Boats
Boat detailing: the spring and fall checklist
A Northland boat has a five-month season and a seven-month wait. What you do at each end decides whether the gel coat is shiny in year five or chalk. Here is the list we work from.
Boats oxidise. Gel coat, the glossy outer layer of a fiberglass hull, breaks down in UV into a chalky surface that gets duller every season until it is a job to bring back. Vinyl seats go the same way, and a wet boat under a cover grows mildew. None of it is hard to prevent; all of it is expensive to reverse. Two visits a year, one at each end of the season, is the schedule.
Spring, before the launch
- Cover off, assess. Look at the hull in the sun: chalky, streaky or shiny? Chalk is oxidation and needs compounding; streaks are last season's grime and wash off.
- Wash the whole boat, hull, deck, topsides and trailer, with a boat soap, not dish soap, which strips protection.
- Remove oxidation by compounding, if there is any. This is machine work and the step people skip because it is hard; it is also the step that decides what the boat looks like all summer.
- Polish the gel coat to a gloss.
- Protect it: a marine wax or sealant for the season, or a ceramic coating for years. Gel coat takes ceramic very well and it is the best thing you can do for a boat that lives in the sun.
- Interior: vinyl cleaned and treated with a UV protectant, carpet shampooed, compartments aired, any mildew treated.
- Pontoon tubes cleaned and brightened if they have gone grey.
Fall, before storage
- Wash everything, including the waterline scum, which sets hard over the winter if left.
- A coat of wax or sealant on the gel coat, so it goes under the cover protected rather than bare.
- Interior dry and clean. Vinyl wiped, carpet dry, compartments empty and open. Mildew needs moisture and dirt; deny it both.
- Vent the cover. A sealed cover over a damp boat is a mildew farm. Cover supports and vents keep air moving.
Mid-season
A maintenance wash every few weeks keeps the waterline and the spider droppings from setting, and an interior clean halfway through the summer keeps the boat pleasant to be on. Quick jobs, and the ones that make the fall list short.
What to leave to a detailer
Oxidation removal, gel coat correction and ceramic coating are machine work with the right compounds, and getting it wrong burns through gel coat. Everything else on the list is a weekend if you want it to be. We do all of it, at the dock, the marina, the storage lot or your driveway, and we start with a free consultation at the boat. Schedule the consultation.
When should I book spring detailing?
April and early May, before the launch. The spring list books up fast once the ice is out, so book in March if you can.