I am heir to a sailboat that spent the last 12 months submerged in a fresh water lake. I hope someone can tell me how to clean the exterior and interior to restore the boat to an attractive appearance.
How to clean a boat that has been submerged
- Thread starter hcllake
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Hoping it is not fiberglass
I'm praying for you that it is not a fiberglass boat. While fiberglass hulls are great the builders don't usually plan on keeping the water out of every nook and cranny from the inside. this and all the screws and bolts that are used on the insides for attaching stuff like engines, refers....... lead me to caution you about water getting into the FG cores in those places. a year underwater would scare the living daylights out of me. I do agree with Gord though, you can probably put away your weight set for a while as the boat is going to be enough to keep you in shape.
I'm praying for you that it is not a fiberglass boat. While fiberglass hulls are great the builders don't usually plan on keeping the water out of every nook and cranny from the inside. this and all the screws and bolts that are used on the insides for attaching stuff like engines, refers....... lead me to caution you about water getting into the FG cores in those places. a year underwater would scare the living daylights out of me. I do agree with Gord though, you can probably put away your weight set for a while as the boat is going to be enough to keep you in shape.
step one
step one. pressure cleaner. step two pressure clean somemore. step three. pressure clean a lot more.
step one. pressure cleaner. step two pressure clean somemore. step three. pressure clean a lot more.
Remove everything not
nailed down, Cushions, drawers, doors, hatches, and store those in a safe dry place. Then proceed as suggested below. Buy a 110 volt sump pump if you decide to pressure wash, Get some fans to aid in drying things. G'luck.
nailed down, Cushions, drawers, doors, hatches, and store those in a safe dry place. Then proceed as suggested below. Buy a 110 volt sump pump if you decide to pressure wash, Get some fans to aid in drying things. G'luck.
easy clean
Pull everything out that is loose, cushions, papers, lines etc, drawers, loose shelves, bilge covers etc, anything that isn't screwed down or built in has to come out. place them somewhere they can be cleaned or dried go back in and pull everything that can be unscrewed doors and covers, bilge pumps etc, the object is to open the boat up as much as possible Buy or rent a mall trash pump (sometimes called clog-free) place it in the lowest point of the bilge and hook it up. Use a good hose and starting at a high point wash all the crud down to the bilge where the trash pump can get rid of it. (city pressure works, pressure washers have a habit of raising the grain in woodwork) spray everything down afterwards with a good strong cleaner/degreaser (castrol superclean or purple power, simple green etc) let them soak for a bit, a cheap pump-up garden sprayer works best for that, then using a scrub brush deck brush with a long handle etc scrub, and hose down again. Pressure washers are great for most use, but they will tear out caulking, raise grain on wood, eat seals and gaskets on engines and ports, and do a lot of unexpected damage you likely won't notice till later. not saying you WILL damage something, just a strong likelyhood unless you use caution or step the pressure down, and if you step the pressure down where's the advantage? just did this last year, wasn't as bad as I was expecting, the only thing I did different was to siphon the water out of the bilge instead of pumping it. for a peek at what I had to work with. http://www.geocities.com/merc2dogs/t-tour1.html Ken.
Pull everything out that is loose, cushions, papers, lines etc, drawers, loose shelves, bilge covers etc, anything that isn't screwed down or built in has to come out. place them somewhere they can be cleaned or dried go back in and pull everything that can be unscrewed doors and covers, bilge pumps etc, the object is to open the boat up as much as possible Buy or rent a mall trash pump (sometimes called clog-free) place it in the lowest point of the bilge and hook it up. Use a good hose and starting at a high point wash all the crud down to the bilge where the trash pump can get rid of it. (city pressure works, pressure washers have a habit of raising the grain in woodwork) spray everything down afterwards with a good strong cleaner/degreaser (castrol superclean or purple power, simple green etc) let them soak for a bit, a cheap pump-up garden sprayer works best for that, then using a scrub brush deck brush with a long handle etc scrub, and hose down again. Pressure washers are great for most use, but they will tear out caulking, raise grain on wood, eat seals and gaskets on engines and ports, and do a lot of unexpected damage you likely won't notice till later. not saying you WILL damage something, just a strong likelyhood unless you use caution or step the pressure down, and if you step the pressure down where's the advantage? just did this last year, wasn't as bad as I was expecting, the only thing I did different was to siphon the water out of the bilge instead of pumping it. for a peek at what I had to work with. http://www.geocities.com/merc2dogs/t-tour1.html Ken.
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