dry docked cleaning tips
 

I am considering getting a slip with a hydra hoist to keep my boat out of water. My only concern is how do you wash it with fresh water when you are done for the day? The slips I have my eye on do not have a fresh water hookup to rinse it down and I am considering buying a LE red Mariah with the red hull that I know requires mucho maintenance, which is fine with me. I am sure some of you with private slips may have some sort of solution for this.

I'm at LOTO which is an extremely dirty lake and never actually "wash" my boat. It lives on a lift at my dock year around and at the beginning and end of each season I put on a coat of Yacht Brite Pro Polish which is UV stable and stands up better than all the waxes I have tried over the years. After every weekend I simply wipe it down with a synthetic chamois (absorber) dipped and rinsed in the lake and all the dirt/scum just wipes right off. There was a time I used to bring down a bucket of clean water from the house to use but the reality was I couldn't tell a difference.

I have never owned a Red boat but I have had one with solid Blue Sides which posed a similar spotting problem. I used the same technique above and never had a problem keeping it spotless and clean. The secret is starting with a super clean boat with no dirt in the gel before top coating with polish or wax. As long as the product is maintained then you really shouldn't have a problem.

Oxidation is a huge problem on colored hulls so it is important to keep it protected from the sun more than anything else. I have always been a believer in storage covers that completely cover the boat all the way down the sides. Granted my boat lives on my covered dock but there is always a time of day or morning that the sides are getting blasted by the sun. I'm convinced this helps more than anything in keeping everything clean.