Lifting boat for hull polishing

[dorchard]

Hi All,<br /><br />I have scoured the internet to no avail on this one!<br /><br />I want to polish/wax the bottom of my 17'6" bass boat, and I need to know how to lift or otherwise access the areas of the hull that are in contact with the supporting pads on the trailer.<br /><br />I would imagine that people have done this many times, but I have no idea how to safely and reliably work on these areas.<br /><br />Any input would be appreciated.<br /><br />--Dan

 

[Mark42]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

Place a scizzor jack between the boat and the trailer frame to jack up one corner at a time. This should give you the space you need to work between the bunk and boat, or let jack hold up corner and remove bunk for more access.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

dorchard, What Mark42 says will work, however, place a block of wood between the jack and the hull to spread out the load, and keep the jack from making a hole in the hull.<br /><br />Now for the tough news. Any wax you place on the bottom of the boat will wash off very quickly, in an hour or so. Now why do you want to wax/polish the bottom of the boat?

 

[dorchard]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

What I really want to do is remove the oxidation on the hull with a marine polish, and as I understand, I will need to wax to protect it.<br /><br />Is this necessary? Any suggestions?<br /><br />Thanx,<br /><br />Dan

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

dorchard, Oxidation will not come with a polish. You will need to use a rubbing compound, or if the oxidation is very light, polishing compound. If you go this route, do some research on what sealer "stuff" is appropriate for you use. I still think that the water will wash off most waxes, polishes, and sealers in short order.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

dorchard,<br /><br />When I polished the gel coat on my boat the oxidation was very heavy and easily removed with plain Comet cleanser and a coarse Scotch Brite pad. I just wet the boat, sprinkled on the Comet heavily and started scrubbing. It worked really well to remove the loose oxidization and lots of stains and discoloration too. It left a dull satin finish that polished up very nice with a power polisher.<br /><br />How old is the boat and how badly oxidized is the finish?

 

[dorchard]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

My boat is an '84 Astroglass bass boat. The oxidation is not horrendous, but it doesn't shine like I would like it to, and I think I might be losing some speed potential, too.<br /><br />I'll try and find the digital camera to take some pics.<br /><br />--Dan

 

[bounder4465]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

Z

 

[tr918]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

Bounder, That is great. I have a trailer I want to rebuild and I wanted to know how to get the boat off of the trailer. Thanks

 

[saxis]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

You could recruit your local high school football team for a small donation to come and lift the boat off. We've used this technique to move large freezers when we remodeled our store. This is probably what I'll do when I get ready to repaint my hull...

 

[Cayo Boater]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

Regarding using with Comet cleanser and a coarse Scotch Brite pad, I was wondering: wouldn't that scratch the gelcoat finish? Thanks for your help.

 

[brownies]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

As bad as I hate to say this...The part that won't be oxidized is the part that has been rubbing the bunks.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

And I always thought that Waxing the Bottom of a Hot Rod Boat,.........<br />Slowed it Down,....... Due to the Surface Film Adhesion.......<br /><br />The Racers I know,...... Sand the Bottoms.......

 

[Always Broke]

Re: Lifting boat for hull polishing

Bondo is right a lot of boat builders make their hulls with some type of protrusions on them so it will make bubbles along the bottom while under way to avoid the kind of adhesion he’s talking about. As far as lifting the boat goes I’ve lifted a few in this manner if they were outboards they tend to have stronger transoms and less center weight then an I/O. Get a few jack stands and 2x4’s, lower the jack in front of the trailer as far as you can, with the jack stands right under the corner of the transom put the jack stands as high as you can get them with the 2x4’s on top of them running lengthwise of the boat. Jack the front of the trailer back up and it will hold the front up and the jack stands will hold the back up. Make sure you give your winch a little slack on the front eye then lock it again.