No Water At Marina - How to Get Boat Ready

[Cheap Guy]

So I switched to a new winter storage place and unlike my old place, they don’t turn on the water until May 1 and I’d like to get it prepped and in the water ASAP especially with the good weather and because I’ll be swamped first week of May. The water from the lake is only a few feet away. I obviously want to wash and wax the boat before putting it in along with starting it with muffs. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can I use a submersible pump and pull water from the nearby slip? I guess I can fill a bunch of five gal buckets from home to do the wash but I’d still like to start it up before it goes in.

 

[Skybolt]

Usually they will have frost protected faucet somewhere. I would ask about that first.

 

[Shaps]

I've done it the brute force method.
Brought a few 5 gallon jugs of water

 

[Golfman25]

I do an inside wash with Meguires waterless wash. Does a pretty good job getting it ready for compound and polish.

Meguiar's® Ultimate Waterless Wash & Wax, G3626, 26 oz., Spray | Meguiar's

www.meguiars.com

 

[Cheap Guy]

Usually they will have frost protected faucet somewhere. I would ask about that first.

That was the second thing I asked but my boat is a hundred yards or more away from running water and they’d charge me to move the boat, even if they’d agree to do it.

 

[Cheap Guy]

I've done it the brute force method.
Brought a few 5 gallon jugs of water

Looks like this is the way to go. I’ll probably just fill up the large ice chest with clean water I have and also get a cheap pump sprayer to rinse it off.

 

[Skybolt]

That was the second thing I asked but my boat is a hundred yards or more away from running water and they’d charge me to move the boat, even if they’d agree to do it.

I had to buy four 100' lengths of hose one year. I was still in the water but the marina was fixing water lines.

 

[dtfeld]

Depends on if you got more time or money. If you pre planning on staying put for a couple years, a harbor freight pump and a section of hose could be had for about $100. I’d also look at the safety aspect.

Even a 25’ has a lot of real estate and can be pretty high off the ground in places sitting on blocks.

Based on my new boat project rating scale, hauling water to wash add +2 bottles of Advil.

 

[Cheap Guy]

Depends on if you got more time or money. If you pre planning on staying put for a couple years, a harbor freight pump and a section of hose could be had for about $100. I’d also look at the safety aspect.

Even a 25’ has a lot of real estate and can be pretty high off the ground in places sitting on blocks.

Based on my new boat project rating scale, hauling water to wash add +2 bottles of Advil.

Naw, I'm going to try to go back to my old marina. It was more "user-friendly" for people who like to do their own maintenance. It was a few hundred more but this isn't worth the hassle. I'll struggle through it for this season and it won't be exactly as clean as I'd normally want it but lesson learned - always ask around before going to a place you're not familiar with.

 

[Crushin It]

Find a car detailer that comes to you with their own water supply. Hire them to do it.

 

[km1125]

So I switched to a new winter storage place and unlike my old place, they don’t turn on the water until May 1 and I’d like to get it prepped and in the water ASAP especially with the good weather and because I’ll be swamped first week of May. The water from the lake is only a few feet away. I obviously want to wash and wax the boat before putting it in along with starting it with muffs. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can I use a submersible pump and pull water from the nearby slip? I guess I can fill a bunch of five gal buckets from home to do the wash but I’d still like to start it up before it goes in.

I did exactly that a couple years when I went in early. Normally I wouldn't want to use the water out of the marina because it's all silty and dirty, but early in the season it's crystal clear. You could see all the crap at the bottom of the wells and some were 10-12ft deep (I even fished out a chair with a boathook).

I just used a submersible utility pump that was my "emergency spare" for my sump pump. That one didn't develop much pressure but was enough for the hose to soak things down and clean and rinse the boat. Probably could have used a pressure washer with it though.