Soot from barge staining gellcoat

[pcatterall]

Noticed over the last week or so a lot of smudgy marks apearing on the boat and made a mental note to wash them off asap.
The asap time arrived and we tried washing them off, no go, then we tried scrubbing, no go even when we rubbed through some of the 'sandtex' paint. Then tried Jiff, no go. Final resort has been Tcut which works but needs a good hard rub at each spot and there are a lot of them. It took us hours yesterday just Tcutting one side.
The marks have clearly come from a nearby barge in the marina, they have a wood burning stove and have the wood stored on deck ( mainly off cuts) .
The next yacht to me has clearly suffered in the same way but I don't know if the owner realises how hard it will be to get them off.
Questions are..... any cleaning tips, I guess one is get at them quick before they can stain into the gellcoat. My new canvas hatch covers are also badly stained.
What should I do to prevent it happening again? I mentioned it to the marina who didnt seem too concerned, I will approach them again now I realise how much work was entailed.
If I see the barge owner I will mention it but am concerned that it may only result in confrontation.
If my boat was newish or just repainted then the 'damage' would be very serious and costly as it has not cleaned off 100% and I really would be jumping up and down.
How should I proceed?

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Insurance claim and tell the insurers which boat caused the problem.

That's what insurance is for.

 

[RivalRedwing]

Try a little white spirit on a small patch of the topsides, some may suggest acetone but only as a last resort.

To stop it happening again:
Ask the chap to stop burning wood and burn smokeless coal instead
Move either you upwind or him downwind

There might also be assistance from the Council if the marina is in town as most urban areas are designated smokeless fuel zones (but I have not a clue if that would apply to boats in a marina)

 

[Frankie-H]

Try one of the generic acids for removing the yellow from hulls. I believe that the acid is phosphoric and can be obtained from hardware shops. You can then mix this with wallpaper paste if you need to treat a vertical surface. Leave it on for a few minutes and the wash it off with plenty of water. If you see an improvement but not a total cure, try again.

 

[GrumpyOldGit]

For the topsides and deck try some oxalic acid, (ebay has loads) 10% solution in water.No need to scrub, if it's going to work it will work, if not use option 2 below...
As for the canvas, seek compensation, if necessary via insurance !

 

[pcatterall]

Thanks guys, tried oxalic, works ok on rust but not on this oily/carbony stuff a wipe gets off 70% of it but then the real centre seems to have eaten into the gell coat.
Will try other chemicals like meths.
Insurance may be OTT as most of the work now done and no claims and excess will cost more than value.

 

[theoldsalt]

PCatterall,

I would expect all vessels in the marina to have insurance as it is usually mandatory, so claim on the barge owner's insurance then no excess to pay. Join forces with the owner of the other boat affected when making the claim for compensation.

 

[RichardTaylor]

A good coat of wax may offer protection against further damage?

 

[greenalien]

Might be worth looking at the marina's Terms and Conditions - some specify 'no liveaboards' which would obviously preclude the continuous use of a woodburner, but may not be so helpful if you're resident yourself! Others may specify 'not causing a nuisance to other berthholders' and again this would give you legitimate cause for complaint.

 

[TopDonkey]

How about trying some carburettor cleaner ?, its specifically designed to dissolve carbon and oily deposits, it will likely soften the paint a little, but it should reharden afterwards

 

[Liz_I]

It might be worth trying sugar soap easily obtainable and cheap