Removing scum on white boot stripe?

P

Pat

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Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
Sorry.....the crud could only be described as a mess.....could have put the boat in again with it there, but each year it
get's worse.. It is gone now.....we used MaryKote which was slow, but worked.....It had to be removed in layers...
Have a good day! Nothing was harmed either on the boat, the trailer, or the ground around the boat. Pat
 
Siamese

Siamese

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Aug 2, 2009
645
Catalina 315 Muskegon
My boat gets the MaryKate treatment on her waterline every year. Works like magic.

I think the other half of the keep the clean waterline equation is the overall condition of the gelcoat. I follow MaineSail's advice for compounding and polishing, followed by two coats of Collinite wax. A slick, waxed surface is resistant to scum buildup.

If compounding and polishing isn't on your to-do list, then maybe a minimum would be two coats of Collinite on the waterline.

I don't worry about the MaryKate damaging my fiberglass. When you see how quickly it removes the scum, it makes you wonder what it's doing to the gelcoat, but gelcoat's not reactive to it....any more than the cheap plastic container that the acid comes in is reactive to it.
 
P

Pat

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Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
Siamese, thank you for the good suggestions...I don't believer the fiberglass or gelcoat was damaged at all as we didn't
scrape the gelcoat...used a soft microfiber cloth...patrick
 
P

Pat

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Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
rubbing compound did not phase this 1/8 inch thick mess, but it's gone now.....it had been building up for 6 or 7 years...
muriatic acid did not faze it either....but the Mary Kote did take off each of the seven layers....had been building up for 7 years. The Mary Kote is a great product....we had the gel variety.
 
Ned Ludd

Ned Ludd

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Apr 4, 2016
201
Newport 28 Richardson Marina
+1 for easy off, had black scum line that set for 5 months while boat was out of water. tried oxalyic acid, pressure washer etc. Sprayed easy off, waited 10 min and hit with a 3M pad, cleaned right up...
 
Sunbird22358

Sunbird22358

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Jun 2, 2004
1,926
Oday Day Sailer Wareham, MA
For future prevention of this problem, most owners periodically scrub the scum off the waterline while it is still fresh and wet. No chemicals needed, just a soft scrub brush or nylon scrubbie sponge. I do the job from my dinghy alongside, or it can be done while swimming. If you are In a slip it might be easiest using a long-handled brush. Saves A LOT of work later!!
 
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