Fiberglas maintenance

[Nemrod]

I was out on a boat today that has a dri-dek type flooring, and the owners agreed that it's a dirt magnet. Still, it has to beat the scars and rust stains from having the tanks on the sole!

Thanks, everybody, for the ideas. And rest assured that no chemicals used on this boat will directly end up in any kind of watershed.

For cleaning the Dri-Dek we tilt the boat up on it's trailer to a reasonable degree on it's front dolly jack and then rinse the interior. I will some times brush the Dri-Dek with my long handle boat brush but we do not spend a lot of time in season cleaning. I some times will lift the Dri-Dek up with my fingers to let trapped debris flsuh out. I also sometimes use a small, not very powerful electric power washer to spray the deck and flush the Dri-Dek of sand etc. I have a large industrial power washer that might punch a hole in the boat, lol, I do not use that one. We have low water pressure where we live, in many areas just a hose with nozzle should be sufficient to flush the Dri-Dek with the trailer tilted up. All the junk just runs out the large deck scuppers on my Whaler. If your boat does not have scuppers then I can see the issue, you might have to do a little hand/towel pick up of debris that collects at the stern as you flush the boat's deck.

Does that boat have scuppers? Is it self bailing, I assume it has a bilge. Neither me nor Chuck really have a bilge to worry over and both of us have drain scuppers I do believe to help rid the deck of water and debris. I can see how having stuff collect down in the bilge would be a problem. Still, I think Dri-Dek is your best option.

It took an afternoon to cut and install the Dri-Dek along with some creative thinking. The Dri-Dek people are super nice on the phone and even sent some extra pieces free. Before ordering look the catalog/website over to see what is offered and what you will need to complete the installation. Boats have plenty of curves etc so the Dri-Dek sometimes, most of the time, has to be snipped in stairstep like patterns.

N

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Actually, my whaler doesn't have scuppers, but it does have a drain hole
at the back of the bilge. Unfortunately, it's a half inch above the bottom
of the bilge so stuff doesn't wash out well. When the boat gets it's annual
cleaning, I tip up the bow a bit, get most of the water out, and the set
a small fan blowing into the bilge (it doubles as the cable tunnel to the
console). When it's good and dry, I use a shop vac to suck the sand out.
Interestingly, even the baddest of Sears shop vacs wont suck up lead shot.

 

[TSandM]

We have scuppers that vent the deck aft, and we have bilge pumps.

I was out on a boat yesterday that had some nice perforated rubber matting that is available from Loewe's. We went and looked at it today, and I think it will serve very nicely. It comes in 3 x 3 sheets and looks fairly simple to cut. The pieces aren't heavy, and I don't think it will be difficult to pick them up to hose the deck off underneath them. We'll see!

 

[Nemrod]

You actually want the flooring to be relatively heavy so that it does not lift up at speed or bounce and flap in rough water. Not familiar with the stuff from Lowes or it's suitability vs Dri-Dek.

Good that the boat has scuppers because that should make your rinsing easier than a boat that drains down through the bilge, good for that.

If you are talking about those interlocking foam squares (Lowes), I have some of those in my shop and put some in the back of my truck (it has a cap on it) and they serve well but I suspect they would be lousy in a boat, JMO.

A not very good pic showing Roll Control rails and Dri-Dek on the sole.

Good luck.
N

 

[TSandM]

No, we already tried the foam squares, and they floated and slid across the deck and were horrible.

This stuff is heavy rubber matting, like what I have in my stall floors, except with holes in it. Judging from Sunday's diving off Scott's boat, the stuff doesn't slide, isn't slippery, and is fairly easy to pick up if you need to access something underneath it.

 

[Nemrod]

OK, good, just did not want you to waste your money. The Dri-Dek is a brand, one of it's features are the little feet that stand the material up from the floor slightly letting most sand and smaller debris to actually wash out without lifting the floor. If the stuff you are looking at has similar features then it should do well and maybe save you some money that you spend on more DIR paraphenalia, lol.

N

 

[spc2001]

Try a cleaning pad called Magic Eraser (small white rectangular), they are sold in any grocery store and they are amazing on gel coat. I got the tip from a professional boat detailer.

Good Luck

 

[Gr8laker]

Try Do It brand fiberglass cleaner from Ace Hardware. For the floor mats go to GREATMATS.com The rubber mats from Lowes will "bleed" they will make a mess. You need a vinyl matt. Greatmats is the best I have found.

 

[SkipperJohn]

I use the drydeck stuff in my cabin. In the winter when I pull it up I am shocked at the stuff on the floor that fell through the holes. Still, it's a great solution.
As far as the glass cleaning, stick to the professional products. The acetone and rubbing compound. Just be careful, this is a deck. You will not be able to wax it. Doing so will make it too slippery. Any sort of abrasive cleaner/polisher will make the deck more prone to dirt and scuffing especially without the wax.
My boat was built in 1983. I have never polished, buffed or waxed my decks. They are fine. When they do get dirty I use a standard cleaner and a stiff brush. Works great even on the non-slip.

Go easy on the outer hull and make sure you wax that at least once a year (because I use my boat almost year-round, she gets the hull waxed only once a year but we put on 3 coats... I compound the hull only once every 3 or 4 years as needed, it's blue and unless it's white you should try not to do that yearly)
Good luck

 

[Tegg]

Bar Keepers Friend.

The boaters friend too...