Bottom wash. Worth it?

[kaynee30]

The hauler charges an added $70 for a powerwash on haulout. My instinct is to scrub it myself (cheap). Might I regret that? First time hauling any boat out.
Jeff

[Tim]

Forget the power wash. You can scrub it yourself easily--I always do (and just did this morning, as a matter of fact). Use a stiff brush, and have a hose to keep the bottom nice and wet while scrubbing, and to rinse the gunk off. The slime and such will come off easily with a brush, and the bottom will be all set for a new coat of paint in the spring (no sanding or further prep needed).

Don't dawdle. The gunk comes off easiest if you get to it immediately after the boat comes home. Left for a day or two, it becomes significantly more tenacious.

It's surprisingly tough on the shoulders come the next morning, but better than spending $70 anyday.

[Figment]

Figment hauled yesterday. The club's 3000psi powerwasher made short work of the slime, taking much of the (ablative, for this very reason) bottom paint with it. As a club member, the use of this powerwasher was free, and so a no-brainer. Still, I'm on the edge of disagreeing with you, Tim... I think it might be worth the $70 to me.

IF:
1. Growth on the bottom has advanced beyond the "just slime" stage.
2. The powerwasher (the machine and the operator) take the time to get the paint off with the growth, saving much springtime sanding labor.

I was one of the cleaner bottoms hauled yesterday. A few of the boats came out with heavily bearded keels, and those guys would surely have paid double that fee to have that gunk removed.

[Tim]

A little bleach sprayed on the bottom with a garden sprayer works wonders if the growth has progressed past the slime stage.

Still, it's a less than fun job, no matter what. I'm not cheap, but I don't like paying for jobs that I can do myself at the cost of only time. The way my boat is hauled, on a trailer at the town landing, I have no choice anyway.

[kaynee30]

I had the bottom clean in two hours...one for the brunt and one for the detail stuff under the stand pads (which included time to level the boat and put the stands on blocks). Used a running hose and a brush, then wiped with a towel. I think it's a better job than a power wash does, judgin' by what I see at the boatyard.
The slime just sloughed right off. Total of three barnacles which I lifted off with my fingernail. Put $70 in my pocket. Got a little exercise, but no strain .
Jeff