You’re grabbing deck lines not the deck no?
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Yes I am but having a higher coefficient of friction between the swimmer and the boat, in my opinion, aids to the speed of the rescue by maximizing the swimmer’s energy reserves and bolstering their confidence. I think of it sort of like an artificial climbing wall where the wall is made of glass and the only friction available is on the individual climbing holds. Though you are supposed to only need the holds any bit of additional friction helps.
Only my personal opinion and I admit that it leads to my boats not being as pretty as I would like for them to be but generally you can count on them to provide a decent grip.
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Dawn dishwashing soap and a grout sponge. To polish it up, 3M extra cut fine polishing compound.
If it is going to hang out in the sun for a while use 303 or the equivalent. If you apply those a few days before paddling, they won’t wash off at first immersion.
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Ayaah, New Hampshuh fer sure. I had been getting it at my local Ace hardware store for more than a decade. It used to be in the boating gear aisle, but now it’s in the paints section. They had five or six varieties of 303 (it used to be just the one) , but not the original that I had been using. The sales guy said, “They don’t make it anymore, or we’d have it.” Here’s a shot of the old bottle that I had in my garage.
Is it now the same stuff that’s in the large white spray bottle I saw on Amazon?
Various things that work on fiberglass and gel coat to remove difficult stains that the folks on the sailing forum suggest. I have used the magic eraser before.
Lemon juice and let it dry in the sun.
Citric Acid Powder stronger than lemon juice.
Soft soap and magic eraser.
Last resort
Muriatic Acid fortified with Dawn.
Or Oxalic acid mix lightly and increase if needed
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Thanks for that info., willowleaf. I’ll check it out.
For the hull, not the deck, I tend to use Star Brite or West Marine Instant Hull Cleaner. Easy to use and quickly removes stubborn scum lines, leave stains, and rust stains. Spray or wipe it on, let it sit for a couple of minutes, and hose it off. Contains oxalic acid. Not too acidic, but gloves recommended.
For the deck, my Kevlar boat is 22 years old and gets a lot of sun, so I use a fiberglass restorer once or twice a year. Finish up with 303 for whole boat. A good marine wax would work, but is a little more work.
I take the view that it is a boat, not a fine piece of furniture and I spend a fair amount of time on the water. So I don’t spend a lot of time cleaning and polishing it.
Yes my advice is for a white hull. Don’t know how it would work on colored gelcoat. The two acids are for what Star Bright can’t handle. This advice on that forum came after someone couldn’t get Star Bright to do the job.
After a while the water spots (calcium deposits) build up on mine, had to use vinegar to dissolve it.
There is a common theme here, and that is acids work on the tuff stuff. Vinegar and lemon juice are both acids.
Does it work? So far I’ve had little luck removing the water spots from my Prana. Maybe I should use undiluted vinegar?
Undiluted vinegar. You’ll need to clean off any wax first as it protects the calcium. If the spots are bad, soak a towel with vinegar and leave it on the boat for a few minutes.
Vinegar is cheaper than lemon juice. I’ve not used Zud or muriatic acid but they might be cheaper still.
For mineral deposits citric acid is probably a better choice. It is a chelating agent in addition to being an acid and can be used as a wate softener. Some coffee machine descaling products work pretty weill, too.
oil or grease - use Dawn
ground in dirt or other insoluble stains - first try a strong detergent like laundry detergent and a brush. If that doesn’t work move on a mild abrasive.
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Very strong. VERY!
Looks like it’s probably one of the products based on phosphoric acid. Naval jelly is similar but in gel form.
Want to try using a very dilute phosphoric acid solution? Use Coca-Cola.
They use coke in museums but they can wait years.
Star Brite and West Marine Hull Cleaners both use oxalic acid. Although many sites claim these hull cleaners do not contain harsh acids, they are comparing them to products that contain concentrated hydrochloric or phosphoric acids.
My ex who owned a car repair shop and also restored vintage BMW bikes and cars used to throw gunked up and corroded parts in a bucket of coke for a few days which made them easier to clean. One of his workers submerged a dead rat they found behind the dumpster in a batch that had become too greasy to continue to use and the corpse dissolved in a week.
And people wonder why their teeth rot (I detest soda and have never drunk it anyway.) My dentist said coke and other “soft” drinks that contain phosphoric acid to produce that “tang” mouth feel are what put his kids through college. That “refreshing tang” is the swan song of your dental enamel.
Coke is not that strong to dissolve a rat in a month. It doesn’t even remove light rust after weeks even if you refresh the coke every few days.
wasn’t there to verify the tale (and who knows what else was in that nasty vat.) But the “rodent dissolution” has been an oddly persistent rumor: