Brown Water Line Crud

[Rick]

We dock our boat in a river here in Racine, WI. Due to this years' heavy rains, the river was muddier than normal and our boat developed this brown stain in certain areas along the water line. Scrubbing with regular detergents, even Soft Scrub Gel didn't get it all off.Any ideas? Other than this, the hull is in beautiful shape, shiny and clean.

 

[Wayne]

Hull Cleaner

When boats cruise the ICW along the east coast, they get a mustache or brown stain from the water here in the southeast US. In some areas the water is the color of coffee. Also boats in marinas accumulate crud at the waterline and it is difficult to remove. The best thing I have found and it makes easy work of it is Mary Kate ON & OFF Hull Cleaner.This is potent stuff and contains Oxyalic acid and some other acids I believe. You must be carful to protect yourself when using this stuff. Wear rubber gloves, eye protection. I put some in a spray bottle and a fine spray on the stained area is all you will need. Wash rinse thoroughly and dry and wax and buff the treated area if the boat is out of the water.ON & Off Hull cleaner is available in West Marine and other marine supply stores.Let us know how this works.

 

[Jim McCue]

Oxy acid - neutralize it

I've used that gel acid to clean the boot line and would like to mention that it is good to "neutralize" it after cleaning by washing with a soap/detergent.Jim McCue

 

[Gene Barton s/v Paradigm]

Clean Water Line

I tried everything to remove the yellowish stain that accumulated on the white strip just above the waterline. Nothing had any effect whatsoever. Then someone at a boatyard suggested "FSR", which stands for, oddly enough, "Fiberglass Stain Remover". It's a blue gel in a jar about the size of a can of mixed nuts. About the consistency of tapioca. You brush it on, and in about 2 minutes, you rinse it off and have a clean, white waterline. Didn't hurt the painted line or stripe on either side of the white. This stuff is a miracle. As I recall, about $9, and there's enough in the jar to last a lifetime.

 

[Paul Akers]

Lemon Juice

Sail Mag had a "Things That Work" tip a couple years ago that said lemon juice would do the trick to get rid of the yellow stain. I never tried it, but maybe the citric acid neutralizes it.

 

[mark schaefer]

ON OFF

I AGREE WITH WAYNE..ON OFF WILL INSTANTLY REMOVE THE STAIN...SCHAEFER

 

[John]

Slimy Grimy

Try a product called Slimy Grimy. No acid burns and smells ALOT better than on-off. I think you can find them at slimygrimy.com This stuff also has a ton of uses besides just hull cleaning. Try it it's great!

 

[John Lemke]

Sno-Bowl

We have had great success with Sno-Bowl. This is a toilet cleaner which contains dilute hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid. Of the available cleaners, Sno-Bowl has the highest concentration of acid that I know of.