The snow and ice are gone but .....

[moonshine]

Went to do some winterising on the boat in Fambridge today. A whole 7.5degC !

Found that the snow and ice had left behind a boat covered in black stains. As far as I could tell all the boats around had the same deposit on the decks and superstructure.

At first I thought it was just a little atmospheric polution, but found that it was difficult to remove. The black seems to be almost an exhaust residue, slightly oily. A biodegradeable deck cleaner removes most of it, but not all. I have to be careful what I use with a teak deck.

Anyone else seen the same aftermath of the snow, and got a cleaning solution ?

Moonshine

 

[nigelm]

yep , i had the same on my decks at suttons yard today !!
and to think i was blaming someone for running their engine and covering the boat in soot .

havent tried to clean it off yet tho

 

[Firefly]

same thing at Gravesend - we were blaming our friendly local power station at Tilbury just across the river. I havent tried to clean it yet but someone else has done their boat and didnt have much trouble. I'm going to try tommorrow.

 

[johnalison]

My boat was pretty filthy in Walton yesterday and I made a mental note to do a bit of cleaning some time.

The water temperature was shown as -0.7 which I don't think I believe, at least I hope it isn't.

 

[Athene V30]

I had to pressure wash off black stains in Brightlingsea too.

Boat now clean(er) and wrapped up for winter.

 

[Zippysigma]

I was sailing yesterday and all the boats in Levington had this staining. I did not try to clean it off, but am now worried. Did the power wash work?

 

[Athene V30]

Did the power wash work?

Power wash, surface cleaner and brush for stubborn bits but yes came off.

 

[AliM]

We had some blotchy stains on the deck, but a scrub with a stiff brush and seawater removed them - well enough to look respectable, anyway.

Then we went off sailing - lovely - reasonably warm compared to the last week, nice breeze, very few people out, and a quiet night at anchor. There are a couple of pictures of one of the only other boats out on yourboatpix, if you want to see what you were missing!

 

[PaulGooch]

Exactly the same problem with our boat at Shotley, this weekend. We also had this same black stuff all over the boat after our Thames trip earlier this year. I found an easy way to get it off was a quick rub over with a damp cloth and some Jif/Cif (actually, ASDA brand equivalent). Slapped a quick coat of Turtle Wax on to help keep any future grime off.

 

[BAtoo]

Had a load of black grime all over the boat after the first snow at Levington melted, now more after this session.....

 

[Leighb]

I think both raindrops and snowflakes contain tiny dust particles. Rain tends to wash any deposited dust away as furher rain falls, although it can leave a dirty stain behind. Snow however stays put and when it does melt it does so slowly so there is no washing effect. Therefore there is more dirt left behind.

That is my explanation anyway.

 

[Slow_boat]

I haven't seen my boat for a couple of months. I can't even get to see swmbo in hospital 40 miles away. We've got a foot of snow and temperatures consistently below freezing 100 miles from the boat, so I hope she's alright.

And swmbo, of course.

 

[Victoria Sponge]

We always use dishwasher powder. It does a really good job.