Washing my boat in the marina?

[Cancunia]

After a couple of weeks of the T&M canal, my boat has got fairly dirty, mainly from the mud on the ropes along the roof where the centre rope runs.  I'm now moored up at Sawley and wondered if there's an acceptable washing liquid that I can use?

 

Thanks

[NB Alnwick]

We use ordinary car shampoo from Halfords with a hand mit and then mop it all down with canal water.

[LadyG]

I find it helps to wet the surface before you start.

There is Ecover wash uo liquid which is better than Fairy, aparently, but I think using the least volume of shampoo to be effective is probably the solution.

When using any chemical eg floor cleaner or wash up liquid I try to collect it and put it in a hedgeback where it does least harm..

[Cancunia]

Thanks, for the suggestion. I'll ask at the marina to see if they have any rules, but wondered how others do this so thought I'd ask here too.

 

[Momac]

Why worry about a bit of  detergent from washing a boat ? 

The discharge from peoples sinks and  showers on boats will be much greater in total volume. In any case the detergent will help disperse any oil

I find the following very effective on cars and the boat with not a great deal of the product required . It does need to be rinsed off well.

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2024 by Momac

[Tractor]

Sugar Soap, many products are laden with salt (Fairy), silicone additives will make paint repair difficult.

[Lady M]

It is a bit unclear to me whether you are asking about washing the ropes or the roof of the boat.  Perhaps you mean both as doing one without the other may not give the best result.  I recommend Phil Speight boat wash for the roof (and the rest of the cabin).  I have heard some people put their ropes in the washing machine in a pillowcase.  Or you may find that when the rope is dry you can shake or beat the mud out of it as dust (well away from the boat, obviously).

[Momac]

For ropes I use biological  laundry liquid in a bucket of water . Some scrubbing to get at any green algae helps.

Then the rope stays in soak in the bucket of the solution as long a necessary  eg about a week.

[Tonka]

9 minutes ago, Lady M said:

It is a bit unclear to me whether you are asking about washing the ropes or the roof of the boat.  Perhaps you mean both as doing one without the other may not give the best result.  I recommend Phil Speight boat wash for the roof (and the rest of the cabin).  I have heard some people put their ropes in the washing machine in a pillowcase.  Or you may find that when the rope is dry you can shake or beat the mud out of it as dust (well away from the boat, obviously).

I think you mean Craftmaster Wash. Which is what we use

[Mike Tee]

I've seen people using a Karcher jet wash in our marina - nobody seems to object although it seems a bit antisocial as the muck will be sprayed about a bit.

[Ewan123]

If it's just a bit of mud from a few weeks out on the cut, you really only need water and a sponge. Canal water will do just fine! Even easier if you do it just after some rain that will have soaked in to anything stuck on.

Edited October 31, 2024 by Ewan123

[Tonka]

9 minutes ago, Ewan123 said:

If it's just a bit of mud from a few weeks out on the cut, you really only need water and a sponge. Canal water will do just fine! Even easier if you do it just after some rain that will have soaked in to anything stuck on.

Canal water which has grit, oil & diesel in it should not be used to clean your boat.

[Ewan123]

3 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Canal water which has grit, oil & diesel in it should not be used to clean your boat.

It's not done any visible harm to our boat over the last 4 years 🤷‍♂️

[haggis]

5 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Canal water which has grit, oil & diesel in it should not be used to clean your boat.

Nor should washing up liquid! 

[Hudds Lad]

22 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

I've seen people using a Karcher jet wash in our marina - nobody seems to object although it seems a bit antisocial as the muck will be sprayed about a bit.

Our pontoon neighbour had to have words with the boat the other side of him for doing just that, probably doesn't help that his boat is pale blue with cream coloured pram and cratch covers so it really showed up the overspray  

[Lady M]

Even water can leave unwelcome splash marks on your neighbour's cabinsides.  Best for neighbour relations to take the boat out if you wish to make a mess.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

The part of washing your boat other boaters object to is how fast you go during the spin cycle. 😃

[jonathanA]

Just use a good quality car shampoo. Although I use the craftmaster stuff. 

 

I find canal water leaves dirty streaks when it dries, so use tap water to rinse off. Best thing I have is one of those extending brushes that connects to a hose. 

[GUMPY]

All this talk of washing the boat 😱

I used to use Greased Lightning Showroom Shine Waterless Car Wash and Wax https://amzn.eu/d/cQ5C9xc

Only works on smooth surfaces so can't do the non slip parts of the boat.

However it worked well and saved any argument with the marina about using their water to wash the boat🤔

[junior]

5 hours ago, Cancunia said:

Thanks, for the suggestion. I'll ask at the marina to see if they have any rules, but wondered how others do this so thought I'd ask here too.

 

Always better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

[Tonka]

3 hours ago, junior said:

Always better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

But you can't break the rules if you don't know them