2 1/2 months in the water - need to get the slime off!

[OrangeTJ]

After enjoying having a wet slip for the last couple of months, fresh water. I had to pull the boat out of the water yesterday due to our lake level dropping. I have noticed on the last couple of outings that my top speed had dropped to about 35. No cavitation and getting 8k rpm. I am thinking that the algae buildup I now have on the hull might be the culprit. Any experience getting this stuff off? Scrubbing with a brush last night didn't touch it. I have heard that liquid sno Bol works great but I can only find the gel stuff.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Check into this stuff. Looks like it had some great results last season!

https://jetboaters.net/threads/wow-this-stuff-flat-out-removes-boat-scum.4092/

 

[txav8r]

I have wondered if LA's Totally Awesome would cut the slime and algae buildup on boats left in the water. I don't have a test subject like you do. You might try it, it is excellent on organic compounds like bug excrement and fluids. The folks with big cruisers up at Texoma swear by it for getting rid of the black spots that spiders leave on their boats. I occasionally have those black spots but my boat is stored indoors and under the cover, so it is rare...but it removes them without any effort whatsoever...just spray and wipe away after 5 or 10 seconds. What I bought it for primarily was for grasshopper juice. I don't know if you have ever seen the stuff, but these damn grasshoppers come to our house in the spring and crawl all over our porches and overhangs. They are dying apparently and excreting a dark tobacco stain that is impossible to get off with anything we have tried. It is on the painted surfaces, brick, windows, window frames, and decks. The Awesome melts it immediately and if it is a very heavy stain, I may need to spray it twice. I use it full strength for that, but a gallon is about $3, and it is sold at General Dollar and other Dollar stores. If it works on those organic stains so well, I just wonder if it would melt the algae as easy. Using a brush will expedite the process without letting it drip and waiting for it to melt so long, but I would almost give you the buck to try a quart spray bottle of the stuff to see if it works. If it does, it is a very attainable product, and it would be great to share this going forward with those that need it. Not supposed to be used on glass unless you rinse completely without letting dry, but I use it on glass/acrylic/plexiglass/headlight lenses and wipe and rinse immediately without issues. It doesn't remove tars as easy or as well as other products, but on bug stuff it works great...I think algae would be very similar.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@txav8r good call. I used Totally Awesome on my hull at the end of last season with a magic eraser and it worked out great! It was not as easy of a process as the link I posted but it definitely did the trick. I use that stuff everywhere around the house also. It's Totally Awesome.

 

[txav8r]

Did you give it time to soak? How much scrubbing was required? I wonder if full strength, and a good dousing would reduce the scrubbing, and make it pretty much just brush off? Like I said, the thicker the stain I am dealing with, the more often I may have to spray it twice. Thanks for the feedback on it, try it again in comparison if you order the other stuff...it will be good intel!

 

[GiddYupJoe]

I had it at full strength in a spray bottle. Sprayed an area with a hose then sprayed a 5X2 area down with the totally awesome and then wiped if off with the magic eraser. Really no scrubbing at all. I then came back over the area with soapy water to get any of the totally awesome residue off and then hosed it down. Not a difficult process at all, just took more time than what @ cbus used in the link. I then let it sit over the winter and came back and waxed the hull with Rejex before I splashed it this season. So far the scum has just wiped off after every use. It's been great.