Black marks on side of boat...

S

Slacker

Member
Apr 23, 2008
143
Oxford, CT
Boat Info
2006 Searay Sport 205 w/ Monster Tower and Kicker Amp.
Towing w/ 2018 Mercedes GLE350
Engines
Merc 4.3L MPI Alpha (220hp)
Is there anyway to prevent the black marks on the side of my boat. It drives me nuts!!! I have tried washing and waxing the side to help the streaks come off easier, but it still take some elbow grease to get the marks off. They seem to be coming from the cover so I washed the cover with detergent and oxy clean twice, one time letting it soak for 12+ hours and its still happening. Any ideas? Thoughts?
 
Slacker said:
Is there anyway to prevent the black marks on the side of my boat. It drives me nuts!!! I have tried washing and waxing the side to help the streaks come off easier, but it still take some elbow grease to get the marks off. They seem to be coming from the cover so I washed the cover with detergent and oxy clean twice, one time letting it soak for 12+ hours and its still happening. Any ideas? Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I picked up some 3M Black Mark remover and it works great. But what do I know...
 
The issue with the black mark remove is it also removes the wax. I have bee using a product by Yacht Bright (serious shine) it can be found at Boaters World It takes the the black marks and it is also a spary wax workes great

Mike
 
I use Seapower which has a wax and if it's too tough, it's West Marine's Black Streak remover, with wax follow up.
 
Some of the larger boats insert small plastic strips in the rub rail and it prevents the black water streaks. I do not see why a smaller boat could not. I found a link to the old post with a picture but it was no longer working since the server change. Maybe one of the larger boat guys will post a picture of what I am talking about, probably a $10 job to help prevent your problem.

Wesley
 
I too have heard that it might be from contamination in the air but really don't know.
I do know I keep the boat waxed and the semi-monthly wash takes the streaks off with very little effort.
 
Also can't stand it.....One rain on a clean boat and black streaks the next day. I have found Starbrite Black streak remover better than West stuff.
But, West Marine is the only store I enjoy shoppin at.
Happy scrubin
Mark.
 
Does someone want to clarify, "black marks?"

I'm sure like most everyone, I get black streaks down the side of my boat from pollution, pollen, dirt, etc. Rain and even condensation (dew) make them streak down the hull (think 1 to 2 feet long). With some Mermaids wash soap, elbow grease, they come off without much of a hitch.

Then there are the black marks I get along the top, outer edge, usually around the aft part of the cockpit. They're maybe an inch or two long, a quarter to half an inch wide. No regular boat soap and elbow grease will remove. I actually think they come from rubbing of the canvas against the hull. My canvas has a black, reinforcing liner around the inner edge (probably for the snaps). I still haven't had to deal with removing those as the boat has been to the dealer so often, they just take care of it... but if someone has a suggestion, besides acetone (which is what I think the dealer uses), I'm all ears.
 
I believe a more frequent/aggressive surface care process will prevent black streaks. I have never experienced these on my boat which is stored outside uncovered.

I assume the black streaks are formed by dirt, garbage falling out of the air + rain water. A friend of mine has a boat which is covered with black streaks every spring... they are not fun to remove.... some require compounding.
 
280 SeaRay said:
I believe a more frequent/aggressive surface care process will prevent black streaks. I have never experienced these on my boat which is stored outside uncovered.

I assume the black streaks are formed by dirt, garbage falling out of the air + rain water. A friend of mine has a boat which is covered with black streaks every spring... they are not fun to remove.... some require compounding.
Click to expand...

The black streaks definitely come from the cover, so that is why you are not experiencing them. I am going to take my cover to a professional cleaners and let them have at it. I'll let you know if cleaning it that wat works.

I have been using collinite fiberglass cleaner to get them off and that works very well. But regular soap and water does not work.

The streaking only occurs when the cover is on the boat after it rains, so it is defintely run off from whatever is ont he cover. The streaks appear between the cover and the rub rails (top half).
 
Does my camper canvas not count as a cover :) ? Is your cover Sunbrella?

I wash the boat, which includes the canvas, weekly or 52 times a year. Additionally I clay, compound, polish and wax the gel coat until it is very slick. This removes all bonded contaminants, and surface defects before putting three individual coats of "wax" on the boat It is so smooth it feels soft. The soft feeling is actually the high surface tension created by the "wax". The water runs off it so quick during washes that it practically dries itself. I believe my process lends itself to not allowing stuff to build up on the surface making black marks.

In contrast the boat I spoke of earlier does not see boat soap and water as frequently, maybe once a month or less often. The boat is usually rinsed before use. It is washed in the spring followed with a cleaner wax which does a decent job but does not remove all of the surface contaminants. Run your palm over the clean boat surface when clean does it feel smooth as glass (brand new clean) if not you have contaminants, surface defects or potentially both. Do this to a new boat sitting in the showroom and prepare to be surprised as new boats leave room for improvement.

If you aggressively clean Sunbrella material you may notice that water does not bead as well as it did before. You may need to reapply using 303 HTFG (High Tech Fabric Guard) as recommended by Sunbrella. http://www.sunbrella.com/na/en/iframe/marine/cc.htm
 
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I agree with Jeremy that keeping the boat with a really good cleaning, polish and wax on it will not allow the stuff(whatever it is) to stick or stain the boat.
 
I have officially stopped washing the boat recently. Not worth it IMO. Been over a month now :grin:

Damn river scums it up every trip out:smt013

Matt, those black marks are caused by your dog drooling, by the way.
 
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