Is a pressure washer worth it?

[yachtorion]

Is a pressure washer worth it for washing a boat, or is detergent bucket and brush just as good?

(For clarity I'm not considering fouling, just general cleaning).

 

[pvb]

If you do it fairly regularly, bucket and brush works fine. If you don't do it regularly, pressure washer might be easier than bucket and brush. Remember that you shouldn't use a pressure washer on wood trim.

 

[sarabande]

pressure washers will mangle teak, as the timber between the growth rings is rather soft.

 

[theoldsalt]

Without a doubt AFAIC.
Non slip deck on my boat looks cleaner after scrubbing but dirt stays in the bottom of the non slip effect. I power wash and it comes up as good as new. Unfortunately the dirt returns during a rain shower due to dirty air.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have basketweave nonslip moulded into my decks. cleaning it by hand means a scrubbing brush and hours of work. With a pressure washer I can do the whole deck in ten minutes.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I have a Karcher K2 that lives onboard, wouldn't be without it.

 

[pcatterall]

Orrible things

 

[Boathook]

Pressure washer at beginning of season and halfway through, with deck scrubber in between periods.

 

[maby]

Orrible things

They have their place, but that is not on a boat! At maximum pressure, they are too agressive and at reduced pressure, they are no better than a good deck brush and a bucket of slightly soapy water.

 

[Just_sayin']

I REALLY must clear out my YouTube History some time

I think that I saw this vid on this forum

 

[JumbleDuck]

At maximum pressure, they are too agressive and at reduced pressure, they are no better than a good deck brush and a bucket of slightly soapy water.

No better ... but an awful lot faster. I deliberately stick to quite a puny one to avoid damage, but I found the boatyard's diesel beast when I was cleaning up the Drascombe after five years abandoned.

 

[oldbilbo]

pressure washers will mangle teak, as the timber between the growth rings is rather soft.

Now he tells me....!

 

[Poignard]

Would a pressure washer be any good at stripping the many layers of cracked deck paint from my grp deck?

 

[bignick]

Would a pressure washer be any good at stripping the many layers of cracked deck paint from my grp deck?

Probably work really well.
Aim at the edges/cracks and the water will force its way between the layers. If you're lucky it will peel it off in big flakes.

 

[Kelpie]

Probably work really well.
Aim at the edges/cracks and the water will force its way between the layers. If you're lucky it will peel it off in big flakes.

Did exactly that with a work boat last winter, great big flakes of the old surface peeled off. This was a petrol powered unit. Anything that could not be shifted by a blast was deemed well enough stuck on to let it remain in place.

On my own boat, I have a very puny Halfords 1400w pressure washer, that I only use when antifouling. Run it from a little 1kw Lidl genny, with the hose shoved into my fresh water tank. It has two advantages- allows faster and more pleasant removal of slime and light fouling, and secondly it allows me to give the hull a good rinse down to remove any salt residue prior to painting. I do my antifouling between tides without access to fresh water so this rinse down would be difficult to do any other way.

 

[charles_reed]

I would not buy one specially for the boat - as already pointed out regular deck washing is nearly as effective.
They are very useful for underhull cleaning when the boat comes out of the water and before any fouling dries - but most boat-lifters include pressure washing as part of the service.
I do have a small Karcher electric one @ home and wouldn't be without it.
If you know how to set the nozzle it's quite safe to clean teak with one - most people blast away at too high a pressure and too concentrated a jet.

 

[Blue Sunray]

Orrible things

You do seem to be in rather a minority.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Pressure washers are great for cleaning the deck, bilges and removing antifouling, Naturally, there is a need to control the power and jet flow by altering the nozzle to avoid damaging soft surfaces.

 

[thinwater]

Orrible things

What he said. Great for ruining bedding and creating leaks. I doubt he is in the minority, it's just that people who buy them, like them. Surveys suffer from that sort of bias.

Why is perfect clean so vital? Is a boat a mantel piece, or a tool? it is a tool for going places.

 

[PaulRainbow]

What he said. Great for ruining bedding and creating leaks. I doubt he is in the minority, it's just that people who buy them, like them. Surveys suffer from that sort of bias.

Why is perfect clean so vital? Is a boat a mantel piece, or a tool? it is a tool for going places.

Indeed, but one likes a clean tool