Hi all,
I have a question or two about canoe clean up. I will be putting my canoe in at my mooring slip come Monday the 4th of April. Post season I like to use a solution of chlorine bleach to kill any life forms that are in or on the hull however my boat is stored outside, covered, for the winter so I was thinking that cleanup prior to putting it on the water for the first time should just be dawn dishwashing liquid. Is there anyting else I should do to it or is that alright?
Also I would like to wax the hull and buff it. I have some really high grade car wax and a good buffer that will burnish if that is what I want. What type of wax should I use and should i burnish the hull. Oh yeah the hull is a ploly plastic hull.
Hiya Eric !
After sitting dry all winter, dawn should be all that’s necessary. Most high quality car waxes are silicone and/or carnauba wax. When I was into hotrods, I always used 100% carnauba, as that’s what the “purists” said to use, but I’ve since learned most high end car waxes are pretty near just as good. If that’s what you have, it should be fine. It will help keep algea and gunk from adhering to your hull. Buffing to a nice shine should be as far as you need to go. I can’t see any need for burnishing, though there may be some out in FAOL who know more than I do. Waxing it will make your canoe slipperier, and easier to slide through the water, probably faster too, though you might not be able to tell, or even care…
either way your canoe will benefit from it, and taking care of yer stuff makes it last longer and look way cooler, which is pretty important too… Who don’t get jealous of a nice shiny canoe? …nobody, that’s who…Haha…Dan
Thanks Dan. I have some McGuires Tech Wax that is really great on the cars. Deep shine and super smooth. I think I will give it a try. Big thing i woory about is the exposure to uv at the lake as the mooring slip is really just a rail along the lake shore so the canoe is belly up chained to the rail when not in use. So far it doesn’t show any fading but you know how damaging uv is over years of expsure. Using a cover at the lake side slip is out of the question. While there aren’t many issues with stuff disappearing there that would probably walk off on it’s own if you get my drift.
I know the Mcguires has a good uv blocker in it but i wanted to see what else you guys or gals use on your gear. I appreciate the input. Taking care of water craft pays off big time come trade in time too.
I am also considering a Keel guard or are those just a waste of money? I am good enough with resins and glass that i can do reasonable bodey work so I could probably lay one on myself. I just thought one of the factory jobs might look neater and be a little easier to put on.
Plastic boats most often die of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. If you leave it in the sun long enough the UV protection in the plastic will give out and the boat will oxidize and become brittle. So wax is nice because it makes the boat slippery and shiny. But wax with lots of extra UV blockers is nicer still. The usual recommendation is to go to a boat yard and get a good marine wax. Or if you are lazy get some 303. It goes on very fast (spray on with no buffing) but then also washes off fairly fast (darn).
Happen to peak in at the responses you’ve gotten on cleaning the canoe. Looks like you are getting some awfully good advice on the wax thing. I noticed you mention dish washing soap. As an old car guy, (hate to admit the old part) I could advise to use any “car wash” liquid soap. Our dish washing soaps are not as soft and friendly as the marketers would lead us to believe. Dish washing soaps tend to be a bit an the acidic or alkaline side and left on a painted surface can actually cause a few potential problems. They kind of have a tendency to spot. Most car wash soaps are very PH neutral and are pretty friendly to those shiny surfaces we like so much. Hope this made some sort of sense.
Happy Canoeing… Idaho Joe
The kayak can be just as bad on the back with your legs out in front of you unless you are looking at one of the hybrids (Native Ultimate) or one that has an adjustable seat (Jackson Coosa).
I have a bad L4 and L5 and I can sit in my Tarpon 120 kayak for 6+ hours. Paddling a canoe for me is “OK” … fishing out of it is a back killer. As long as I’m paddling, I’m ok.
I haven’t tried the new fancy canoes called The Ultimate but I hear the seats in those are pretty nice. Keep in mind … they are not kayaks. They are canoes. You take a wave over the bow or side and you better have a bilge pump.
