How often do you clean your boat exterior?

roa312

roa312

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 Feb 2019
Messages
238
Location
Denmark
Visit site
This year we moved our boat to a new berth - literally just the other side of the pier (Eastern Denmark). It's made a surprising difference. Ever since the move, we've had a huge problem with seagulls eating crabs on the boat and pooping all over our canopy. On top of that, we've started seeing big swarms of flies that get under the canopy and end up dead all over the boat exterior and interior. Not exactly the most welcoming scene when we arrive, and we've had to do full cleanings every week for a while now.

The new berth location might explain the sudden increase in mess, or maybe it’s just a bad year in general. Either way, it made me curious to hear from others - where are your boat located and how often do you have to clean the exterior?
Also curious to hear from folks who live a bit of a distance from their boat - do you schedule cleanings or some other routine? And have you noticed certain seasons being worse than others for bugs or general grime?
 
I have something alive on my flybridge.....I have no idea what....but there’s always an abundance of faecal matter up there...no matter how often I wash it...it looks smaller than mice dropping...I suspect lizards or a snake....but what it eats is a mystery....it completely goes away in the winter months...then reappears in spring
 
Bouba said:
I have something alive on my flybridge.....I have no idea what....but there’s always an abundance of faecal matter up there...no matter how often I wash it...it looks smaller than mice dropping...I suspect lizards or a snake....but what it eats is a mystery....it completely goes away in the winter months...then reappears in spring
Click to expand...
The constant need to clean the flybridge was actually one of the main reasons we switched to a sportscruiser😀! It felt like we had to clean every single time we wanted to take the boat out.
 
roa312 said:
The constant need to clean the flybridge was actually one of the main reasons we switched to a sportscruiser😀! It felt like we had to clean every single time we wanted to take the boat out.
Click to expand...
The truth is I never use the flybridge because the dog can’t get up there...but on our boat the flybridge is also the boat deck....and the dingy and pedal board are up there and are craned down
 
I wash ours most times when I’m onboard. She gets a hose down after a trip too. I’m new to Haslar so don’t know what to expect in terms of wildlife. Hopefully no snakes! I get the odd seagull poop. It was flying ant week last week, so a few to hoover up.
 
roa312 said:
This year we moved our boat to a new berth - literally just the other side of the pier (Eastern Denmark). It's made a surprising difference. Ever since the move, we've had a huge problem with seagulls eating crabs on the boat and pooping all over our canopy. On top of that, we've started seeing big swarms of flies that get under the canopy and end up dead all over the boat exterior and interior. Not exactly the most welcoming scene when we arrive, and we've had to do full cleanings every week for a while now.

The new berth location might explain the sudden increase in mess, or maybe it’s just a bad year in general. Either way, it made me curious to hear from others - where are your boat located and how often do you have to clean the exterior?
Also curious to hear from folks who live a bit of a distance from their boat - do you schedule cleanings or some other routine? And have you noticed certain seasons being worse than others for bugs or general grime?
Click to expand...
When we bought our current boat based in a Solent marina, some years ago. We had pontoon neighbours with a 15m ish Princess. They visited every weekend went out for a couple of hours and then it started. Female owner would don marigolds and rinse and scrub the boat from top to bottom. When finished she would sit down in the flybridge with a large G+T. She’d finish that, maybe 20mins and put her marigolds back on and start again? Saw her do it three times over, several times. I think it was only lack of light that stopped her. Thankfully, we moved on.
 
When I had boats in UK - I hated Starlings and fruit on trees / bushes .... the blue-black poop everywhere ......

Out here in Latvia - my Wife feeds about 100 Ducks and 10 Canada Geese ... the love my pontoons, boats and channel bank. Poop everywhere ...

Every so often - its out with the hose (high pressure pump is dropped into the channel at end of pontoon) and blast it all away.
 
Bouba said:
I have something alive on my flybridge.....I have no idea what....but there’s always an abundance of faecal matter up there...no matter how often I wash it...it looks smaller than mice dropping...I suspect lizards or a snake....but what it eats is a mystery....it completely goes away in the winter months...then reappears in spring
Click to expand...
Could be a forumite. The giveaway would be empty pot noodle containers in the scupers :)
If you want to catch it put out a half eaten Fray Bentos meat pie on an anchor
 
1hr15mins drive away so I’m finding I spend 15-20mins when I arrive whilst getting ready to go. But it’s a small boat. Going just to clean would be a chore given the distance.
 
roa312 said:
This year we moved our boat to a new berth - literally just the other side of the pier (Eastern Denmark). It's made a surprising difference. Ever since the move, we've had a huge problem with seagulls eating crabs on the boat and pooping all over our canopy. On top of that, we've started seeing big swarms of flies that get under the canopy and end up dead all over the boat exterior and interior. Not exactly the most welcoming scene when we arrive, and we've had to do full cleanings every week for a while now.

The new berth location might explain the sudden increase in mess, or maybe it’s just a bad year in general. Either way, it made me curious to hear from others - where are your boat located and how often do you have to clean the exterior?
Also curious to hear from folks who live a bit of a distance from their boat - do you schedule cleanings or some other routine? And have you noticed certain seasons being worse than others for bugs or general grime?
Click to expand...
With seagulls they like a familiar safe resting place , a cliff an apartment roof etc.

you need to break the cycle I occasionally have this problem and I put up some fine rope say 2 to m
3 mm from my radar arch to the bow x3 with wither bits of rop hanging off it that move in the wind or even cd,s work well do this for a week or two it will solve the problem.
Just be grateful it is not sea lions or walrus they do make a big mess!
 
My 25ft'r is in dire need to serious cleaning .... having stood for ages while having keel repaired etc.

Today gave her a quick hose down .. to remove the soft stuff .. next will be a high pressure wash .. then a good dose of oxalic all over !!

Yes Oxalic is still easily got here ... sold for concrete slab / patio cleaning ... same stuff in powder form. Cheap as chips ...
 
every trip out or weekend away, she gets a rinse down, a bit of boat wash on a long brush goes a long way. Our 28 footer takes 30 mins to finish, I much prefer to come back to a clean boat than have to go to it and start cleaning. PHOTO-2025-07-18-12-49-40.jpg
 
Mine's three hours away, we pay a marine valeting company to do the outside every month. Keeps on top of I and usually looks good when we arrive for our long weekend. Also, make a point of at least hosing down outside each time we come into a marina (hose bans allowing), and we do a full wash down before leaving the boat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top