Now that I finally have a skiff, id like to keep it clean between trips (I can get alittle ocd about fishing). What cleaning, detailing supplies are recommended, hatches, hulls, decks etc.
Thanks
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The one cleaner I have used the most is OrPine boat soap. For wax I found Collinite No. 925 to be my go to.
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Prepping the boat properly will help make clean up easier. So, clean her up really good, put a good coat of wax on her (as @iMacattack suggests above) and use something like Awlgrip AwlCare and Awlgrip AwlWash on the non-skid.
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I use Orpine soap as well. Admittedly I don’t always soap down but always spray everything with a salt off or similar, including running through the engine. I use magic erasers on stubborn stains and woody wax every few months. I have other products but don’t really use them. Boat still looks new but it lives in the garage.
I find an electric pressure washer with a soap canon attachment makes quick work of washing the skiff.
My routine is:
- Rinse everythig with the pressure washer
- Salt off in foam canon mainly aim for metal so all the fittings engine and trailer.
- Soap in foam canon if that’s on the menu. Use a soft brush to brush down.
- Final rinse with a magic eraser in my pocket to hit anything stubborn
- Flush engine with salt off while I put stuff away and dry boat with chamois
I don’t stress about getting the boat super dry and park in garage wirh hatches open and leave garage doors open to help circulate air.
Once in a blue moon Rejex on metal and wax hull…
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I guess im just Old Skool as ive never bought the boat cleaning products, ive always used a lil dawn and Bleach mixed with a couple gallons of water for the entire boat hull and deck, hatches and in in bilge to control mold and keep her smelling pretty ,that’s if you like the clean/disinfectant smell of bleach i love bleach as it kills the germs and bacteria that collects on the boat from handling bait and fish ,cast netting ect….ive read great reviews about Woodys products such as the Deck Wax and wanted to try that some day LOL 
but The Dawn and Bleach remove stains from fishing and the oak trees in yard so never got around to buying any.if you need to remove a rust stain usually on the stern Ospho is the best for rust stains 
a $20 bottle last a long time!I do polish and wax the hull atleast twice a year 
dont over think cleaning spend more time fishing 
your motor will thank you!
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It’s great how quickly our little skiffs clean up! I agree simple is best. Keeping the boat somewhat clean during the outing also helps minimize cleanup when you get home. I keep a towel handy and a small brush that lives in a rod holder to hit any obvious blood or guts that get on the deck. Sometimes I’m ashamed to admit how little I do to keep her clean. But the pressure washer is clutch for this.
If you can swing the cost of having a pro apply a ceramic coating, to me it’s worth it. There are a couple of threads here if you search “DIY ceramic coating” to get tips and products for applying yourself. This allows me to rinse close to the dock at a coin car wash and then at home I use a variety of products from Grios Garage through a pro-level foam cannon and pressure washer at ~1000 psi and a higher gph, which is key as home pressure washers are generally have too much pressure and not enough water flow.
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Rovster hit the nail on the head as I find it really helps to keep the boat clean if you can keep most of the boat Ramp Crude out of the boat from launching! And always wash any slime or blood out of the boat as soon as it happens that slime is also a safety concern as it will make you fall in boat or even overboard!
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Forgot to mention I’m lucky enough to have my brother live down the street and he’s letting me keep the boat in his garage. So that’s huge as well!
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There was a thread a few months back with some good first hand advice:
I’ll also add that I recently used Salt Off for the first time (yes, first time) and was blown away how clean my boat was after. Since I am in Austin, the boat doesn’t sit out in the salty air at the coast. So I always figured just soap and water did enough. Nope, it broke down deposits and salt grime that I thought were just stubborn signs of age and use.
I just ordered the Griots from recommendations above and will give it a try this week. I have some scum lines that need to be removed, and I am giving Starbright Instant Hull Cleaner a try and then going back over with the Griots 3 in 1.
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I wax the deck and cockpit every 5-6 trips or so. That lets me pressure wash without soap. I pressure wash the boat and trailer every trip and use salt away or similar on metal afterwards.
About every 5-6 trips I do wash with dawn and scrub brush. When it is still wet, I apply wax to the deck and cockpit and spread it around with a deck brush. I then use a polish for the hull.
By keeping it waxed and polished, it never holds dirt.
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Lots of cleaning suggestions, I’ll add some corrosion control, get a can of Boeshield T9, spray every electrical connector on your skiff, inside console, the bus bar, the backside of instrument connections, etc, if it’s electrical, spray it. Same under the engine cowl, spray all electrical connections. Do this every 6 months or so. Awesome stuff, keeps the moisture and salt off.
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Salts Gone is having a Cyber Monday sale–30% off. www.saltsgone.com
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Awesome info, thank you all for all the recommendations. Love SkiffHQ
I saw a couple of references to magic erasers here in Rovsters post - they are useful but be very aware that they are abrasive and will dull your gelcoat. Use than sparingly!
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Good point. I do use sparingly only where the stain doesn’t come off with soap and brush and pressure washer. In the theatre of my mind the Woody’s every so often mitigates that somewhat.
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Not strictly for the skiff, but for your trailer. A few people have mentioned salt away - one thing I like to do with it is keep some in a spray bottle so if when I launching at the beginning of the day I can hit my trailer axle with a few sprays (if it gets wet, i mostly dry launch). People always wash the trailer at the end of the day but I feel like the salt sitting on it all day while you’re fishing must be a problem. I also put some corrosionX on it a few times per year.
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Needed this info as I just got a new skiff as well, thx folks!
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