5 Boat Cleaning Tips to Get You Sailing in Style

on September 3, 2020 at 5:40 pm

Owning a boat is a lot of work.

Besides maintaining all of the moving parts, from sails to engines and everything in between, you’ll also want to keep it clean.

Not only will this keep your boat looking great, but is also essential to making it last, and allowing it to perform to the fullest.

In fact, experts recommend that you wash your boat every 4 to 12 weeks, depending on where it is located and how often you’re using it.

But cleaning a boat is a bit more complicated than cleaning a car or other vehicle. If you’re ready to learn how to get your boat shining again, check out these 5 tips for boat cleaning.

1. Rinse First

When you have algae or hard water stains on your boat’s hull and deck, you’re likely going to need to scrub it clean.

However, too much scrubbing can scuff or even scratch the vinyl, and gouge wooden decks or ruin their finish.

That’s why you should always start your cleaning with a good rinse.

You should aim to rinse away as much dirt and grime as possible first. Once you’ve done that, you can then set about scrubbing away whatever is left.

2. Rinse Again

After you’re finished scrubbing your boat clean with all the right products (more on that next!), rinse it again.

It’s important to thoroughly rinse any areas you’ve cleaned as soon as you are done. Otherwise, the soap and solutions you’ve used will dry in place, leaving behind suds and stains of their own.

While it might be clean, it won’t look that way without a good rinse with clean, fresh water.

3. Dry It

Just as soaps and other cleaning products can leave behind marks, so can the water you use to rinse with.

If you want to avoid this, you’re going to need to wipe your boat dry when you’re finished. Make sure to use a soft cloth that won’t scratch the paint or finish.

4. Choose the Right Cleaning Products

There are a lot of cleaning products designed for use on your boat to choose from.

From fiberglass boat cleaners to boat vinyl cleaners to hull cleaners, there are solutions out there for every inch of your vessel. You also need to make sure that you are choosing cleaners designed for the type of boat you have and the materials it is made from.

Otherwise, you could actually cause damage instead of cleaning away dirt, grime, and hard water stains.

Choosing the right products for the job can be the difference between a sparkling hull or spotless vinyl seats, or wasting a lot of time and elbow grease.

Whether you need fiberglass boat cleaner or aluminum boat cleaner, check out thebetterboat.com to find the right cleaner for you.