
My 3000 psi tip would cut right through the old bottom paint down to the barrier coat as well as the paint on the sides, so never use that kind of high pressure for general cleaning.