Re: Leaving boat in a slip
Seeing where you?re from, I?ll assume you have the boat in fresh water (lake or non-tidal river), the reply would be different if you were in salt water (more along the path of what Paul was recommending). I have had my boat in a fresh water slip from last August to November, and April until now. This pertains to fiberglass hulls (since I'm not sure which boat you are referring to). My previous boat was painted aluminum and waxing that hull was appropriate. I?ll share what I learned in this short period of time:
My marina owner really educated me on hull upkeep. Most of the stain that occurs on the hull below the water line is algae. The conversation stared with me asking him what wax he recommended to keep the hull looking new as long as possible and give the best protection (my boat is a year old this month). He responded with ?DON?T WAX THE HULL BELOW THE WATER LINE!??.. that response really surprised me (it was confirmed by my boat dealer as well)! It seems that although algae like to hitch up to boat hulls, they tend to stay on the surface of the gelcoat. Wax gives them a path to get under the gelcoat somehow. This makes it harder or impossible to remove and can leave permanent stains on the hull. He said just leave the boat in for the season (unless the build up affects performance too much), he?ll clean the hull when it?s time to winterize and it will look as good as new again?. He was right, it was! He also stated as long as the boat is in the water, the algae doesn?t go deep into the gelcoat. However, if the boat is out of the water too long without having the algae removed (especially a full season, which I can?t imagine someone doing? but apparently some do), it can leave a stain as well. Marinas around here spray a muriatic acid solution on the hull (keeping it wet with the solution while it works) then use a pressure washer (being very careful by decals!). I have seen this done on some YouTube postings. I?ve had the hull cleaned this way twice and have seen no ill effects from the cleaning method and it does still look new. As you might have guessed, I?m really glad I asked the question before I ventured out on my own wondering why the more I waxed my hull the more it got stained!
This may apply to your location too. You may want to have a similar conversation with your marina (if they service boats too) Hope this helps!
