Preparing Your Rowing Hull for Fall Season

Here is an interesting question from Travis:

Hey Mike,
So we’re gearing up for the start of Fall season already down here in Florida. We are about to do some work on our hulls and had a questions for you. How best to prepare the hull: 1) Clay bar the hull and then wax it, or 2) Use rubbing compound on the hull and then polish it? Our boats were stored outside for a few years while our boathouse was being built and now that we have a home we want to make our boats look great again…any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the question Travis. It is one that I do get quite often, and have several posts on it:

• Cleaning a Hull
• To Wax, Or Not To Wax . . .
• Six Steps To A Million Stroke Boat

. . . but it is certainly a question worth discussing some more.

The hull of a shell is one of the most critical, yet overlooked, parts of a boat. It’s function is just not speed but also rigidity. When there is a hull problem, especially a problem under the waterline, there is an entire boat problem.

One of the best methods to prevent hull issues is maintenance . . . smart maintenance. This begins with keeping your hull clean. I won’t go great detail here, since they are covered in the other posts listed above, and the Special Report, Last Almost Forever. But the critical theme is to keep it clean, and then to protect it, especially if it is stored outside.

I would suggest, in your case, not to go with Clay Bar. Although I have never used the product (and if anyone has please comment below) but researching it left me with the impression that it would leave a residue on the hull that you would not want, and the focus would not be on really getting the hull clean. And clean is critical when racing.

I’m going to suggest that you use rubbing compound, with a grit (the measure of abrasion) between 1500 and 2000. Here is a product very similar to what I use, 3M Rubbing Compound, 16oz (3M 39002) and it is 50% off at Amazon.

Careful as you work the compound. You are just trying to remove grime or oxidation and not scratch the hull.

After cleaning the compound off I would suggest to coat the hull with a very thin layer of nice car/boat wax. Make sure that the wax has UV protection in it. It should say that on the label.

As you get close to racing, then remove the wax, because it will slow the boat due to friction.

I hope that helps, and if anyone has suggestions for Travis, let us know.