Hull cleaning.

[streetdoc432]

I have a pressure washing business as a side job. I was wanting some tips from the gurus here. What do you use to clean the bottom with? Bleach mix? Simple Green? I stay on an inland river, so no barnacles. My pressure washer is a 5000 psi, 5.5 gpm hot water unit. My marina does not offer bottom cleaning, they send everybody to a marine shop 5 miles down river. Maybe there is a new job opportunity for me !

 

[Gofirstclass]

I think you may have hit on a gold mine. Our marina has a haulout service and will pressure wash the bottom when they first pull the boat out. It has to be done before the hull dries or it's a real PITA. It's not a hot water machine, just hooks to a hose. Check around the local marinas in your area and see what they charge and how many boats they do per month. That should help you make some business decisions.

 

[streetdoc432]

The PITA factor may make it out of my $ range. The EPA really keeps an eye on the pro washing companies ie: have to pull the boat so many feet from the water & collect & reclaim the runoff before it gets to the waterway. Failure to do so will be a 10k$ fine (even though the stuff I'm washing off CAME FROM THE RIVER !!) go figure! Your gov't tax $ @ work!

 

[SkippersList.com]

Pressure washing is great ... I have seen different prices but I paid $4 a foot when I had my vessel hauled in NC. Yes the EPA might be a issue but you can easily have an area setup where you can collect and filter the water. Hell, drape a tarp under the boat with a bilge pump to pump the water through a filter.
In NC they just tied buckets full of sand under the drains to strain the washoff and they've been doing it for years.