Bottom Work on The Hard

[Herb Parsons]

Within a month or so, my Coronado 35 (currently on Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana) is going to the boatyard for a month or so for a ton of different things. One of them, is a complete hull paint job; which, of course, includes the bottom.This boat hasn't been out of the water (to my knowledge) in 5 years. From my experience with the previous owner, it probably hasn't had the bottom touched in that same amount of time. Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish lake, and the portion I'm in has barnicles. Obviously, the bottom is going to need extensive cleaning before I paint it (and the hull).My current plan is to completely clean the bottom, then fill and fair the various damaged portions of the hull (no holes, just lots of serious scrapes from the hurricane), then paint the hull and topsides, then the bottom job.So, here's my question(s). How do I clean the bottom? Will a high pressure washer rid the boat of barnicles and other "sea life" if I use it right away? How high a pressure can I use without worrying about damaging the fiberglass (I'm not worried about paint, as it's all coming off anyway)?Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Paul (Affinity C320)]

Bottom

At Haul out the yard will normally power wash and "clean" the barnacles off but if it is as "dirty" as you say it is, they may charge more. If you are truly doing it yourself, power wash and scrape what is left. Do this immediately as the barnacles will set up like concrete if you do not. Sand/ and or scrape down to the gelcoat. 1500 PSI is plenty and should not damage your boat. There are other ways to get all the paint of the bottom, ask your yard for some options. Sand blast, baking soda blast, sand/scrape, peel away are just a few. Good Luck,Paul

 

[Warren Milberg]

Bottom Job...

Herb:It's hard to say what the right tool/technique will be to clean your boat's bottom when you have it hauled without seeing it. To me, the key is to get started as soon as possible after haul out. Slime, algae, and similar crud will come off nicely with a power washer. Some hard growth will, too, but most will not. But you can pop them off easily with a putty knife as long as you do not let them harden. If they are allowed to dry out, they are like concrete. Most marinas that power wash use a gas powered unit that can produce 2500+ psi of pressure. It takes real skill to use one and not bore a hole in one's boat. I have an electric power washer that produces 1700 psi and is very useful in a variety of cleaning tasks above and below the waterline. But the key is practice. Getting the right nozzle adjustment, and nozzle angle, is the key to not doing any harm. If you have a power washer, practice with it on some wood or fiberglass that you don't care about until you are confident of the angles and how close you need to be before aiming it at your boat. FWIW, there are a number of chemical products that work very well in getting hard growth off. Let me know if you need some recommendations. But if you get going soon after the boat is out,you won't need them.