Boat Washing

[HarborMasteRob]

Hello. I am new to the Ranger Tugs Forum. I am not yet owner of a Ranger. For now, I am learning the ropes of the trade from a friend/relative who owns a Harbor Master Coastal 520. Funny thing here is that the first day we took her out to sea along the Tennessee River, I saw a Ranger!!! Most likely a 25. They waved as we waved passing each other near Hobbs Island in Madison County.

I want to share a boat cleaning system that works great, and costs little to build. It begins with knowing that most tap water at a marina will be your typical city/county/public water. With that, it likely will have minerals (both naturally occuring and some man-infused). Chlorine is one, fluoric acid is often another, and calcium carbonate is always a given. All of these minerals can dull a boat's finish when doing routine washes and rinses. What I did is built a water filtration system using 3/4" PVC, some 3/4" brass adapters (fine threaded<>hose pipe threaded), and a GE home water filtration cartridge. Once built, all incoming water is now being filtered before it either washes or rinses the boat off. The result is a much cleaner finish with fewer spots on on the hull sides, decks, and windows. Another key thing to note too is that I use Orpine brand of boat wash. Meguiars works well too, as does Simple Green car wash (not the concentrated spray cleaner). All cleaners should be biodegadeable to help protect our waters.

The first day I cleaned the Harbor Master, it took me 5-6 hours. The good news though is that several other boat owners then asked me to clean their boats. A Ranger Tug should not take as long to clean.

I have learned a lot of great stuff about boats since first visiting this forum, and so I wanted to offer some helpful advice in return.

Safe Boating!

Bob

 

[Spirit of Gratitude]

Question. How many washes are you getting out of the filter set up before replacing the filter?

 

[HarborMasteRob]

So far, the filter remains fairly clean after 2 large boat washes and numerous car/truck washes back at the house. The filters come in 2-packs that are not that expensive. Keep in mind too that the GE whole-house filtration cartridge is designed to run all incoming water into a home, so the rate that it gets used for the boat/car/truck washes is fairly light.

 

[Spirit of Gratitude]

Very good! Thanks so much for the post, it has been very helpful. I am going to make a setup for my boat asap. Do you have a model # or a link on your unit?
Love it!

Stuart

 

[HarborMasteRob]

I don't have the filter unit on me (here at work). It's a GE filter cartridge (GE® Household Pre-Filtration System
Model #: GXWH04F) that you can buy in Home Depot. It comes in several different sizes. Lowes has an identical unit with the Whirlpool brand. The plumbing is where it gets tricky. Just remember that the 3/4 threads on the filter canister are "fine" threaded which is different from the other 3/4" hose pipe connections. The brass adapters are over in the plumbing section in small bags. I also got some quick-connects over in the hose-pipe section to make things go more quickly when taking the hoses on/off.

 

[Stella Maris]

We use the same type filter when filling our water tanks. Since we have always done this (along with flushing the tanks three to four times in the beginning) we have never had a "taste" issue with our water. We use the water out of our tanks for everything. Cooking, washing, drinking.

 

[Retiredafc]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the input! Here in So California, hard water is a major issue. I am familiar with the system you are describing, but was curious as to which of the many cartridges work the best for water spotting?

Thanks in advance,

Eric

 

[HarborMasteRob]

So far, I bought one two-pack of the cartridges that was in a bag right next to the GE filter. So the jury is still out on which cartridges will work best. Many off-brands probably do as good as the named ones. Thinking out loud, filters are most likely built to certain specs where the capture rate of contaminants is rated in something like microns. I''m still learning.

In any event, my first experience with the system was on the Ford Ranger Truck, and there was definitely a noticeable improvement with the water spotting and overall appearance. Perhaps there might even be some higher quality filters/cartridges that do even better.

For the record, I found the idea for this system on a Ford Mustang owners forum where several members complained about Procter and Gamble's discontinuance of the Mr. Clean Auto-Dry which used smaller cartridge filters and special soaps for vehicular washing. Funny thing is that this GE filter system costs less to use given how much longer a filter will last.

Bob

 

[Metz]

Many seasoned boaters will use a double cartridge (one for sediment and the other a charcoal for everything else) when connecting up to city water. You can see these lying on docks near the water hookup simply connected to the hose.
Your idea of also using it for raw water washdown is a good one.

 

[RProffer]

I use an inline water filter (Omnipure K5667) to fill the water tanks on my boat and 5th wheel camper. It works great for taking the taste out of the water (make sure you use a white water hose). I guess it could be used for washing the boat also. You can find the filter in the RV section at Walmart. Here is a link for one
http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/WCInLineFilters.htm

 

[GulfSailor]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for the input! Here in So California, hard water is a major issue. I am familiar with the system you are describing, but was curious as to which of the many cartridges work the best for water spotting?
Thanks in advance,
Eric

The most practical way to remove the 'hard' mineral content from water is by ion exchange, a process used in most common domestic water softeners.
The hard water is passed through a resin bed which strips and retains the minerals.
When its maximum efficiency has been reached it's flushed with a salt solution which releases the contamination from the resin and returns it to maximum efficiency for the next cycle.

There are simple systems you can purchase for use in vehicle or boat washing (at a price), or you can easily make up a system yourself at minimal cost using parts from your local big box DIY store and a bag of water softener resin via the internet.

Here's an example of a commercially available system: http://stainlesswaterfilters.com/operation.htm

As long as soft water is available though, the use of a sediment and an activated carbon filter as described elsewhere in this thread will be the perfect solution for both washing the boat and filling the tanks.
If the city water you're using is chlorinated, then the carbon filter will remove the chlorine, but doing so will shorten the life of the filter.

 

[commander bill]

Is anyone aware of a source of potable water storage tank that would fit into our rear starboard storage compartment directly behind the water heater on our R25s? I would like to install a removable tank there since I usuall do not keep much in the space. It would extend my water supply and help add ballast to that side of boat which tends to sit higher on our boats.

 

[wefings]

Bill Vetus make a line of flexible potable water tanks . Here is a link to the dimensions
We can order them and they are pretty durable.
See you in a couple weeks !
Marc

 

[Nellie Too]

Commander Bill,
I have a catalog from Ibsen Co. (factory reps) representating MATE USA. They have two tanks with pumps , 28 gal (42"x11.5"x15.5) 18 gal (26"x11.5x15.5) if these will work, you can contact Ron Ibsen at (206) 364-2284 I don't know how much they are but I am sure Ron will tell you. Ron represents many companies for marine products which includes Prism Polish of which 65 samples were contributed to the Tug Rendezvous in Bremerton. I hope this helps .
Bob