Boat Bottom

[TARPONJOHNM]

I Just Purchased My 1st Sailboat. A 1986 Mac Trailorable. The Bottom Has A Lot Of Gunk On It From Setting In Fresh Water For Some Time. I Purchased It On The Trailor And Would Like To Know What I Can Do To Clean The Bottom Without Damage To The Gelcoat. There Is No Anti-fouling Paint On The Boat. I Had It Checked Out, There Are No Soft Spots Or Blisters In The Bottom Either. Please Give Me Direction On What To Use Or Buy To Clean This. There Is A Lottt Of Gunk On The Bottom.
Thanks, John

 

[Ross]

Even though I sail the Chesapeake Bay my boat is docked in fresh water. Each fall when it is hauled out the yard pressure washes most of the growth off the rest I scrub off with a 3M grill cleaning pad and a bucket of water for rinsing

 

[r.oril]

Welcome to the forum.
I bought my 1988 26D this summer, a fresh water boat with lots of calcium on the bottom. I used a powerwasher to remove the worst of it and then tried various cleaners with no luck. To have the bottom done will cost $1200 to $4000. And while that is being done I can rebuild the trailer for about $1000.

I did find some nicks in the in the gelcoat after the powerwashing and made the repairs with MarineTex.

Bottom line, The boat has no leaks, sails great and no one can see the bottom when she is in the water.

Again, Welcome!

Bob

 

[higgs]

It depends on where the boat was berthed gathering all that bottom growth.

If it was fresh water crud I would probably go with a power wash first. From there I would use a paint scraper to get the crud off that remained, though there are some terrific waterline cleaners out there that may do the job. i use use "Zing" If things are too far gone for my advise, then a new strategy is in order.

 

[dvideohd]

there is the ancient, and venerable - carbide hand scraper - that works...

some use muratic acid - with gloves - to soften... I think there are probably better solutions....

3M makes a great set of abrasive pads - some of which will mount on a random orbital sander - and are pretty useful...

a random orbital (round) sander - with holes to let the dust go to a collector - can be $20-$80. 80 grit will get it off... if you are careful - but you might should be planning on a more extensive bottom job...

How much you pay for bottom work depends on what you want to do and how much time you want to spend...

--jerry

 

[Joe]

toilet bowl cleaner (or any acid based product) will take off the biologicals.. like algae. Use acetone to remove the petroleum or rubber based marks...such as you might get from shoe scuffs or dock bumbers.

Rinse well afterwards.

Do not sand... that's way too much work and mess.... the gunk comes of best when it's wet... so drop it in the water for a few hours until it'soft then pull it back out and power wash or scrape with a plastic scraper. Try not to gouge the gelcoat. Once it's down to a thin layer... use a big, soft brush dipped in a bucket of diluted toilet bowl cleaner to remove the last layer, then rinse with fresh water.

I wouldn't bother with bottom paint on a trailerable fresh water boat. But if you decide to go that way... do it yourself.... it's very easy.

 

[dancing bear]

I used Mary Kate On and off hull cleaner for the same task. About a quart will do the job. On and off and a stiff brush will rip the dried up green right off. If you have the equipment powerwash first, but even after the powerwash, I had to deal with millions of green dots.

I have about 3/4 gallon of On and Off. If you live in the Chicago area, you can have it.

http://properboatcare.com/maonoffhuboc.html

If you are going to keep it in the water, I would bottom paint. If you are going to keep on the trailer, I wouldn't. In Lake Michigan, algae grew on my unprotected bottom at a rate of about 1" per month. Cleaning the green gunk off was a much bigger pain than bottom painting.