Boat bottoms?

[JeffW 14]

Every Fall I clean boat bottoms at a local marina.Bottoms only,nothing else.I clean the green algae off the bottom of boats that have sit in the water all Summer.Most are blocked up but a few are on trailers.I charge $4.00 a foot with a $100.00 minimum.Takes one hour or less and and my expenses are minimal.I buy my cleaner at a local chemical dealer in bulk and I live only one mile from marina.Good extra money,if there is such a thing as extra money.Just wondering if anyone else was doing any of this and what they are charging.Thank you for any responses.

[CLASSICPW 14]

I tell ya, almost 4 yrs ago when I started this business my primary target was decks and boats, even my first flyer had a big pic of a Grady White and a deck. I never sent that flyer and I never followed up on the whole boat thing. When I advertised for decks I blew up on the whole deck restore and siding wash thing, I forgot all about boats. It makes me wonder if I'm missing out. I know for a fact that nobody in my area advertises on boat washes and I live about 5 miles from the Chesapeake bay. There must be an easy 100,000 boats in a 50 mile vicinity from me. Even my family lives on the water and they have boats. What kind of business do you get off boats and piers? I'd love to know what I'm missing out on. I was going to charge $2 per lin ft boat bottom wash and offer full boat details including subbing out a cleaning biz for interiors........do you offer this?

[tropical wave 22]

Jeff, Im not doing this but I think I should...there are sooooo many boats in and around the Chicago lakefront.....they all get pulled before winter and go into storage.....Im sure the storage yards provide this service before winterizing the boats....I still think I need to look into this....what type chems are you using? and is there anything else you'd like to pass along that may help some of us that may explore this area.......

see what happens, you ask a question and get no answers but a boat load (no-pun intended) of questions back at you......:cool:

[JeffW 14]

ClassicPW and Tropical Wave , the boats I do are boats that are coming out of the water to be put into storage.Don't do piers but I can see work in that if it was pursued,especially any that might have heavy build-up of any kind that may pose a slipping hazard.I do not offer interior or full detail,although there is alot of business in that work, but it is alot of work.For me boats are kind of a sideline to what I do now and I'm trying to keep it simple and fast.I mostly do residential houses,decks,concrete etc..I 'm not familiar with your area but I would think that you should be able to get more than $2.00 a foot.The people who own these $30,000 and up boats are usually willing to pay what it's worth to keep them in good shape,and most of them surely don't wanna do it themselves.I would think the algae is mostly the same type everywhere but I am not positive of this.But the two cleaners I use are oxalic acid for the green algae and Super Purple for the water line.Super Purple is just a general type cleaner/degreaser.I'll briefly explain how I do it:When I get there the firest thing I do is spray the bottom of the boat with oxalic acid,be sure and get total coverage because if you don't it will show and you'll have to respray anyhow so it's just easier to get it right the first time.And then while it's doing its thing I am getting set up to blast it off.I use the trigger handle only,this allows me to lay on my back and strip the algae off very fast,rather than trying to manipulate the whole wand under there.And you need to have the spray pattern hitting the surface squarely.The best analogy I can think of is stripping a deck.Gel coat is very tough and unless there is a visible problem you are not going to hurt it.I use a 25 degree nozzle,but any degree fan pattern will work.Oxalic acid will make the bottom super clean.Then I use the Super Purple to remove the water line.When set up properly and the proper method used this is very fast.I wear a wet suit when it begins to get cold because I lay on the ground and 45 degrees is cold if your wet.It is a great way to end the Summer season.I hope I was able to answer your questions and thanks for responding.If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

[JeffW 14]

Also,if you can buy the oxalic acid in bulk.There are cleaners on the market that are made for bottom cleaning but there effective ingredient is oxalic acid.I buy mine in 55 lb. bag for around $50.00 from a local chemical supplier.But I have seen it on the internet for sale in bulk also.Not sure what the shipping would be.But I do know this stuff sells for around $22.00 dollars a pound when you buy it from a company that sells it as "boat bottom cleaner".So the shipping would still be more cost effective anyhow.Mix (1) lb. granular to (5) gal. hot water.It does not lose its effectiveness when sitting.I did a couple of boats this past Spring and I used the stuff I had mixed up last Fall and it worked the same as freshly mixed.......... Super Purple mixed 50/50.Thanks!

[tropical wave 22]

Thanks Jeff......where do you advertise this at? flyers at marinas etc? Im surprised theres no chlorine involved for all that algae......??

thanks for the answers.. :)

[JeffW 14]

I don't really advertise this myself,but the place where I do the boats lets people know the service is available to them and they don't offer it themselves so they refer all their bottom cleaning to me,it works out really well because after they winterize the boats they set them out for me to clean.The best thing you can do is do a great job for the customers and the rest will fall into place.I do more and more every year as word spreads.The first job I did was for a house wash customer and it just grew from there.But yes,if I were going to advertise I would talk to any local marinas or storage sheds about offering this service to their customers.I would say if they're not already having it done you would stand a good chance at it.As for chlorine,you would think this would work but it will not get it clean the way oxalic does.Not even close.Like I said though you might have a different type of algae so it might be worth a try,all it can do is fail.I tried it when I first started because it seemed like the thing to do but it did'nt work.Oxalic in bulk, is just as cheap anyhow and does'nt smell as bad.

[Big Bill 14]

Do these boats have bottom paint on them? I have washed a few boats over the years, some with bottom paint, some not. I never used oxalic, but I could see how it would really brighten a boat bottom. With expenses rapidly rising in this business, seems like you could raise the price you charge to about $5.00 a foot. I hope you wear good body & face protection when using oxalic, the long term effects are not good.

[CLASSICPW 14]

Hey Jeff thanks alot for the info, but I have one question. Alot of boats in my area have a major problem with barnicles. Is there a detergent that can remove them and not leave ghosts?

[JeffW 14]

Big Bill....ClassicPW,The boats I clean do not have bottom paint.I'm comfortable with the price I'm charging.I probably could charge more but I have alot of loyal customers and I don't waant to raise the price just because I can,maybe down the road I'll have to ,but till then....Yes,I do wear protection.The boats I clean do not have barnicles.I can only tell you to experiment.A rotating nozzle would be very effective if the surface will take it.I would probably try oxalic first.In this case maybe bleach would be effective,especially to help the ghost images disappear.I'm sure you'll figure it out.I personally like a challenge here and there.It wouldn't be any fun doing a job that just any Joe Blow off the street could do.Search around a little and see if anyone else is doing this.It sounds to me like it's well worth pursuing,especially if you figure out a fast economical way to do it.Doing boat bottoms seems like a pain at first but once you figure out a way to do it effectively you'll be able to go into attack mode.If possible schedule any jobs you have on a Saturday.Especially when getting started because this is when there are customers usually hanging around the marina or storage yard or whatever.When people see you doing this it usually leads to more work.I hope this helps and feel free to ask questions any time you like.Good luck!

[tunatussle 14]

Are the boats being kept in salt or fresh water? I charge about $8to $10/ft, but have to remove barnacles, terreta worms, scum lines, and built up grass. They all have bottom paint either hard or soft. Most come out in Oct/Nov and it usually at their home yard either on trailer or blocked.

[JeffW 14]

Fresh water. Raystown Lake ,Hesston,Pa ,My hometown!! I turn away any boat with bottom paint.

[CLASSICPW 14]

Every boat in my area has bottom paint and tons of barnicles.

[JeffW 14]

Do one and see what happens.I do know that bottom paint does'nt clean up as easy as gel coat,not for me anyhow.That's why I don't do them.A rotating nozzle would be best bet for barnicles but the bottom paint will probably not take it.Experiment a little.I am not sure of the theory behind bottom paint but I think it's to protect the gel coat for a couple of years and then it is redone, just something I heard once.Maybe someone could enlighten me.I did a couple of boats with bottom paint years ago and what I remember most is big sheets of this stuff coming off.Do a little research and find out what the customers expect when the job is completed.Maybe with a barnicle problem this would keep them from attaching to the gel coat and then when the boat is cleaned , you're actually just removing paint and the barnicles come off with the paint.

[JeffW 14]

ClassicPW,from the remarks made by "tunatussle" you should definetly pursue this.Not sure about the amount of work with barnicles but $8-$10 dollars a foot sounds good to me,especially if you get a fast routine going.30 foot boat @$10.00 ft. $300.00.I don't do banicles, but three hours on a boat this size would seem reasonable.I would jump all over this if I were you.Good luck,and let me know how you make out if you do give it a shot.When do the boats down there begin to come out?

[RyanH 14]

I cleaned a few boats in my youth (grew up around Charleston, SC). We just used garden hoes (not hose and not "ho"s) and wire brushes. Repainted with a marine paint, but I'm thinking it was lead based back then. I didn't even know what a pressure washer was then. Damn it stunk!

[JeffW 14]

Ryan ,Don't know what you got paid but it sounds like you earned it, and then some!

[RyanH 14]

Ryan ,Don't know what you got paid but it sounds like you earned it, and then some!

It was between the ages of 4 and 8, so I was pretty much getting paid in Snickers and pizza! My granddad owns a place on a river and we would go there as often as I could as a kid. My favorite memories are of that place. He had a little wooden boat he built and we would pull it out every season to clean the barnacles off it. If I did a good job he let me ride the motor scooter around the yard and down the road ( a Honda trail bike, 70 cc, 1972 model I believe). I'd love to have that same scooter now.

Its amazing the things you recall when you stop to remember them. That was before the internet and computers in every home and those were the best years of my life.

[JeffW 14]

I hear ya' man,I'm definetly guilty of living in the past,.......and mostly what I regret is not taking more pictures or video.Memories are great, but the pictures and the video I do have are precious reminders also.By the way my cousin has the same type of motobike,the curved handle bars and all.Funny thing is , when you're young you don't realize that you're in the best years of your life, you're to busy building the memories that you will be looking at when you're older.