12 Boat Cleaning Tips You Need to Know

Keeping your boat clean is one of the hardest parts of being a boat owner. More than 12,000,000 Canadians take part in recreational boating per year. It’s one of the most popular pastimes with a huge impact on the Canadian economy, generating a GDP impact of $5.6 billion.

If you’re a boat owner, you need to make sure that you’re practicing proper boat cleaning and boat maintenance. We’re here to help make sure you have everything you need for boat care. Read on for 12 important tips on how to clean a boat.

1. Be Thorough

One of the most important tips is simple – be thorough while you clean. It’s easy to only clean a small portion of your boat. You may find yourself not having enough time to completely clean your vessel, for example.

You simply cannot slack on cleaning your boat, though. Leaving parts unclean will make the wear and tear on those parts significantly worse than on others. Other issues, such as growing algae, will repeatedly return if not dealt with in full.

Ensure that you’re cleaning your boat thoroughly rather than piecemeal.

2. Clean Frequently

Another important tip is to clean your vessel frequently. Only going out once every few months to clean your boat isn’t enough. This gives enough time for damage to set in from growing molds, algae, barnacles, and other such issues.

This is especially the case for saltwater vessels. You should also make sure that you aren’t only cleaning the outside of your boat. Even if no mess is visible inside your vessel, coastal air can cause damage if the boat is left unprotected.

3. Use Soft Tools

Think of cleaning your boat much like cleaning your car. You don’t want to be using abrasive, hard materials against your boat. This can cause scratches, ruin protective coatings, and fail to completely clean the boat.

Instead, use softer cleaning supplies like a microfiber rag. This will let you clean efficiently while also preventing any damage from your cleaning to the boat.

4. Bring Many Cleaning Supplies

Different surfaces of your boat will require different supplies. You don’t want to show up with one rag and a spray bottle of your favourite cleaning chemicals.

Your boat’s furniture such as lounging chairs and other fabrics will need a fabric cleaner, for example. Metal handrails, fibreglass hulls, and wooden fastenings likely will need their own specific cleaning supplies. Make sure you’re coming to clean with everything you need, or you may do more harm than good.

5. Keep Fabrics Dry

Keeping anything dry when it comes to a boat might seem impossible. But if your boat has fabrics onboard such as sofa cushions, these fabrics can easily grow mold.

Letting this happen not only can damage the fabric but also is a health hazard for you and other passengers. Make sure that you’re cutting down on the possibility of mold by keeping fabrics dry.

It’s a good idea to store sofa cushions somewhere where they’ll stay drier on your boat. If they’re exposed during a rainstorm, it can take them days to dry out in the sun. During this time, mold and mildew will almost certainly set in.

You may even decide to keep cushions and other fabrics somewhere safe other than your boat. If all else fails, consider covering your fabrics with a protective plastic coating. This will stop them from getting wet and growing mold.

6. Check With Your Marina

One vital thing about boat maintenance is the things that are going into the water. If you’re storing your ship at a marina, they may have specific cleaning requirements. This could forbid the use of certain chemicals, supplies, and other such materials.

The main reason for this is the health of the water. Some cleaning supplies can pollute the water and kill local flora and fauna. Others may cause issues like algae blooms.

Check with your marina to see if there are any restrictions on boat care. This can prevent you from being fined. More importantly, it will stop you from accidentally damaging the environment.

7. On-Board Cleaning Tools

There’s more to keeping your boat clean than just washing down the hull. You’ll want to make sure that your boat is being tidied up on-board to stop problems from arising. A messy boat deck can cause damage to the boat, prevent a hazard, and cause debris to fall off the boat and into the water.

Keep an array of onboard cleaning tools. This includes mops, brooms, small vacuums, sponges, microfiber rags, and whatever else you’ll need to clean your boat. By doing so, you ensure that you can keep your boat clean to prevent damage and safety hazards.

8. Proper Safety Precautions

Speaking of boat safety, it’s vital to practice proper safety precautions while cleaning your boat. You may think that it’s a completely safe thing, but there are plenty of things that can pose a threat.

If your boat is large enough, you may be hanging off the edge to clean some spots. Make sure that you have a safety harness and tether, as well as long enough tools. This can prevent injury from strain, as well as prevent accidental falling or drowning.

You also should make sure you’re never cleaning alone. Having someone to help you not only makes it go much quicker but also ensures safety. If something goes wrong, you’ll have someone to help or get assistance as quickly as possible.

9. Rinse After Use

One way to make cleaning easier is to do what you can to keep your boat clean to start with. A great way to do this is to rinse your boat with fresh water after use. Spending the day on the water can cover your hull in particles that need washing away.

This is especially the case with saltwater vessels. The saltwater will eat away at your hull if one allows the salt to dry onto the boat. This can ruin paint, protective coatings, and damage the hull.

10. Step by Step

There’s a great amount of work that goes into cleaning a boat, especially for larger vessels. While this can feel overwhelming, all you need to do is split your task into smaller tasks.

Go step by step to stop yourself from feeling overwhelmed. Separate your boat into sections or categories and work from there.

For example, you may decide to finish the hull before moving on to anything else. You may also decide to clean all wooden surfaces while you have the proper cleaning materials out to do so. From there, you may decide to do everything in the interior before moving to the exterior.

However you split it up, going step by step can make your task much more manageable. If you have others helping you, delegating tasks to different individuals can help get everything done in an efficient and timely manner.

11. Never Air Dry

It’s vital to never let your boat air dry for a variety of reasons. For one, moisture can attract other things that damage your boat, such as some insects or airborne plant life.

Past the damage this can cause, it’s also unsightly. One has the same issue with cars – letting it air dry causes it to dry unevenly and have water spotting and marks left behind. This has the same result on your boat, making your boat still look dirty even if you just spent hours cleaning.

One misconception is that drying a boat is pointless. They’re made to get wet, and unless it’s dry-docked, your boat is being stored in the water. Why bother drying it off if it’s going to get wet again?

While this is an understandable misconception to have, it simply isn’t true. Ensure that you towel dry your boat to prevent marks and spots from forming, as well as to protect your hull.

12. Consider Professional Help

If cleaning a boat isn’t ideal for you due to time constraints, the physical effort required, or that you just don’t want to bother, consider hiring a professional. This can make sure that your boat is in good hands and kept clean and in working order at all times.

Many boat care specialists may offer different service packages. This is a great way to customize the cleaning to match you and your boat’s needs. Consider leaving your boat in the hands of a professional so that you can focus entirely on enjoying your vessel.

Frequent Boat Cleaning

Boat cleaning is one of the most important things about owning a vessel. Make sure that you’re practicing proper boat maintenance to stop your boat from wearing out too soon. It will keep your vessel aesthetically pleasing while also fending off damage to its many delicate parts.

If you have other questions about boat care, feel free to contact us. You can also browse our site for more boat cleaning tips and ways to enjoy the great outdoors.