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Polishing & Waxing bottom of hull


Lieutenant Dan

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I don't have the ability to raise the boat off of the trailer nor do I feel like risking taking it off the trailer and putting it on blocks. Therefore, I need to keep the boat on the trailer while I crawl under it to polish and wax the underside of the hull. I was able to do the forward third or so okay, but there just isn't enough room under the aft portion for me to get under there with a polisher and get the job done. I am thinking that I need to somehow raise the whole rig, trailer and boat, off of the driveway some in order to have the vertical room I need.

How should I do this? Jack stands? Pull the trailer up on ramps?

Anyone else do this or is there some other way to get this done?

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I don't have the ability to raise the boat off of the trailer nor do I feel like risking taking it off the trailer and putting it on blocks. Therefore, I need to keep the boat on the trailer while I crawl under it to polish and wax the underside of the hull. I was able to do the forward third or so okay, but there just isn't enough room under the aft portion for me to get under there with a polisher and get the job done. I am thinking that I need to somehow raise the whole rig, trailer and boat, off of the driveway some in order to have the vertical room I need.

How should I do this? Jack stands? Pull the trailer up on ramps?

Anyone else do this or is there some other way to get this done?

Just curious why you would want to? I'm about as neat and perfect as they come, and although I did polish the front of my boat under the water line, past the gorilla fins under the water line I usually just wash.

Any specific reason why you want to polish that area? Does it sit in water? Sun never gets under there to discolor the hull.

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Just curious why you would want to? I'm about as neat and perfect as they come, and although I did polish the front of my boat under the water line, past the gorilla fins under the water line I usually just wash.

Any specific reason why you want to polish that area? Does it sit in water? Sun never gets under there to discolor the hull.

Although the boat doesn't typically stay in the water, we do make a number of long weekend / week long trip to Norris Lake in TN where the boat does stay in the water. For whatever reason, I do get a build-up of some pretty hard stuff under there that just washing doesn't remove. I was able to get it off this fall using some muriatic acid (not a fun job) and I want to make sure that the stuff doesn't grow back on there easily. I did the forward part of the boat last fall and nothing has stuck there.

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My understanding is that you shouldn't wax the hull below the waterline. There use to be a discussion about this ... I'll see if I can find it. It has something to do with drag!

/Steve

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A hull sanded with 400 grit paper lengthwise will actually run faster in the water since the grooves causes small air bubbles to from in the lengthwise grooves in the hull. This reduces the amount of contact with the water the boat is running in. It's a trick the sailboat and go fast guys use.

I don't care if it gives me 5 mph....I wax every inch of my boat including the bottom twice a year. I'm a lot more worried about it looking great and lasting for the long run. Wax protects the surface it is applied to and helps seal it from contaminants including water. A smooth hull and a waxed hull aren't going to be much different as far as speed goes since water is coherent. A non-waxed hull will get grimy faster and can potentially be subject to water intrusion known as osmotic blistering which is bad news.

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I wax mine at least 3-5 times a year, I'm tired of the acid cleaning I did on my IO, this is much easier and better on the lungs.

i can see the rear axle is up on floor jacks but how do you get the front on the ramps without dragging the prop protector?

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When you pull the boat up the ramps, the front of the boat (hitch hooked to the truck), stays at the same level. Pulling up the ramp raises the center of the boat and the back of the boat at the same time.

This doesn't lower the back of the boat the way the back of a car lowers if you drive the front wheels onto ramps.

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My understanding is that you shouldn't wax the hull below the waterline. There use to be a discussion about this ... I'll see if I can find it. It has something to do with drag!

/Steve

At the speeds we operate at with the amount of horsepower we have available versus the tiny amount of drag a waxed hull may (or may not) add, it's a non issue. You'll never know the difference.

Ed

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At the speeds we operate at with the amount of horsepower we have available versus the tiny amount of drag a waxed hull may (or may not) add, it's a non issue. You'll never know the difference.

Ed

Yep. Keep her waxed. Cleaning is so much easier. I always have used my skin-diving gear and a soft brush to clean up the bottom prior to pulling our boat out of the water at the end of the season. Everything comes off with minimal effort, and we've never had a water line on any of our boats. Granted, much of the credit for that goes to the pristine Ontario waters. I wouldn't want to use the mask and snorkel in just any body of water, either. There are definitely some places where I wouldn't mind being on top of the water so much, but spending any time in it? Blecch!

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I wax mine at least 3-5 times a year, I'm tired of the acid cleaning I did on my IO, this is much easier and better on the lungs.

Are your ramps rated for the load? Got one of those if it don't look right it probably isn't kinda feelings... again it may all be ok just a feeling.

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i can see the rear axle is up on floor jacks but how do you get the front on the ramps without dragging the prop protector?

I pull the trailer up on the ramps, then I use the floor jack to lift the rear axle (one side at a time) then put a jack stand under each side to release some pressure from the front axle, just being safe, so I can go boating the next weekend.

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Are your ramps rated for the load? Got one of those if it don't look right it probably isn't kinda feelings... again it may all be ok just a feeling.

Great observation G-Mack, be careful crew, check rating on ramps before use but such a precious load on them, my ramps are rated for 6,500 lbs each, since by rig weights less than 5,000 I'm golden. :blush:

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Thanks all for the helpful suggestions. I used the ramps and was able to get under her much easier. All waxed up and ready for spring...

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Yeah, We've got some heavy duty welding tables in our shop area that I put under each end. I didn't set the boat on them, just put them there just in case. They could have easily taken a boat falling on them and not even budged, they're really beefy.

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I also do some computer work for a local dealer, and they let me use their lifts, maybe you guys can work out a deal with your local dealer. Also get your son and his gal to help out, they like to board, they also don't mind working. I have it made! :yahoo::rofl:

post-14888-065535800 1321316953_thumb.jp

Edited by Malibu_Mike
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I also do some computer work for a local dealer, and they let me use their lifts, maybe you guys can work out a deal with your local dealer. Also get your son and his gal to help out, they like to board, they also don't mind working. I have it made! :yahoo::rofl:

Looks like this one!

post-5478-030096200 1321322624_thumb.jpg

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I also do some computer work for a local dealer, and they let me use their lifts, maybe you guys can work out a deal with your local dealer. Also get your son and his gal to help out, they like to board, they also don't mind working. I have it made! :yahoo::rofl:

Looks like this one!

You guys really need to make a safety device that will support the bottom of that boat if the straps or hooks fail. There is no way I would get under that. It wouldn't take that much to make.

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You guys really need to make a safety device that will support the bottom of that boat if the straps or hooks fail. There is no way I would get under that. It wouldn't take that much to make.

Don't worry! I wasn't under it at all. If you look at the slings on that hoist they are rated for one heck of a lot more than required. It hung there for a few hours waiting for my trailer bunks to get fixed. Kind of a strange feeling watching your boat swing in the air. :thumbup:

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