Boat in the marina

dan Mindel

Member
Mar 23, 2020
32
Barrie, Ontario
Boat Info
2016 Spx 21
Engines
4.3 mercruiser sterndrive
hello, this year i was thinking about putting my 21ft sea ray at the marina, i do the matinance and winterization myself and wanted to know how or if its possible to clean the boat on the driveway on the trailer instead of paying the marine.
or if i bring the boat up once a month and do a good pressure wash there wouldent be too much growth.
also wanted to know how much damage it causes to the paint by leaving it in the water.
baisicly any info about this would help lots because its a pain in the ass to bring the trailer each time and i think it would be easier to keep it in the water
thanks,
dan
 
If you are in the salt, you are better off not leaving it in the water, with an outdrive. If you are in fresh, a good coat of antifouling bottom-paint will help. Just make sure your bellows are in good shape, and your anodes are good.

As for doing your own maintenance, that really depends on the marina. Many (most?) will not allow you to do your own work while the boat is on their property.
 
If you are in the salt, you are better off not leaving it in the water, with an outdrive. If you are in fresh, a good coat of antifouling bottom-paint will help. Just make sure your bellows are in good shape, and your anodes are good.

As for doing your own maintenance, that really depends on the marina. Many (most?) will not allow you to do your own work while the boat is on their property.
ok thanks for the tips and information
very much apriciated
 
Looks like you up north on a fresh water lake. You'll get a scuzzy bottom, but it will be cleanable. If you pull it once a month to power wash, you'll probably keep the hull pretty clean. You won't really damage anything, but you will get a "stain" along the water line. So bottom paint helps -- and you could keep it in all season. And with a trailer boat, you can do all maintenance yourself. Just pull the boat and take it home where it's convienent to work on. On thing is for sure, you'll use the boat more in the marina - just show up and go.
 
Looks like you up north on a fresh water lake. You'll get a scuzzy bottom, but it will be cleanable. If you pull it once a month to power wash, you'll probably keep the hull pretty clean. You won't really damage anything, but you will get a "stain" along the water line. So bottom paint helps -- and you could keep it in all season. And with a trailer boat, you can do all maintenance yourself. Just pull the boat and take it home where it's convienent to work on. On thing is for sure, you'll use the boat more in the marina - just show up and go.
ya that was the plan!
is there anything you can do about the water line?
 
ya that was the plan!
is there anything you can do about the water line?
When you pull it use Mary Kate’s on and off, I use the gel. It will take any stain off. Just know it’s an acid, if you do it in the driveway, keep the concrete wet and some water running.... needs to be open air, strong odor that isn’t good for your lungs imo. A breeze def helps

I put some in a bucket, put rubber glovesoin and use a sponge to put it on, rub away the growth, rinse and go back to the spots you missed. Works great. 1 bottle would do my 19’ boat with some left over
 
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ya that was the plan!
is there anything you can do about the water line?
Keep it clean. The more you use the boat, the cleaner it will be. If you can hop off and wipe it down every week, it will go a long way to preventing a stain. It's alot of work which is why most people use bottom paint and spend the summer enjoying their boat.
 
This Mary Kate product sounds like an effective cleaner. It is a big hull when your usual is "Soft Scrub." Here is an appreciative review from West Marine:
"It works. It's dangerous.
Submitted 9 months ago
By DC
From Fort Lauderdale
Comments about Marykate On and Off Hull/Bottom Cleaner, Gallon

I used it on a brand new boat that sat in the water for over a month due to Covid 19. This stuff clears off, slime growth.. you name it. However, It is dangerous. I did the underside while on a floaty I used Full armed gloves, eye protection and mask. It rolled down my arm and melted my skin off. I have zero epidermis in 2x2" area on my arm. Need plastic surgery to repair by skin graft. Watch Breaking Bad and how this stuff can dispose of bodies. Be very careful. Boat is sparkling clean so it's hard to argue with its effectiveness. My brand new $700k boat is like new again."
 
This Mary Kate product sounds like an effective cleaner. It is a big hull when your usual is "Soft Scrub." Here is an appreciative review from West Marine:
"It works. It's dangerous.
Submitted 9 months ago
By DC
From Fort Lauderdale
Comments about Marykate On and Off Hull/Bottom Cleaner, Gallon

I used it on a brand new boat that sat in the water for over a month due to Covid 19. This stuff clears off, slime growth.. you name it. However, It is dangerous. I did the underside while on a floaty I used Full armed gloves, eye protection and mask. It rolled down my arm and melted my skin off. I have zero epidermis in 2x2" area on my arm. Need plastic surgery to repair by skin graft. Watch Breaking Bad and how this stuff can dispose of bodies. Be very careful. Boat is sparkling clean so it's hard to argue with its effectiveness. My brand new $700k boat is like new again."
The good thing with the gel is it’s thicker than the normal, so it doesn’t run. Did get some on my hands, the first time I didn’t use gloves. He must of been a little crazy with it. It does irritate the skin, does burn (lungs) if you are in a tight space and no breeze. But I didn’t see the need to get a skin graft more PPE the better, start out with a respirator and longer runner gloves that go to the elbow... safety glasses are always good.
 
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Tidy Bowl applied with a long handled brush works as well. Might be the cheapest way although a half gallon jug of muriatic acid is pretty cheap. Both products are hard on concrete so make sure you use lots of water on the drive and trailer to prevent damage. Both products have no noticable ill effect on gel coat, decals and outdrives and will remove marine growth effectively. Most marinas use muriatic acid to clean hulls.
 
Thanks for the info on muriatic acid and decals. I will wash thoroughly as we had a window washer here who got sued over etching a lot of glass in a high rise. I can see the advantage of a low splash gel.
 
hello, this year i was thinking about putting my 21ft sea ray at the marina, i do the matinance and winterization myself and wanted to know how or if its possible to clean the boat on the driveway on the trailer instead of paying the marine.
or if i bring the boat up once a month and do a good pressure wash there wouldent be too much growth.
also wanted to know how much damage it causes to the paint by leaving it in the water.
baisicly any info about this would help lots because its a pain in the ass to bring the trailer each time and i think it would be easier to keep it in the water
thanks,
dan

I see you are in Barrie.
I used to keep my boat at Brentwood and the City Marina.
No problem doing my own maintenance.
I don’t know about other marinas on Lake Simcoe.
 
+1 for Brentwood. That's where I am now, hard to get in tho. City Marina sucked when I was there, even worse now. You have to park 10km down the road or get to your boat at 6am...Damn cidiots from Toronto taking all the parking. Can't imagine trying to do maintenance down there
 
If you are in the salt, you are better off not leaving it in the water, with an outdrive. If you are in fresh, a good coat of antifouling bottom-paint will help. Just make sure your bellows are in good shape, and your anodes are good.

As for doing your own maintenance, that really depends on the marina. Many (most?) will not allow you to do your own work while the boat is on their property.
Are you serious? There are about a billion of us with out drives that stay in salt with no problems. Gotta love puddle water boaters.
 
+1 for Brentwood. That's where I am now, hard to get in tho. City Marina sucked when I was there, even worse now. You have to park 10km down the road or get to your boat at 6am...Damn cidiots from Toronto taking all the parking. Can't imagine trying to do maintenance down there

I agree with the comments about the city marina.
I used to do my own tune ups and minor engine work when there.
Winter stored at Brentwood and painted the bottom in early spring standing on the ice while boat was up on cribbing across the docks. (Brentwood pressure washed bottom when they hauled the boat for the winter)
 
Are you serious? There are about a billion of us with out drives that stay in salt with no problems. Gotta love puddle water boaters.

I suppose that's true for non-trailerable boats, but the OP has a trailer, so given that choice, would you? Personally, I wouldn't want the extra maintenance, but to each their own.
 
ya that was the plan!
is there anything you can do about the water line?
What @Chris-380 said..I boated up there with a gel coat bottom years ago and used that to clean the bottom and water line.
..beautiful area you’re in ..we stayed up at orillia town docks mostly and spent weekends during the day at chiefs island..... my mother in law was up at Port Severn at driftwood cove so we would sneak up the Trent a few times a summer to visit.. just an incredible area to boat...enjoy it
 
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My boats are garage kept. I custom built the house and garages so they would fit. I currently have 7 vehicles under cover. When the boats come home I polish them the next day....a 10 minute task. Our last boat was 35 years old when we sold her and she still looked like new. We got triple the blue book value and she sold the first day.

We have always had a "launching trailer". Easy peasy. The dealers want to sell you a cheap storage trailer to keep the price down, but they don't have to use it later. Launching and retreiving the boat is MUCH simpler than docking and having to go thru the hassle of covering the boat. Not to mention all the hassle of cleaning it because of the scum in the water.

If the boat is too big to trailer, then disregard my comments. If you think the cost of the garage exceeds the cost of mooring and extra maintenance, then you need to do some better calculations.
 
The MaryKate gel consistency product has both muriatic and phosphoric acid listed as active ingredients. Sounds good. The cautions are numerous including several thick plastic disposable tarps on your trailer before retrieving and cleaning.
Assessor here now ignores residential buildings and garages but just outrageously values the land they stand on. Course you might eventually subdivide where your 7 bay garage is now located.
 

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