cleaning

I was wondering what you guys do to clean your boat after going out in salt water. I romve the snap in carpet, wash down my boat with the hose, soap it down, hose it again, salt away it and hose it again, then dry it down with a towel. My concern is that the boat seems to not be water proof at all. When i hose it down water gets into all the storage compartments, glove box, etc. What do you guys that ride in salt do. At this rate my boat is gonna be full of mildew in the storage.

Sounds like your doin as good as job as anyone....all the things your doing are just a few of the reasons why I don't take my boat anywhere near saltwater. Water is going to get into alot of your compartments if your spraying near/around them with a hose.

I dont mind the water getting in as i take a towel and clean up the puddles then i leave the hatches open to dry out, im just wondering if mildew will start forming on the carpeted areas? Man i wish i lived on fresh water

As long as air is circulating thru and the areas are dryign out you should not haev a problem. If it worries you , there are products on the market that you can spray in damp areas that prevent the growth of mildew.

Try taking a wet/dry vac to the saturated areas to speed up the drying process.

Most high end boats are designed to run in salt water. There are many wakeboard type boats that run salt water and I used to leave my boat on a lift in salt water. All we did was flush the motor with a garden hose, wash the outside of the boat down, and towel dry the interior to remove as much of the salt as possible. Unless you are on a lift, I would worry more about your trailer.

I'm on a lift so no trailer problems.

Buy a dehumidifier and put it in the boat after you rinse it out. Put drain hose thru your plug hole and your boat will be dry all the time. I have been using one for years and the interior never has a mildew smell. Dries out all towels and vests as well. I leave it running all week and works great.

I do pretty much the same as you except no salt x. I hose down, then one of the kids who rides with me runs the soap and sponge all over. I then hose down again and towel dry. Once a month I then go round with the 303.

I use a wet vac inside in all the areas, bilge etc to get it as dry as possible, open up all the hatches and spray down the engine/mech bits in wd40 and leave it will the cover off right up till it gets dark.

I do have a mildew problem after winter storage but that only takes an afternoon to clean off and its done again till next year.

Thanks for the ideas. I'm definately gona try a dehumidifier and a wet vac. Do people ever get the carpets steam cleaned?

I ride in all salt water but have the people I ride with rinse off on the swim platform. I have my shower hooked up to my fat sack filled with fresh water. I loose alittel ballast but not much. That way there is no salt in the boat and I don't need to spray the inside down, just wipe down is fine. I try and keep all salt out of the inside of the boat so I have a plastic box that holds all the salt water gear. Has been working great for me.

I'm gona get a plastic container cuz right now i wrap my life jackets and stuff in towels and through them on the floor to not wet the carpeted storage.

Do you use water ballast? You could fill it up with fresh water and install a shower, easy to do. Have you buddies rinse off with fresh water before they get back in the boat. No salt inside the boat.

does salt cause milldew??? never heard of it. the only remains from saltwater on/in your boat is , well, salt. Ive had several kinds of boats running and docking in saltwater only and it just doesn't seem to be an issue. I clean my boat properly when i take it home for winter storage, and again before launching it for the summer. thats all, even with carpet flooring