Dirty bottom

[feemcgorman]

I've just bought a 15 ft boat and the bottom is covered in something filthy.A previous owner .. probably left it in for a long time with no anti foul Any ideas on how to clean it off.Q2. The wooden seats ,I want to remove for sanding and varnishing, are held by screws which won't budge.Any suggestions?

 

[yoda]

Power Washer, probably after using a garden hoe to remove the big stuff.

Yoda

 

[feemcgorman]

Power hosing makes no impression on this.Thanks

 

[feemcgorman]

Power hosing makes no impression on this.Thanks

 

[fishermantwo]

Heavy fouling is often best removed with a garden spade. Keep the bottom wet. One bloke with a hose, the other with a garden spade, use the spade as a large scraper.

 

[wooslehunter]

Once you get all the growth off you'll probably have quite a bit of staining around the water line. Assuming it's a glass boat & not painted, you'll want to remove this as well. You can get proprietory hull cleaners but the active ingredient is oxalic acid. The key is to mix in some wall paper paste as it allows the stuff to stick to vertical surfaces.

Brush on - wash off 20 mins later & stains are gone.

Do a serach for oxalic acid & you should get aload more posts.

 

[LittleShip]

To remove the screws you wont go wrong with one of these
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=14364

or try a brace and bit with a screwdiver end in it, personally I use the impact driver then a large screwdriver once loose.
Good luck

 

[feemcgorman]

Sorry, New to this game but can't get oxalic acid here in Belfast. Some supplier in Manchester says he can supply 25 kg minimum order.Feemcgorman

 

[andyroo]

Suggest you try the following:

(1) Heavily wet the hull using a presure washer;
(2) Take a wall paper scraper to it and very gently begin scraping.

Would do small areas at a time to make sure you keep the area wet.

Good luck

Andrew