Fresh water question

[Crazyboat]

If I docked an aluminum boat, no bottom paint in a river, fresh water water, what if anything would build up on the hull?

 

[flatheadsteve]

Depends what's in the water...silt, mud, surface scum all sorts of plant matter that's carried by the current etc. Depending on the body of water even a short fishing trip will leave a water line around the hull. I wax my black painted hull to make it easier to wash off after a trip.

 

[Crazyboat]

Depends what's in the water...silt, mud, surface scum all sorts of plant matter that's carried by the current etc. Depending on the body of water even a short fishing trip will leave a water line around the hull. I wax my black painted hull to make it easier to wash off after a trip.

Not concerned with a trip and a water line. I'm talking about leaving it docked for a week or two between use. More specifically the Hackensack river is the body of water. Well polluted, but "fresh" water.

 

[airshot]

Something that will help is to spray the bottom with a spray on car wax, no buffing needed, just the wax will help keep anything from sticking. An unpainted aluminum hull will stain, but that is a natural reaction of the aluminum in water.

 

[flatheadsteve]

Not concerned with a trip and a water line. I'm talking about leaving it docked for a week or two between use. More specifically the Hackensack river is the body of water. Well polluted, but "fresh" water.

Any zebra mussels on the Hackensack?

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I'm not sure anyone knows what is in that river , but two weeks is not a long time. You might start to see some build-up if its "bad", but you will catch it before it devours you whole boat and lower drive. As already stated, water dependant, and to some degree, time of year.

I leave our boat in nice clean ADK water for the whole season. Only have a small scum line to deal with before the next season. Then a rewax before the next launch. On the other hand, my son had a boat docked at Lake Hoptacong (sp?), and had a good slime coat within a month.

 

[Crazyboat]

Any zebra mussels on the Hackensack?

Don't think so.

 

[Sea Antsy]

Don't think so.

Perhaps take a ride over to the Hackensack Yacht Club and chat...

 

[Buster]

Keep your motor(s) out of the water for sure. Look at your invasive species list. Depending on time of year you might get insect or or other eggs laid on it. Any cracks or crevices (my 60yo boat has riveted on strakes that have large gaps) are likely to become homes for things, both native and invasive. Give it a good, hot, power wash and let it dry completely before moving it to another body of water. Also, consider disconnecting your electrical system as electrolysis may be an issue especially if you have stray current anywhere--especially if the water is at all brackish.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Well I wouldn't expect it to look the same as when you launched it. People who leave their boats in the lake here end up with one helluva job cleaning them up. That's the trade-off I think. Prob on a pristine clear lake you could get away with it, but not a green one full of algae which seems to be pretty much the norm for a lot of us.

 

[freeisforme]

Cedar water will stain your hull fairly fast, it helps to wash the hull well after each trip and use a good wax.

When I was a kid the only free boat ramp was next to the sewage plant, there were no fishing signs all over and a long pipe that ran out along one dock. The sign said 'No Swimming' "Pipe discharges raw sewage overflow".
When you launched and loaded your boat at that dock, a trip to the car wash as in order, or a serious scrubbing when you got home. That pipe was always covered with dozens of kids who would play king of the hill on the end of the pipe. Others would swam there using the pipe as a diving off point. They would then leave a mess on the dock afterwards as they scraped greasy scum off their skin with what ever they could find.

The crabs in that area were huge though,

 

[Crazyboat]

Not worried about discoloration, only concerned with growth. If you leave your boat in the salt, you get barnacles, slime, alge, and a host of groth. If I wanted leave her In a river, should I bottom paint or not worry? Of you don't know that's ok.

 

[flatheadsteve]

There is a reason people pay good money to keep boats on a lift and out of the water on the lake,river ,etc. Mine gets left in the water for 2 weeks straight a couple times a year when we go on vacation at the lake and always needs a powerwashing and little elbow grease to clean off the slime and algae and that's a clear clean mountian lake. A good coat of paint and some wax makes it easier to clean but isn't really necessary if you want to keep it bare aluminum. Take a look at all the pontoons out on the water they're usually left in for long periods and are usually bare aluminum. You can tell who pulls them out occasionally and clean thems up and who doesnt. It's not going to cause any lasting damage to a hull unless your one of the ones that never bothers to clean it. Even then it's more of a cosmetic thing .

 

[thill]

It really depends on what the temperature and how dirty the river is.

People leave their boats in Lake Anna year round. Depending on what cove, they can get a lot of red-clay staining, and some get algae growing if they don't use it all summer. Algae will power wash off. The staining is usually taken care of with Alumabright cleaner followed by two heavy coats of wax to seal it back up.

In the winter, you get almost nothing, but you can still get red clay stains if there is a feeder creek near where you dock your boat.

As mentioned above, wax your boat before putting in, and that saves you a lot of hassle.

 

[Crazyboat]

Perhaps take a ride over to the Hackensack Yacht Club and chat...

I'm communicating with someone there now via email.