February is time to come back to your boat and assess what you need to do to get her back to a season-worthy state after a battering of winter weather.
Jobs for February:
- River boats do suffer a lot with green algae, interior black mould and, depending on where you’re moored, staining from fallen leaves. Now is the time to check inside and out including your canopy and making a list of cleaning jobs and the materials and tools needed to do the jobs. Even if you don’t start right away you can be ready for a gap in the weather or a weekend
- Your hull and superstructure are best compounded and polished every few years to bring back a glossy shine, a bit like T-cutting a car
- For the best hull finish, the boat needs to be out of the water, so (due to the cost of craning) its a great idea to combine this with other maintenance work, like antifouling, checking your running gear or servicing your stern drive. Your topsides or superstructure are best done in the water as it's not so dangerous if you fall (do wear a lifejacket). There are some very good all in one compound and polishing products that make the job a lot quicker such as 3M cutting polish & wax in light or medium which produces good results and is a favorite with our cleaning team. If it needs a deeper compound then the Farecla range is best covering all grades of cutting followed up with a good wax and polishing. Boats don’t need to be compounded every year otherwise you could end up eventually cutting through all the gelcoat. Do be very careful with black or blue gelcoat as the coloured gelcoat is often wafer thin with white underneath – too much cutting and the white can start to show through.
- If this is a wash-only year, use a decent product such as Ensearch all over boat cleaner, and for the worst areas Formula One cleaning product. If you have time to wax afterwards that will feed the gelcoat and help prevent it developing a chalky surface.
- Canopies suffer a lot in winter months but they can be removed and serviced – a full restitch, new windows and a good clean will get it looking like new
- Check wear on ropes and fenders. Replace if needed or give them all a good wash and scrub, ready for the season .