Power washer on boat

[FISHBANDIT]

The cover is off the boat and now its time to clean the deck, gettin lazy, thinking a power washer might save me from all the elbow grease it usually take to get her clean. Also I could tell wife we need one for deck and lawn chairs ect .

Anyone had good luck with a particular power washer electric or gas how many psi ect. Thinkin 1800 - 2200 psi auto be good enough for the job?

[Big Dave]

Mine is gas powered and works great . Does a nice job on the teak I had on the thompson. Clean it up nice before putting on the teak oil.

[Splitshot115]

I have a Speed Clean 2000 psi with a briggs 3.5 on it. It works great for stuff around the house.(like house siding, wife's lawn furniture) Then after you get her list done you

can use it for the things you bought it for. (like the boat, camper,truck)

Splitshot115

[chowder]

Get one with a Honda motor. I have a bunch of these motors in different pieces of equipment that get used daily and used hard and I've found them to be very, very dependable. I also have a pressure washer w/ a Honda & we use for very demanding agricultural cleanup jobs- no complaints (got it at Lowes) A word of caution, these things can peel paint and break electrical wires if you aren't careful w/ nozzle choice.

[High Bidder]

A Honda engine is definitely a must as stated by Chowder. I bought mine at Sam's Club. The first 8HP was defective and they took it back with no problems. I then bought the 13HP 3500 PSI which is a bit large for most applications but for my work it is great.

It strips the decks easily and cleans my large equipment. I just use a lower force nozzle when washing the trucks. The only drawback is that you can't let it idle for too long(4 minutes max) or the pump overheats and melts the plastic valves. They are however easy to replace and only $44.00. Make sure the pump is a common type and parts are easily available especially if you let anyone else use it. Even at 3500 PSI it didn't strip the bottom paint off a boat like I thought it would.

High Bidder

[motoman]

i have a honda power washer works great and also has differant tips too change the angle of spray , it will remove paint with the strait angle tip on it and cut into teak wood so be care full with that. Use something with more of a fanned out tip on teak and wood and youll be very happy and cut the clean time down too 1/2 good luck.

[seasquirrel]

I agree with chowder, you can blow your decals and whatever right off your boat. be careful

[HPORT]

A word of caution when using power washers to clean your boats...

If you have stress cracks in the shell of a cored deck, water will get forced into the core.

Do not force water into molding where two fiberglass parts coming together ( hardtops, rubrails, etc...)

Those of you with boats that have covered wood decks and supports, use care not to dig into the wood. It will open pores in the wood. It will also get under the covering and slowly kill your plywood deck.

As Chowder pointed out, they will removed boot stripes and anything else that cannot withstand 1000+ psi.

I typically use a degreaser without diluting, wait 15 minutes, scrub the stains with the wife's best sink brush, then use the pressure washer with a fan spray. Never a spot spray.

Remove or cover anything you hold dear and near, combing pads, switch boots, hoses, transducers, stickers, etc... oh yeah....fingers wear a pair of mechanics gloves. Those who are smirking know where I'm coming from.

John