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It takes a small arsenal of cleaning supplies to keep a boat shining. Living with (and on) boats for most of my life, learning which cleaning supplies do what best has been an endless yet highly virtuous task.
I've rounded up the basics of what I've found works best so you don't end up spending any more of your time aboard your boat cleaning than you have to. Ah, yes, the joys of ownership.
Standout products include Simple Green Marine's all-purpose cleaner (starting at $8) and Shurhold brushes for deep scrubbing jobs (starting at $11).
Forget the initial price tag - keeping and maintaining a boat are the real costs of ownership. But then, if you're reading this, there's nothing we can do to dissuade you. It's probably already too late because you've probably already bought your ticket and consequently signed up for a relentless to-do list; one that leaves you questioning the various decisions you made leading up to this monolithic responsibility.
But breathe. We can at least help you keep it clean until what they call the second happiest day in your vessel ownership comes along (assuming the first is the day you bought it): the one upon which you sell it.
Boats can be tricky beasts to maintain, and how you do so depends heavily on the type of boat you have.
Rather than tell you how to clean every type of boat, which would be exhausting both to write and read, we'll point you to the products both we and the experts we polled swear by for each material and/or job you might face, both above and below the deck and the sea (yes, you must also clean the bottom of your boat). Still, we all know full well that somewhere between the scrubbing, scraping, and treating of your hull, the joys of ownership are real.
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A note on eco-toxicity and marine cleaning and maintenance:
It's all too easy to poison the waters our boats are built to ply, and there are plenty of highly toxic cleaning agents available that do so once you've pumped them out of your bilge and into the water. We've given options for less volatile compounds with which we've had good results, but we've also recommended some pretty pernicious stuff, which is more of a last resort on impossible stains.
The best thing you can do is read the labels, use all cleaning agents sparingly, and save the particularly noxious stuff for when the boat's out of the water if and when you can. For further resource, Boat US has an excellent guide to understanding what's what with regards to "green" cleaners.
A big myth in the boating world is that you need actual boat soap to clean your boat. Most soaps will do the trick — it doesn't necessarily take the most abrasive and pestilent products around. And, in many cases, even something as benign as Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap will do the trick.
All around, though, we recommend Simple Green Marine. It lathers up nicely, and because it's a degreaser, it handles just about anything you'd spill on your deck. It is, I ought to add, very good with fish blood.
Just watch out, and keep it away from your wax jobs: It's fine for the deck, but it will strip wax, according to many comments by the sage (if salty) characters on the be all end all forum for boating, The Hull Truth.
Some boats are decked out with chrome. It looks great, but it's just one more chore. Get behind on polishing it and it'll start to oxidize.
Bar Keeper's Friend is a great all-around boat cleaner (the group at The Hull Truth agrees), and it'll really get stains out of any metal fittings or structures — but because it's bleach-free, it won't harm them. It's also really cheap.
To use it elsewhere on your boat, work it into a lather within a rag so that it's not as abrasive, especially on high-gloss areas. Your decks, and nonskid areas are all fair game, and it will strip fish blood nicely, too.
If you keep your boat in the water for the season, or year round, you'll notice some ugly brown stains along the waterline. You'll also notice that a simple scrub brush and soap combo just won't cut it.
On & Off will remove any waterline stains and exhaust stains, as well as stains left from barnacles and algae, and leave your hull looking absolutely cherry.
It's just recommended, and probably required in some places, that you don't treat your boat with this stuff in the water. It's highly volatile, and you don't want to kill all the poor little critters clinging to and dwelling around your dock or mooring slip.
I use this stuff in the beginning of the season, before I paint the bottom and dunk the boat in the water. That way, you can clean down to your bottom paint line and paint over what paint it strips along the edge. Wash your hull first, then wipe it dry, and then wipe on the On & Off with a rag (and gloves — be sure to use gloves). Let it sit for a few minutes, remove with another rag, and rinse and repeat as needed.
A scrub brush is an important piece of equipment. Unless you have a very small boat, like me, in which you can get away with a small hand sponge, it's worth investing in a high-grade brush. Shurhold, across the bar, is the favorite among yachties. The bristles are tough, the heads are interchangeable (there's a whole quiver to choose from), and the handles are sturdy chrome that will last years and years.
In short: Don't waste your time with cheap handles. This is the brush you'll see on professional boats everywhere, and there's a reason. It's also not a huge investment in the first place, so this one's a no-brainer, and, more importantly, it will make all of your boat cleaning go a lot quicker and smoother.
Okay, so wax isn't exactly a cleansing agent, but it lays the foundation for a clean, happy boat.
Thetford RV Wash and Wax isn't exactly wax, either. It's the two-in-one shampoo and conditioner of boat hygiene and maintenance. It doesn't give a full wax treatment, but it does create a thin, anti-static sheen that also repels water. That's a good thing, especially where your gel coat is concerned.
I still like my Simple Green, and I wouldn't want that waxiness on my decks for fear of slipping and sliding.
Wash the high-gloss parts of your vessel with Thetford, and you'll be pleased. Also, like many of the cleaning agents on our list (though unlike just about everything else in the marine world) it's pretty darn cheap.
The best cloths, sponges, and applicators for cleaning and waxing
You don't want to cheap out so much on rags, sponges, or applicators. They'll fall apart, or they'll leave marks or trails of microfibers that will get everywhere. Just the same, you probably don't really want to splurge, either. You are, after all, going to throw these away in time.
Better Boat hits the sweet spot in price for me, and I find that their microfiber cloths last a long time and don't shed.
The brand also has kits on offer, so if you've got a big boat that requires cleaning in several stages (with several materials), you can economize pretty well, like with this sponge, cloth, and bucket kit for only about $14.
If your boat has a cabin, you'll spend a wealth of time keeping mildew and mold at bay. Don't think you need anything all that special, though. While living on a sloop in Fiji, we were constantly wiping down the cabin liners and spraying the cushions and covers with a magical, if age-old cleaning agent: vinegar.
Yes, a bottle of cleaning (or even white) vinegar can be your best friend in your boat's cabin, and if the smell gets you, just add a little lemon oil for good measure.
This is an easy if tedious job. Just put the vinegar in a spray bottle (along with your lemon oil, if you so choose), hit any vinyl, fabric, and anything liable to collect mildew, and let it sit for a few minutes. Come back along with a paper towel or a rag, and, using some elbow grease, wipe it down. Done-zo. Well, it's easier said than done, but you and your guests (save for unsavory primordial biological lifeforms) will be glad for it.
