This ones for the boat detailers out there!

[hemi ram55]

Hey all, so i have a job coming up for a scarab boat. about 20 foot long and is in pretty good shape, some mild oxidation but nothing bad. Should not be a bad job to do but the customer brought up some good questions that i need to know about. He was asking about the bottom of the boat. Now from my understanding and what i have researched in the past, you are not supposed to really wax the underside of the boat. I always have in the past just because people like that real nice shine when its on the trailer. But the customer seems to think that you are not supposed to because by waxing it, you will not cut through the water as well. I would think a smoother surface would cut much better. Does any experienced boat guys out there know if you are or not? Feed back please
thanks!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

If the bottom of the hull is gel-coat, like the top of the hull, then restoring it to the best of your ability, (correction work), and then sealing it with a wax or sealant would be better than doing nothing.

I've read comments over the years about how waxing the bottom of a boat can cause drag but I don't buy it... Also, the amount of drag it might cause wouldn't outweigh the benefit as far as common sense, good maintenance would provide for maintaining the boating investment over time not to mention aesthetics.

The problem is getting to it due to the trailer being in the way...


I stripped my boat completely, removing the motor and all the running gear and then turned it upside down on some semi-truck tires and then compounded, polished and waxed the gel-coat and it was always fast on the water...

Every 2-3 years I tore the boat apart and then put it all back together just to make sure all the nuts and bolts were in place and tight. There's only one time in 20 years of ownership the boat never went over 100 miles per hour so it's important to have confidence in your fasteners. At the end of a hard day of boating, when pulling the boat out of the water I would stop on the ramp and let any water drain out and while it was draining I would run my hands around the back of the inside bottom of the transom to check for nuts and bolts and I would often find bolts that had snapped and nylon lock nuts with threaded sections in them...

 

[hemi ram55]

If the bottom of the hull is gel-coat, like the top of the hull, then restoring it to the best of your ability, (correction work), and then sealing it with a wax or sealant would be better than doing nothing.

I've read comments over the years about how waxing the bottom of a boat can cause drag but I don't buy it... Also, the amount of drag it might cause wouldn't outweigh the benefit as far as common sense, good maintenance would provide for maintaining the boating investment over time not to mention aesthetics.

The problem is getting to it due to the trailer being in the way...


I stripped my boat completely, removing the motor and all the running gear and then turned it upside down on some semi-truck tires and then compounded, polished and waxed the gel-coat and it was always fast on the water...

Every 2-3 years I tore the boat apart and then put it all back together just to make sure all the nuts and bolts were in place and tight. There's only one time in 20 years of ownership the boat never went over 100 miles per hour so it's important to have confidence in your fasteners. At the end of a hard day of boating, when pulling the boat out of the water I would stop on the ramp and let any water drain out and while it was draining I would run my hands around the back of the inside bottom of the transom to check for nuts and bolts and I would often find bolts that had snapped and nylon lock nuts with threaded sections in them...

So the customer must choose, longer boat life, or less drag.. hmm.... I would think that waxing the bottom of the boat would allow it to cut smoother and create less drag. On a surf board you wax the bottom to allow you to glide easier. Thats one for the scientists!!!