No one told me that for every 1 hour of boating there would be 1 hour cleaning!

A couple of questions.

What is the best method for drying out wet carpet. Mine is removable but very heavy when soaked with water.

What product do you use to clean vinyl seats? What about protectant?

Do you have "rules" for the boat to keep it cleaner (no colored drinks, no chocolate, no shoes etc.)

Some debate about a change in formula a couple of years back, but I still use Fantastik for routine cleaning of the vinyl. I follow up with 303 Aerospace Protectant - wipe on, polish off (some people spray and wipe, but that's incorrect).

use a wet/dry vac for the carpet,vineagar/water mix to take water spots off and then a liquid spray wax to wipe down

woosterken

For vinyl I use a few different vinyl cleanerd with a soft bristled brush. The most agressive I use is Johnson Marine Cleaner. The follow it with 303.

As for rules, no shoes, cheetos or other foods that turn things odd colors.

I wipe the boat down with a towel after boating.

Food rules, pick up any crumbs you drop.

Water rules, stand on the swim plateform and drip dry as much as possible to help keep the inside of the boat dry. I leave wet PFD's on the swim plateform as well to let them drip dry. I have to infant PFD's for my son. When the one gets wet after being in the water, I put it in the ski locker and then put on the dry PFD for the remainder of the day.

Shoe rules, they're off inside the boat.

I have one rule, enjoy yourself, it's just a boat (a very nice, clean boat at that). Same in my house, eat drink and be merry, we can always clean it later.

bperg, I like your rule. Mine is similar, but I don't allow red wine on board. It's just too difficult to clean the stains out of anything. Shoes are welcome, but if guests wear hard sole shoes I ask them to take them off to avoid slipping/falling.

For cleaning vinyl I use the same boat soap solution I use on the gelcoat. It's mixed weak and the soap is more of a wetting agent than a cleaning agent. For tougher spots on vinyl and gelcoat I use Mr. Clean Magic Sponges. A coat of 303 goes on a couple of times a year.

I remove the carpet in the summer so cleaning the floor of the cockpit is easy. Hose it down, spray it with boat soap, scrub it, hose it. (BTW, I have the advantage of having scuppers so the water runs out the stern and off the swim platform. )

For canvas, it's the same boat soap solution. Spray it on, let it set for awhile, scrub it with a soft brush to loosen the embedded dirt/dust, the hose it off well.

For gelcoat, it's the same boat soap solution. Spray it off to hose off the loose dust/dirt, spray it with the soap solution, scrub it with a stiffer brush, then hose it off.

kkirt, I second On Holiday's comment about towel drying the gelcoat when the boat comes out of the water. Mine almost never comes out of the water, but when I had my 20' boat I always wiped it dry. After 10 years the hull still looked like new. Five minutes spent drying the water off the hull saves having to remove water spots later.

I Use Spray Nine followed by 303 on the vinyl with great results. I own a Formula boat. The vinyl they use is very white and I like to keep it that way. At the beginning of each season I go over all the vinyl with a mister clean Magic Eraser.

As for drying out the carpet, last season we got caught in a down pour and the carpet got soaked. We were camping and didn't have access to a shop vac so I put one of those Sham-Wows that I got at a boat show down on the carpet. It worked fantastic! All you have to do is put some pressure on the towel and it soaks up an unbelievable amount of water. Squeeze it out and repeat until dry.

Thanks for the tips.

I removed the carpet and thought I would wash it - bad idea. Soaked with water it probably weights 50 lbs. After hanging a day most of the water is gone. Probably the same as with a shop vac. Is it necessary to get all of the water out so that it is completly dry? I have heard horror stories about mold and mildew and boats and don't want that headache.

I wax at least twice per year and everytime I take the boat out I wipe it down with some Babes Boat Bright to shine it up before I go. When I take it out of the water I use Babes again to clean the gelcoat and dry with a microfiber cloth. While I do the outside of the boat, my wife cleans the seats with Babes Seat Soap. I use the Seat conditioner about every 4th time out. Man, I sound like an add for Babes. Maybe they should pay me

im with bperg, its just a boat have fun in it, if you have to be anal about things your not having fun. cleaning comes at end of day an good cleaning at end of trip. you can always get a new boat.
my boat is still very clean but i dont worry too much about what guests do unless its dangerous..

We eat a lot on our boat and we therefore have to clean the inside a lot. We only have two rules about food. No red wine or salsa. Every thing else is OK.

If your boat sits outside all the time as ours does in a slip, we have to spray the canvas cover every year, or maybe more often with a water repellant spray (like they use on tents), otherwise rain seeps through and soaks the interior, including carpets.

We also eat alot on the boat. No cheetos, though!! Or cheese Doritios, make too much of a mess, also no red or purple colored drinks. I'm with most of the guys around here, our boat is meant for having fun on! I wipe her down when we pull her out-we keep a spray bottle of vinegar in the truck and spray vinegar on her and wipe her off at the ramp. After we're home, ususally the next day, I wipe off all the seats and vaccum her out. The trash gets pulled off the boat before we even leave the boat ramp. So I don't have to worry about hauling that off the boat when I get home. I do remove the wet vests and pull toys when we get home.
She gets waxed twice a year, whole boat, except for the non skid area up on the bow. I have a couple of spots where the teal has started after 15 yrs- to oxidise- I keep those areas waxed alittle more often. Once a month I spray some 303 protectant on the seats and sunpad. Except for the raccon damage she looks good for a 15 yr old boat. Gotta love her!!
Sure it's alot of work to keep her clean, but not so much if you do it each time you take her out.
LBS