Washing boat without fresh water?

[Davidhoy]

I recently moved from a marina to a mooring, and all my fresh water is now made by my water maker, and a precious commodity. Previously, at the dock, I could wash the boat and hose it off with fresh water from the dock hose - now that's not an option. Any recommendations on boat soaps and things to watch out for when using salt water to rinse? Other than just waiting for a passing rain shower, that is... ;-)

Regards,
David

[toddster8]

Wash-down hose at the pump-out dock?

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by toddster8

Wash-down hose at the pump-out dock?

I have an ElectroScan type I MSD, no need to go pump out.

[nightowle]

Would an actual pump out be required to use the hose at that dock? It would seem if no one else is waiting to pump out it would be a reasonable solution. Are there any boatyards near you that have a dock that doesn't necessitate a haul out? Perhaps you can pay them a nominal fee to use their hose.

[Tomodore]

We don't tie to a dock for months at a time. Our wash down pump is plumbed with two hose bibs at the bow. One for water out and one for water in. To get a fresh water wash we fill buckets at the dock in the dinghy and put the in hose in a bucket and voila fresh water rinse. I put a splash of simple green in the buckets and soapy wash PRESTO. Also a portable bilge pump.
Not my original idea just benefiting from the creativity of others

[thomm225]

Every time I leave an anchorage I rinse off the greasy mud on the deck from the anchor as I am sailing away.

I use my bucket with line attached and drop it into the water (salt water) and give the deck a nice rinse down for as many bucket fulls as it takes. Boat is on autopilot and I'm on the bow......

I think it's been done this way for 100's of years.

Just sayin'

[goboatingnow]

My own view is that salt water rinse on grp just leaves the boat encrusted with salt. Ok for an occasional cleanup but not great

Ultimately you are going to have to fresh water clean her.

If you have a water maker surely the issue is just refill time.

[Simi 60]

Salt water wash down is great, every time it rains or we get heavy dew I hose that evil stuff off with salt water.

[Joli]

We make enough fresh water to wash the boat regularly and the anchor chain upon each retrieval. We're in the Caribbean during winter months and the warm water, sun and salt is so corrosive it's really necessary to keep the boat and chain from becoming a rusty mess.

[zstine]

We keep a bucket tied under the corner of the bimini to catch rain water for the specific purpose of having some fresh water to wash. Even without any hose or gutter, the 2 gal bucket fills quickly in a downpour. So if you don't want to go into the dock, I'd recommend some quick/easy water catchment.

[hlev00]

We are in New England and during summers there seems to be enough rain that for the most part that is enough. However when we were in the Bahamas and saw much less rain and we had to pay for water we deferred freshwater washdowns, I was surprised by how much rust started appearing. It also didn't help that we did have some salt spray when sailing outside.

When the deck (especially the gelcoat pattern nonskid) gets dirty we use salt water and some generic "boat soap" from West Marine that is supposed to help. Mostly it is the stiffer plastic brushes are needed anyway so I'm not sure if the soap is really doing much.

After one of these washes, or anytime after a salty sail, I use a combination of a sponge with a bucket of fresh water and a spray bottle with fresh water. I go over all the stainless and try to remember to get the metal snaps and any zipper pulls we haven't been able to change to plastic. I give the boom and the mast as high up as I can get from the deck a wipe down too. For the sprayer I just use a hand pump bottle but I may upgrade to a small pressurized garden sprayer. It will increase my water consumption a bit but not too much and be more effective.

I also use the sponge and sprayer to get the salt off the hull where we pull the dinghy alongside to hoist to avoid the salt crystals from rubbing into the gelcoat. It may be just a good saltwater soak immediately before hoisting would do as much as long as there aren't dried crystals.

Harry

[Stewie12]

Keep a basin of fresh water at the entry to the cabin to keep the salt out of the interior. Salt on carpets etc will stay damp.

[guyrj33]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

I recently moved from a marina to a mooring, and all my fresh water is now made by my water maker, and a precious commodity. Previously, at the dock, I could wash the boat and hose it off with fresh water from the dock hose - now that's not an option. Any recommendations on boat soaps and things to watch out for when using salt water to rinse? Other than just waiting for a passing rain shower, that is... ;-)

Regards,
David

We use Joy dishwashing soap for saltwater “Joy baths” for the boat. Joy makes suds in saltwater.

[SteveSadler]

Fresh water is a luxury, not a necessity. On Maui we live and charter from a mooring.
We pick up passengers and supplies by beaching, and see a dock only when we need fuel and water. After a charter we wash the salt, sand, and dirt off with buckets of the ocean.
A dedicated boat towel them wipes off any residue on seats, rails, etc. Squeegees do all the windows, and our boat is ready for the next charter.

[Kd9truck]

I have 160 gallons of holding capability, my vessel is on mooring for the sailing season , I use the fresh water any time I can. It helps cycle the fresh water, we have two fresh water heads as well, Hot showers are a usual occurrence . My feeling is keep the fresh water moving and you don’t have to treat it. I pull up to my marinas dock every 3 weeks