Small Business Information

Boat Hull Cleaning Procedures for Owners and Detailers


For really tough boat hull cleaning you will need to break out the acid. Muratic acid is the best for this. You'll want to have a 50/50 mix of muratic acid of 6-8% concentrated (12% is the highest concentration you can legally buy over the counter), water and a good strong sprayer. You can purchase muratic acid at Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Pool Supply Stores, Home Depot, Lowe's, Van Waters and Rogers Chemicals. Sears Craftsman makes a nice strong sprayer or try a local store for another brand of commercial pump-up sprayer.

Spray onto the boat directly after doing a presoak with a good strong blast of water. Let it sit for approximately 2 minutes. Just let the acid do its work breaking up and removing the algae. If it is still there try it again for longer and longer periods of time, but not more than 10-15 minuites. You'll be amazed how nice it looks even by the time you come back to rinse it off. Usually you can remove all this excess with a good strong brush after the acid shock treatment.

You may have to get with a smaller scrubbie into some areas around the drive system and other nooks and crannies underneath. If it's on a trailer and the bunks are on it, that's just the way it goes, you can't get around those - you can't move that boat on the trailer. On a hoist, you'll have full access to the boat.

Once you've scrubbed off one side of the boat, rinse, and repeat the procedure on the opposite side. Give it a very strong thorough rinse getting all the residual acid off the trailer as it can sometimes cause rust spots and corrode. Only use this muratic acid mix for boats that are extremely algae covered, heavy in barnacles, and other growth associated with long-term in-water moorage. Often times you can use Slimy grimy and hot water or Starbrite's buffered acid will work just fine for cleaning a mildly dirty boat bottom. For cleaning diesel soot found around the transom, aft deck ceiling and along the water line around exhausts, but not bottom paint, you can use Meguiar's #50 first, then proceed with compound Monster Agua-Blue 200, Maguire's #44 or #49 if this doesn't work.

If you are cleaning along the waterline and boat bottom that is not painted, you will want to reach for the bottle of On/Off by Maritime Products Company. You will remove all barnacles, moss growth and browning incredibly fast. Don't get this stuff on your hands or on any bottom paint as it will streak the paint and will burn your hands. This is corrosive, but will not harm gel coat and neutralizes with water. Don't get it on the trailer, it will streak and etch it. It is an oxcillic acid mix and is available at West Marine stores. If you are a contractor and doing this for a living the pricing usually goes from $3.00 to $4.50 a foot. Again, market conditions in your area may be a little more or a little less. You can adjust to fit those market conditions.

The Marina-Tec boat wash system is great. If you are contractor and have lots of work you may want to consider leasing a location to wash boat bottoms. GMBH & Co. has a hull-leaning machine that uses two brushes that rotate horizontally along the hull and two brushes that rotate vertically at the heel. It is an automated system and does not use toxic chemicals. It is similar to an automatic car wash only for boats in the water.

Do it right the first time, do it efficiently and think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs


MORE RESOURCES:

CNN

Snow rakes help small business weather rough economic climate
CNN - 17 hours ago
By Emanuella Grinberg (CNN) -- One small business has found a way to dig itself out of the snowballing recession -- snow rakes. Lots of them. ...


Free workshop offered for small-business owners
Indianapolis Star, United States - 6 hours ago
The US Small Business Administration will host a free small-business workshop from 2 to 3:30 pm Jan. 21 at the its district's office on the Far Northside of ...
Business Group Offers 'Wish List' to Lawmakers Washington Post Blogs
all 2 news articles


D-Link Boosts Small Business IP Surveillance Options; Offers New ...
MSNBC - 18 hours ago
LAS VEGAS, NV - (South Hall Rm. S218) -- D-Link, a worldwide leading network solutions provider for consumers and business, today unveiled a new ...


How to Build a Small-Business Web Site, Part 3: Advanced Design
TechNewsWorld, CA - 1 hour ago
Web design can be boiled down to three essential elements, said Manvinder Saraon, group marketing manager of the small business Web division for Intuit ...


The Miami Herald

House, Senate face budget battle over small-business aid
Palm Beach Post,  United States - 10 hours ago
In South Florida, loans to small businesses were down 80 percent in October and November from the same period in 2007, according to the US Small Business ...
Lawmakers Consider Small Business Loan Plan WCTV
Storms Proposes To Tighten Loan Criteria Tampa Tribune
Crist Wants Small Business Loan Program Approved First Coast News
Tampa Bay's 10 - Central Florida Political Pulse
all 85 news articles


The Standard

New lead testing law could hurt small business
KSBY, CA - 11 hours ago
It is called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It says children's products must be tested for lead and phthalates, a chemical used in plastics. ...
New Law Threatens Local Resale Shops KCBD-TV
New Act Sacrifices Budget for Baby Products Safety About Working Moms
all 56 news articles


These are times when small business values matters
The News Journal, DE - 5 hours ago
Yet it is small business that really drives the American economy. When a Wall Street firm has a bad year, they get a buyout from the taxpayers, ...
Don't derail little engine Baltimore Sun
all 2 news articles


Small-business hiring slips in state as jobs dry up
Las Vegas Review - Journal, NV - 4 hours ago
By JENNIFER ROBISON A nationwide study of 20000 companies with fewer than 100 employees showed small-business hiring in Nevada fell in 2008, even as hiring ...


New Company Aims to "Recession-Proof" Small Business
PR.com (press release), NY - 5 hours ago
New Internet start-up providing “a website that works” proving a winner for Small Business. Greer, SC, January 08, 2009 --(PR.com)-- New internet start-up ...


Small Business Asks the New Administration to Focus on the ...
International Business Times, NY - 15 hours ago
Thesurvey found that 66.4% of small business owners have been affected for theworse by the recession -- and that a full 80% see the economic crisis asthe ...
Small Business Asks the New Administration to Focus on the ... Market Wire (press release)
Small Businesses Name Economy As Job No. 1 For Obama WebProNews
all 10 news articles

Small-Business - Google News

Home | Site Map | Links

Small Business Information | Traffic Building Information

Powered By: Work At Home With Google - FREE!

© 2006
Google