Boat cleaning tips

1987*CHB 42' Ponderosa Tri-Cabin


When I take ownership of the boat above, (and photos below) I'll need to keep it clean.

Note, I could ask the marina store, but they'd just point me to the cleaning aisle. And hey, you're the pros. Plus all the YouTube cleaning tips are for small ski type boats.

What do you think, cuting and pasting this?

And no yelling at me, we're simply cleaning here. If anyone wants to point me to a post about cleaning, please do.


1. What do I clean my interior wood with, wood walls, wood cabinets, wood doors? There's a ton of interior wood on this boat.

I think it's all the same type of wood. Just water?


2. At the moment, no smells. Do I need to flush anything down the toilet to keep it smelling clean, (and or clean the brown water tank).*


2A. Does the poo tank work like a septic tank and break down the poo and toilet paper?


2B. What type of toilet paper should I use?


2C. How do I know when my poo tanks full?

2E. Do most all marina's have someone that sucks out your poo? How often do you need it emptied? How much does it cost to empty it?


3. BUGs! Bugs love wood, (moisture ants ate my house once). Do I need to spray for bugs regularly. Do you ever use Indoor bug foggers?


3A. Are there mice and rats like in the pirate movies? What do you do?


4. Water in the hull, (that the bilge pump clears). Do mosquitoes, mold, moss or bad smells ever come from it? Would tossing a few chlorine "pool" tablets in there hurt anything? Or, don't worry about it?


5. Once a year I was told to clean the outside teak deck. What should I use? Simple green?


6. My outside Fiberglass or plastic white decks and walls? What do I clean, protect and polish it with?


6A.*Wouldn't it be easier if I wash it in the rain and just let the rain rinse it off?


6B. Does the marina let you wash your boat?


6C. Does anyone here pay for a boat washer every month or so? How much should I expect to pay, (just wash)? Can someone recommend anyone in the Seattle area.


7. I won't be using the sink much. But if it clogs can I use draino?


8. Chrome cleaning / polishing ? Can I use "semichrome" or, "Never Dull" like my motorcycles chrome? What do you use?


9. Bird poos on my blue bemini. What do I use to clean it and protect it from fading? Are there any tools to help you reach and clean the top with, broom...


10. At the moment, my boat dosen't have that "boat" smell that I walked right out of while boat shopping. How do I keep it "fresh" smelling?

10A. Does anyone use a damp rid product? It's costly what do you recommend?


11. I plan on having a "boat" wood expert show me how to lightly sand and re-stain my outdoor wood the first time. Then do it on my own yearly. Is this a good idea?

11A. Are there any wood Experts you can recommend in Seattle?


12. Do you WD-40 anything regularly?


13. Have you ever gotten bed bugs? If so should I just sell the boat


14. What type of dishwashing, hand soap, shampoo do you use? One that's ok for the environment in my marina?


15. What do I use to clean my wood floors with?


16. What's your favorite rechargeable vacuum for my carpets and general cleaning?


17. What's that winter heating thing I see in all boats? Looks like a flying saucer. What it called and how many do I need for my 42 footer? Run it all the time or just when it's cold?


18. What are the pads that soak up oil and crud called?


19. Do you use rain-x on your windows?


20. If in the Seattle area, where's a good "marina" or market to buy these cleaning supplies? Or maybe a Trailer / Winnebago store? Do you buy your items on Amazon, (like maybe a boat cleaning kit)?


21. Any additional cleaning tricks or tips?*


22. Any Books or YouTube videos that you can recommend on cleaning a boat.


23. How do I clean and protect my outdoor vinyl seats.


24. There appears to be salt crystals that easily brush off my hull. Do I need to clean these off? How?

25. DOG! My dog is 100% potty trained. But Popcorns getting old. If needed do you use training pads on the outside of your boat? Any suggestions for boats and my dog, (I know it's a separate topic).


THANKS!

Photos View attachment 105472View attachment 105473

Nice pix. Nice boat!
You ask a lot of reasonable questions. Half of them, at least, won’t have simple black & white answers. I think you might get better quality input from the forum by breaking this up into separate threads, submitting one every other day or so for discussion. I have a lot of thoughts about some of your questions, but I’m not inclined to sit down and write for an hour to address the entire list in one go. Maybe in small bits, it will be more digestable and manageable for everyone, including you, Ducatihottie

Nice pictures.
#2 - Get Peggy's book. She is the expert on keeping your head clean and eliminating odors.
#2A - Depends on the type of system you have.
#2B - I use Angel Soft and it works fine for me.
#2C - Some tanks have a gauge. Many do not.
# 2E - Some marinas have pump out stations, some have pump out boats that will come to your boat, some don't have anything and you have to go to a marina that does have pump out.
#6B - Pretty much all marinas let you wash your boat.
#6C - Ask around at your marina if there is anyone who washes boats and what it might cost.
#7 - I would never use Drano on my boat drain pipes.
#14 - I use Dawn for dish washing.
#18 - There are oil absorbent pads, pillows and socks. You can find them on Amazon.

Goerge Rocks!

I figured that Scott and thanks. This is primarily for anyone that's bored and loves to type. Cut and paste it?

If I have it all on one thread, I won't have to bug you daily. Plus I can print it up for a shopping list and keep this on my boat for future reference.

There is no doubt this much information will tick some off. I say by day three this "might" turn into a full out shouting match? Maybe a silly tussle over using never dull, semichrome or something else? I'll take that risk. And hopefully by then I'll have the expert advise I came here for.

Well, I’ll take 2b&c now.
Use RV toilet paper. It breaks down better
Is there not a gauge for your holding tank so you can see how full it is? If not, you should put adding one on your to-do list.

Boat cleaning tip #1

Get a cleaning lady that really knows how to take care of wood furniture. One of the best investments I've made. First time it took her 2 days to clean the entire inside of the boat. I have lots of cabinet doors with slats. Visualize pulling a wash cloth back and forth with cleaner preservative, between each pair of slats. She cleaned everything, ceilings, closets, drawers, and everything else. I have it done every year to catch what I miss.

My neighborhood next to me said I was to tell his wife that the cleaning lady was my girlfriend. He didn't want to pay for a cleaning lady.

Ted

23. I use fiberglass wax on my vinyl seats at the beginning of the season. Just wipe the dew with a rag for the rest of the season.

#9 - I use a little Dawn added to water in a bucket for biminis. Soak the top of the bimini with water from your hose then scrub it with the Dawn/water mixture from the bucket. Get a good quality extendable aluminum pole with a screw end that you can attach brushes to. Get the pole
https://smile.amazon.com/Better-Boa...dable+aluminu+pole,aps,172&sr=8-24&th=1&psc=1 )and brushes on Amazon or elsewhere.

19. I use Rain-x on the helm windows. It’s great!

Scott, have you used it on eisenglass?

No. I just have regular (tinted) glass.

Ducatihottie said:

1987*CHB 42' Ponderosa Tri-Cabin
2. At the moment, no smells. Do I need to flush anything down the toilet to keep it smelling clean, (and or clean the brown water tank).*
2A. Does the poo tank work like a septic tank and break down the poo and toilet paper?
2B. What type of toilet paper should I use?
2C. How do I know when my poo tanks full?
10. At the moment, my boat dosen't have that "boat" smell that I walked right out of while boat shopping. How do I keep it "fresh" smelling? THANKS!

Click to expand...

A very nice boat and so are your 4-footed crew. You'll want to get life jackets for both of them (they do make pet PFDs in sizes to fit 'em).

Leatherneck recommended that you buy my book (see link in my signature...just click on the title) and I'm not self-promoting to agree with him 'cuz you'll find the answers to every one of your questions listed above in it. The title (my publisher's idea) is a bit misleading...'cuz although it does deal with every source of odor on a boat and how to cure, or better yet PREVENT 'em, it's actually a comprehensive "marine toilets and sanitation systems 101" manual that explains the laws, describes all the types of systems and how they work, and will help you learn how to operate and maintain your entire system to prevent 99% of problems instead of having to cure 'em. 'Cuz you get to do any preventive maintenance on your terms when it's convenient...the need to cure a problem never happens when it is! And I'm always glad to answer any questions it doesn't.


--Peggie

Use vinegar and water to clean all interior teak floors and walls. You can use any spray polish like pledge if you want, or a lemon oil on the walls and drawer fronts if they are dry. Don't wax the floors, they will be too slippery.

Read peggy's book on most of your other good and bad smell questions.

Your holding tank is referred to as black water. (not brown) The sink and shower water is grey and can go overboard. I use a biodegradable soap. Many people use Dawn but you may want to read up on that. Your black holding tank is just that, a holding tank. The boat action will macerate the solid waste and paper somewhat but it isn't in there long enough to biodegrade. Make sure your tank is well ventilated, don't use any charcoal filters on the vent lines. Test the paper you want to use. Put some in a glass jar with water and give it a few shakes. If it doesn't disintegrate you probably don't want to use it. You will know when it is full because it will smell and won't flush anymore. Most marinas have pump outs, some charge, some don't.

The sink will never plug. It is a straight shot overboard. Don't use acid or drain cleaner anywhere on the boat. It is very caustic and will end up in the lake. Your toilet lines and shower lines are a different story, again read peggy's book.

Oilzorb pad absorb oil but not water, they are cheap. Always have a few on board.

Don't use ANY chemicals on your Isinglass.It will scratch and discolor it. There is ONE cleaner you can use. Get it at a canvas shop and use microfiber to apply and buff it out.

I think it Seattle I would use an electric dehumidifier if the marina will let you. Your A/C may have a dehumidify feature, The chemicals work but are not good for long term. They fill up with water and there it all sits.

Rechargable vacuums are good for S**T. Get a nice small wet/dry vacuum and find a place to store it.

Rain-Ex works, so does WD-40.

ArmorAll works on vinyl but makes it slippery.

There are a lot of new cleaning products on the market. They are "Ceramic" or some such name. They are being advertised heavily which indicates to me they probably don't work very well.

If you have a lot of seagulls, swallows or pelicans around, sometimes some flags scattered around your boat keeps them away. The home made spider controller seems to work. (peppermint, dawn, water). Sometimes you can find "hedge apples" in a grocery store, they sort of discourage spiders also.

The best way to keep your boat clean and fresh smelling is to use it a LOT.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

You can use any spray polish like pledge if you want, or a lemon oil on the walls and drawer fronts if they are dry.

Click to expand...

Unless the formula has changed recently, I'm going to say (or even beg) nooOOOooo on the Pledge or similar. Reason? Silicone. It is evil and you can never get rid of the contamination it leaves behind. If you ever need to repair or re-finish a spot... it's ugly.

Here is an example: A fellow boater changed things around in his saloon, and as a result I ended up with a nice piece of teak-veneered plywood for a project. It looked beautiful, and he mentioned he had always used Lemon Pledge (uh-oh). I made my simple project, then sanded it down to re-finish. Nothing but fish-eyes (symptom of silicone contamination). Stripped it to bare wood and had another go. Nope.

A friend (woodworker) had a few tricks up his sleeve. We tried them. Nope. He added stuff (anti fish-eye) to spray varnish. Nope. Eventually we had to admit defeat and I threw the beautiful teak plywood away and used a never-Pledged scrap of (lesser) lauan instead.

So I vote a strong "No" on any furniture polish with any silicone in it (which Pledge did have last time I looked, but you can always check the material data sheet to see if that's changed).

People are known to hire it done. Sad to see an owner cleaning a 60-foot vessel by himself

Peggy I bought your book. I figured I'd better support you in case your a long lost relative, (I'm a "Hall" too).

What is "Isinglass".

A dehumidifier sounds perfect but I thought they were for basements? If I leave a window open and it's humid, wont it fill up hourly?

Are there seagull or bird flags? I fret seagull crap the most. Any other tricks to keep the birds away?

I assume interior wood cleaning tips would be the most interesting. There is more wood on this boat than any CHB or boat we looked at. And there's hardly a nail in it. I can trust someone to wash the outside of my boat, but I'm afraid someone might ruin my teak if polished wrong.

Does anyone else use vinegar and water on the wood, it seems pretty harmless to me?

Or do I need something to protect and preserve the wood grain as well? I assume the wood can fade due to sun damage as the boat is nothing but windows. I CAN'T RUIN OUR WOOD. The interior is the number one reason my wife liked it.

I use Sumner 210 to clean and protect the so called eisenglass. It is very easy to use, spray on and wipe off with a clean rag and polish with a second clean rag, I use diapers. I found it through a canvas guy in Cape May. I had spent 4 hours using another polish and it didn’t help the eisenglass that was on the boat when I bought it. I tried the 210 and it was amazing how well it worked and I did the entire bridge enclosure in 45 minutes, inside and out. I gat it on Amazon. No affiliation.

There's that word again, "eisenglass". Are my windows glass or eisenglass? Does that mean they can scratch easier glass?

I've ruined several motorcycle wind screens with the wrong polish. And just this thread alone probably saved me thousands as I thought my windows were glass!!! And if this is one of those, you can't put glass in boat windows due to the rocking and the rogue waves, I didn't think this one through.

Eisenglass is the soft plasticy clear roll up windows usually around the front and sides of the flybridge. You probably have a combination of real glass and eisenglass.

A USCG licensed boat captain who is familiar with yachts of this type would be an excellent person to hire a few times for 1/2 days. He/she will give you lessons on docking a single engine boat, using all the systems on board, cleaning and maintenance answers as well as names and phone numbers of service people you may need. They worked hard for their license and the amount of knowledge they have gathered over the years is your best bet for one stop advice. Sometimes it's best to pay a pro instead go getting conflicting advice from us here. Call one of your local Yacht Clubs for a couple of Captain's names or take a stroll down the docks and talk to people on board. As someone said, there' no one simple answer for most of your questions. Congratulations on your new boat.

3A. If you haul your boat and have it on land during any part of the year, make sure you remove ALL food products that might attract mice and rats. I've seen rats at marina yards plenty of times. During the season, bow-to or stern-to tie up, can help reduce the risk of being visited by these unwanted guests.

We prefer along-side tie up, on the rare occasion that it's available, because it's easy and it can make some maintenance tasks easier. We've been lucky enough to never have been visited by mice or rats when mooring in this manner. Ants (a lot) managed to board us one night by going from canal bank to fender to boat. Took several days to get rid of them!

Can I just use windex on all windows? Can you put rain-x on Eisenglass?

I'm glad someone brought up getting a boat captain as I plan to that.

Rodents can rope walk. Ask neighbors if they have any issues.

Ducatihottie said:

Can I just use windex on all windows? Can you put rain-x on Eisenglass?

I'm glad someone brought up getting a boat captain as I plan to that.

Click to expand...

NO, NO, NO. You should not use Windex on any plastics. Use Sumner 210 on the eisenglass and also on any plastic. No RainX on any plastic, only on glass. On glass windows you can use Windex.

OK, at this point you have received so many good answers that my head is swimming. How about you go back through your list and just give us the numbers which you still have questions on?

I do have one suggestion I don't believe I saw up to now. Pureayre. Google it up and buy some. I swear I have sprayed that stuff right on top of an area where spilled diesel had been wiped up with a dry rag, and the smell is GONE. I used to slosh a gallon of it through the bilges in my old wooden trawler every year or two to keep it smelling "neutral." You can spray it all over the place in the living quarters to mitigate the boat smell. You will know you have boat smell when you take some clothing or bedding home and a day later put your nose near it.

Poo tank advice: Keep it clean once you get it that way. Empty it and rinse it through after every run/cruise and put a digester in it. Never leave it "occupied."

Interesting point on the spray Pledge. I have used it all over the inside of my boat. I guess the next owner may have an issue with it, it has never bothered me. I have also used Scotts Liquid Gold on dry interior wood. It really does a great job. It has a fairly strong aroma but I wouldn't say it is unpleasant. There are also a lot of Lemon Oil products out there which would probably do the same thing with a different scent.

WIndex is good on GLASS only.

If you buy a commercial spider chaser or make your own, spray all your dock lines and fenders where they would provide an avenue for spiders, also the electric line. Also I use my home made variety and spray the underside of the edges of the canvas for the flybridge when I put it in place. It doesn't actually kill or harm spiders but they don't like the smell. It doesn't harm paint, rope canvas, etc.

pete

I do have one suggestion I don't believe I saw up to now. Pureayre.

I've recommended--and used--PureAyre for years. It's the only product I've ever found that will eliminate ANY odor--diesel, smoke, pet accident, sewage spill, when used as directed...plus it's rated for use around food, which can be a godsend when a shore power failure leaves you with stinking spoiled meat in the fridge or freezer.

However, it's important to know that PureAyre is NOT a cleaning product, nor is it an air freshener. It's impossible to eliminate any odor until the source of that odor has been removed 'cuz as long as the source remains, it will continue to generate new odor. So every surface, nook and corner of a spill site or enclosed area where, for instance permeated sanitation hoses, have left residual odor must first be thoroughly cleaned before using it if you don't want the odor to return.

PureAyre is available from a number of sources including pet supply stores and Amazon. It has an indefinite shelf life, so I recommend you buy a gallon and keep it on hand to use when needed.

--Peggie

Ducatihottie said:

25. DOG! My dog is 100% potty trained. But Popcorns getting old. If needed do you use training pads on the outside of your boat? Any suggestions for boats and my dog, (I know it's a separate topic).
THANKS!

Click to expand...

25. I don't have any advice about dogs. I see a cat in the picture, however. I'll throw this out for consideration, as it really can be done. Our now 10 year-old cat uses only the head on our boat. We have no litter box.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Toilet-T...o+toilet+train+your+cat&qid=1595782103&sr=8-1

While it's really nice to get rid of the smell and hassle of a litter box, one must not lose sight of the fact that it's almost like having another (human) passenger on board, in terms of how fast you fill your holding tank(s).

If you have any inclination to try this, train the cat at home first. The skills will be transferable to the boat.

How does one revive a thread that died? There's a ton more to learn here.