Pressure washing

[William]

Thinking about using a pressure washer to clean my boat while it's in the slip. Any thoughts about this? Also, what type of pressure washer is good to use gas/electric, how powerful 1300psi, 2200psi.The boats really dirty and needs a good cleaning and waxing.....

 

[Jim Covey]

1300 psi

William,We've used a 1300 psi electic on our H26 for years now with no ill effects. I think you wouldn't want to go higher that 1600 or you might damage the gel coat. I don't remember what the non-skid on a 260 is like but on the 26 it's a bear to clean. We have to lay down a little Simple Green and hit with a deck brush along with the pressure washer to get some of the gunk off. We also use the washer to get all the big nasty OK spiders out from under the rub rail. Also, it's nice to have to wash the bottom when you pull out at the end of season. You should be able to pick up a small electric for around $100.Jim

 

[Andy]

Good & Bad

On the good side, you will love the way it cleans your boat. It actually works better on non-skid than anything else. You will still need to rub or mob the smooth gelcoat to get it clean. n the long run, it saves a lot of time. I worry a little about blowing the caulking out on fittings and such, so I try t limit pressure washing to 2 or 3 times a year-Spring Cleaning, Mid yr when its to hot and no wind, and before lay-up in the winter. IMHO, pressure washing MAY be better for the environment because you don't have to use as much chemicals (soap) and less gray water runoff.

 

[nick maggio]

very careful

The pressure washer does make things easy ,but it can also do more damage than you think if your not careful. I have the bottom paint pressure washed only and the rest of boat,I used Island girl pink cleaner and you can not believe how great it works at getting all those hard to get off marks and it really is not that much work.