Wax Hull?

[c03camson]

Should I be doing any sort of hull maintenance to my boat before summer? its a 2003 Baja Outlaw 20. Im talking about below the waterline. The paint looks good and the clearcoat all looks good but I was just going to wax it and call it good. The boat is not kept in the water or anything but it is stored outside. I have put hull cleaner on there from time to time becuase the water around here is brackish and really brown and stainy. Just wanna keep her nice and speedy through the water. Thanks

 

[emilsr]

Re: Wax Hull?

A coat of good quality wax all over the boat before you start the season is a good thing.

Keeping a coat of wax on the running surface might slow you down a tenth of a mph (if you believe the jet ski guys) but it'll make it easier to keep clean.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Wax Hull?

Keeping a coat of wax on the running surface might slow you down a tenth of a mph (if you believe the jet ski guys) but it'll make it easier to keep clean.

It isn't the jetski guys so much, but the sailing and rowing crowds that get up in arms over waxing. They have shown with tons of evidence that wax does slow you down. One thing to keep in mind that below the waterline, wax isn't going to last very long anyway. Full throttle tends to pressure blast it off quite nicely. (which again, is why sailing/rowing tend to notice it more)

 

[emilsr]

Re: Wax Hull?

It isn't the jetski guys so much, but the sailing and rowing crowds that get up in arms over waxing. They have shown with tons of evidence that wax does slow you down. One thing to keep in mind that below the waterline, wax isn't going to last very long anyway. Full throttle tends to pressure blast it off quite nicely. (which again, is why sailing/rowing tend to notice it more)

How would they notice at a blistering 6 knots????

I have family members that sail and row, and we live next door to the yacht club here which is the sailing community. They have all kinds of crazy ideas like bringing bottled wine on the boat, hanging sheets on a pole for propulsion or using a paddle for something other than spanking....so I don't pay much attention to them.

The jet ski guys (racers) sand their hulls. They say it makes 'em faster.....maybe it does. All I know is that a coat of wax makes the scum line wipe right off my boat. After a couple of months it gets more difficult so I wax again. I've heard (and been told many times) that the coat of wax won't last very long, but the water line (where the scum forms) is well out of the water at speed so I don't really subscribe to that theory either. It works for me but (as they say) your mileage may vary.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Wax Hull?

I wax mine in fall before I put it away for winter, I never knew waxing the bottom will slow you down a hair. I do know it is alot easyer to clean though.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Wax Hull?

My bottom is not painted, I just had a thought, I wonder what rainX would do. Ok, I know alot of you guys might want to shoot me now, so lets here it.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Wax Hull?

Waxing the running surface of a fiberglass boat hull is a TOTAL waste of time. Total. It's gone basically the first time you get up on plane.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Wax Hull?

About 30 or 35 years ago I read about a bottom coat. As I recall you painted it on and then buffed/buffed it.It was said to plane easier and run faster.Never heard of it again.I wonder if it was some sort of Teflon?

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Wax Hull?

How would they notice at a blistering 6 knots????.....

There goes another monitor!!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Wax Hull?

I heard/read an ad about a product a few years back called "Hi Speed Kote" or something like that. Not sure what it is exactly, but it claimed to make a planing hull faster in top speed. No idea whether it worked or not. Don't know if it's even still around.

 

[thaphillips]

Re: Wax Hull?

I use a polymer paint sealant like Liquid Glass or Zanio. I don't imagine it lasts long below the water line, but it looks damn good above it.

 

[emilsr]

Re: Wax Hull?

I heard/read an ad about a product a few years back called "Hi Speed Kote" or something like that. Not sure what it is exactly, but it claimed to make a planing hull faster in top speed. No idea whether it worked or not. Don't know if it's even still around.

Speed Kote is still around; there are some other similar products as well. It's basically a Teflon primer that they use to seal after sanding (sailors and rowers use it over a smooth hull surface). Some of the racers swear by it, others say it's crap and THEIR brand is best (sortof like a "which oil is best" debate). The idea is to have water/water which is less friction than water/hull or water/wax. That's why sanding and roughing up the hull a bit is somewhat of a standard practice in the jet ski and boat racing community. Every little thing counts in racing. I doubt they'd be going to the trouble if there weren't some benefit, but their boats aren't in the water long enough to form a scum line. I'd rather have the easier cleaning that a coat of wax brings to the table....my boat isn't fast enough to worry about that extra 1/10mph anyway.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Wax Hull?

How would they notice at a blistering 6 knots????

If the guy you are racing is going 6.05 knots, you lose! Same goes for sailing, they all get the exact same engine, so differences and efficiencies in the hulls become important.

 

[642mx]

Re: Wax Hull?

Of course I wax the hull (actually my wife gets under the boat and does it, I'm too fat!).

Here is the strang thing... she's not great at waxing (the boat anyways...lol) and the year before last, she forgot to remove the wax from the port side rear corner... I was replacing the trailer tires at the end of the season (a lug nut rolled under the boat, so I went after it) and found the spot she forgot to polish off.... yes, the wax lasted all season! I couldn't believe it. We only wax it once a year and put about 100 hours on the meter. So to everyone that says it does no good... I've seen proof that it does stay on (or at least mine did)