Cleaning

[Kenneth Craft]

Hello all,I am currently about to purchase a 1973 Oday 22. The boat I am buying has sat for a year, on a trailer, under a tree. The trees leaves, and seeds have fallen in the cockpit and all over the deck, and the current owner told me he would clean the leaves out for me. The problem is the boat is covered in a dingy black dirt. I will need to clean this off when i get it, and was wondering what cleaning solution everyone uses.Would you recommend using a power washer?Are there any environmentally safe cleaners out? I'll be doing this in my front yard, and the drainage at the bottom of the street is marked "Chesapeake Bay Drainage", which means it dumps right into the bay, and I'm not sure if there are rules against using regular cleaners.Pics of the boat I'm getting are at the website link.

 

[J.B. Dyer]

Simple Green

Kenneth, if you are new to the boating business you will soon find out that there are hundreds of specialty cleaners sold. Most all of them make claims to their ease of use and how good they clean. A lot of them have acids so be careful. The best all purpose, non acid, easy to find, and safest that I've found is a product called Simple Green Engine Degreaser. Don't confuse it with the regular Simple Green. It cleans everything that I've tried it on and is my primary cleaner. You can find this stuff at any auto store or home repair centers. It is also a lot cheaper than anything you will find at a marine store.It might not get all of the crud off but I'll bet it get's 95 percent of it.Luck with it!

 

[Marvin Shepleta]

Looks Nice

I use soft scrub w/bleach but that black stuff will come right off. Least of your worries. Check to be sure there is a good compression post under the mast, as it looks like a homemade bulkhead there.Boat will clean up nice. Trailer looks great!

 

[Kenneth Craft]

Thanks

Thanks for the replies.The compression post was the first thing I looked at. It looks like new, and I know him and a friend of his had replaced a lot of wood parts throughout both his boat and another. Thanks for the advice on the cleaners, I wasn't sure if the "Boat Cleaners" were worth while. I may scrub it up a bit, and if all else fails repaint it.

 

[Bob Vannier]

Cleaners

Looks like you have a winner. I use regular household cleaner called IRA. Same stuff the wife uses and I use to wash the car. Wash it up and sail it for a season before you decide to do anything to it. No doubt you will find a lot of things to make it all yours.

 

[Mike]

simple green

Ken:I echo J.B. that simple green is a great, environmentaly safe, cheap product to use. Also I would get a good stiff brush on a long handle to save the bending over needed to get the crud out of the anti skid. A power washer would be OK but I'd take care to not put it too close to the gel coat or near bedded parts as it might push the bedding out of the joint.Nice looking boat. Enjoy.MikeS/B Pitterpat, Lake Huron

 

[Warren]

Shoreline Trailer?

I've had my O'Day 22 for 33 years. The boat is great but I need to replace the trailer.Can you tell me the make & model of your trailer? Thanks,Warrenwarrengraumann@yahoo.com