Boat Wax or Ceramic Coating?

[SawyerTed]

I've been waxing boats since I helped Dad wax the old Fabuglass tri-hull when I was a kid.

Lately I've been using Collinite 920 Cleaner Wax and 925 Last Step Wax.  I like it pretty good.

It's in the 50s and 60s so it a great time to wax the boat and camper. 

Dad brought me so liquid carnuba wax that he swears by.

My buddy does ceramic coatings and wants me to get the boat done.

For now I'm using Collinite.  Any downsides to ceramic besides $$$? 

Here's the boat in process of being waxed. 

[SawyerTed]

I've looked at some other sources for info on marine ceramic coating.  The results are about evenly distributed in 3 groups. 

1.  These people love ceramic coating on their boats.  

2.  These people think it's pretty good but the price and maintenance is a concern

3.  These people have had ceramic coating on their boat but haven't seen results to justify the expense. 

A kit to coat my boat is around $400.  Glidecoat is the product of choice for marine applications.  

Application is one cost, prep and maintenance are additional costs.   My buddy want to polish and buff first.  My reading says annual maintenance at $500+ is needed to keep the coating.  

So wax is looking easier, less expensive and in my skill/tool set.  

I'm skeptical about ceramic coating because I was convinced to apply an acrylic coating to my old boat.  It was awful, turned yellow and required a serious acid wash to remove.  

[Southside]

Maybe just buy a new boat each year instead? Saves on maintenance costs and the agony of making a decision. 

[YellowHammer]

That's what I did for the last couple years, $300k for a set of boat keys and the ceramic coatings were free along with a couple hats.

So, I'm a boat guy and use good nano shine boat wax for my freshwater boats that see "sweet water" and for the last several years, switched to ceramic coatings on ocean boats that see real mean water and hard environmental conditions. 

The expense of a professionally applied ceramic coating is hard to justify in a freshwater boat that may see a a little muddy water, a little fish blood and slime and some dirt off the road.  Ceramics is kind of overkill, unless it is at a good price.

On the other hand, on a saltwater boat, wax just isn't enough, where the fish sling gallons of seemingly a mix of red paint and crude oil everywhere.  The bait is even worse, various cigar minnows, herring, menhaden, lady fish and the Florida sun cooked on squid guts is the closest thing to epoxy I've ever seen, even to to the point where I outlawed squid for decades in the baot, when all I used was boat wax.  Nothing short of a 3,500 psi pressure washer took it off and that with effort. There was always a stain left behind anyway, where I had to use oxycalic acid to get it off.  However, with a good ceramic coating, the squid and blood washes off like fried eggs slide off a Ronco Frying Pan.  It's amazingly effective, I just hit the boat with a pressure washer and let it dry and it looks like in never left the garage, glossy and brilliant. Amazing stuff.

[SawyerTed]

Thanks Robert!  That's helpful!  

So far keeping the wax on this one has made clean up after a day of fishing pretty much a rinse with the hose and brushing a few problem areas.  The biggest cleaning challenge is the non-skid deck and other tread areas.  

My old boat was a bit of a task to keep clean because I was less than prompt in my polishing and waxing.  

@Southside I have traded trucks instead of buying tires... 

Since the Admiral (aka Dr. Emily) has a big investment in the boat, I best take care of this one for awhile.  That last one was heavily used for 20 years.  

So I'm waiting on the quote from my detailer buddy.

[SawyerTed]

Well I got the price for coating my boat.  Either I had unrealistic expectations or he gave me the "I don't want to do this price." $3,750!    I was thinking half that.  

Then he explained the periodic maintenance he wants to do at $500-$700 annually.    

I will continue to wax.  

[YellowHammer]

I agree, that seems pretty high, I paid $85 per foot, inside and out, and there are no yearly maintenance fees, other than me keeping it clean, which makes things pretty easy.  I've had it done on two boats (not sure of the brand used by the dealer), this new boat is less than a year old, but this is what it looked like when it came out of the ocean after a day of use last fall.  A wipe done with a soapy rag, that's all, no wax, just soap and rinse.  No pressure washer even.  Mirror shine.

I'm curious what the $500 maintenance fee is for?  What are they doing?  I wasn't told about doing anything other than don't use any harsh cleaners like rubbing compound for bleach, which I haven't had to.  At most, I gave a previous ceramic coated boat a shot of spray bottle nano wax from the Cabelas or Autozone at the end of the year.  I used to have to spend hours (if not days) on my old saltwater boats trying to keep them clean looking, I almost felt guilty just giving this one a wipe down and being down with it.  I still use a pressure washer on the non skid after a week of fishing because I can't convince people to not wear black soled boots on a boat.  Oh well.   

The DIY ceramic kits are much less expensive, and I haven't tried them, but I would think they would work pretty well.

I may try one on my bass boat, I get tired of wiping the Guntersville Scum Line off the boat every trip, or it will stain the fiberglass.

 

[YellowHammer]

I figured a little follow up might be in order.  We just came back from a full week fishing trip at the beach, either moored at the dock in the muddy water of Mobile bay, or offshore, in the salt spray, fish guts, blood, etc and when I came home Saturday, I sprayed the boat with a pressure washer, no wax, no nothing, just clear tap water and the ceramic coating was mirror clean.  Amazing stuff.

[caveman]

I'm interested in seeing some fish pictures, how your livewell pumps are installed, the livewell plumbing, and all the cool features you have on the boat. The boat does shine up nicely.  Blood can be challenging to get out of dry, chalky gelcoat.   

While I was catching mangrove snapper Sunday morning in the pass on the south end of Tampa Bay, I was astounded at all of the boats heading offshore, with their captains evidently planning to dodge thunderstorms.

Another couple of things that struck me:  When I was a kid, in saltwater, we'd see nearly 50 OMC (Evinrude or Johnson) outboards to every Mercury/Mariner and the very occasional Chrysler.  Almost all of the bigger boats ran inboard diesel, big block gas engines or an inboard/outboard, mainly Mercruisers.  Most of the offshore rigs that ran out Sunday were rigged with two, three, four or even five outboards-some up to 450 hp each.  Most were Mercury, Yamaha and a few Suzukis.  Another change is there are very few two strokes out there now (I still own three two-stroke outboards and am looking to get another for a skiff I want to redo).

If I ever get around to painting my boat, I'll probably wax it.  The ceramic coating would cost more than my old tub is worth.

[YellowHammer]

I'll post pics! We caught a mess of red snapper and lots of other stuff.  The boating technology is astounding, my whole setup is a huge network, my engines are all digital computer steering, no cables, no hydraulics, no nothing.  All are linked to my twin computer displays and I can view every sensor on my boat, and see a fish poop at 200 feet.  Remember at the Project where I had satellite imagery of the bottom contours to 1 foot?  I used all that to find offshore reefs nd live bottom.

The four stroke multiple outboards are the only thing put on offshore boats these days because of their ability to be incredibly reliable and since they have digital steering, they act as azipod thrusters and move independently and shift in and out of gear based on GPS positioning essentially holding the boat in place in wind and current while I fish.  Full cruise control and station keeping, and Mercury and Yamaha are the only ones that have this technology.

Instead of fighting the wind and current to stay on a spot 20 miles offshore, I hit a button, the computer figures it out, and I'm fishing.  

[YellowHammer]

I used to have to fish with one hand on one throttle, one hand on the other throttle, shifting gears, one eye on the GPS and one eye on the old school compass.  Of course, then I use my third hand to fish.  I did this for maybe 4,000 hours of boat captain time in the ocean, very high mental load, and sometimes very frustrating.  Yet when I would go bass fishing, I could put down my computerized GPS networked trolling motor, click the "spot lock" button, and stay in place in wind and current as long as I want, so I could fish.  Companies are now making 36 volt, lithium battery powered trolling motors now for saltwater boats up to 30 feet long, and you guys might consider them.  These have totally replaced anchors.  Pull up to a spot, drop the trolling motor, and fish.  I may go that route in the future, but with twin outboards, I can do the same thing, using the engines instead of a trolling motor. 

You were mentioning aerators and pumps, and there has been a change there over the years.  Used to be the pumps in saltwater boats were stupid expensive, high end, hard to replace systems, now the boat manufacturers have gone to less expensive and easy to swap "cartridge" pumps.  As the impellers and shaft corrode out over time and need to be replaced, instead of unhooking all the clamps and hoses to the pump to remove it, you just push a little button on the side of the pump, or undo a latch, and the entires motor and impeller comes out in one unit and the housing stays plumbed and in place.  Then pop in another "core" and back up in running in minutes.

As you know, saltwater is like battery acid to boats, and there is zero forgiveness in the ocean. A good reminder was when we were launching a couple weeks ago, a guy had boat trouble, made it all the way back to the ramp, and his 28 footer sunk in the harbor.  Bad day.  Here is a picture, the boat is on its side, this a pic of part of the gunnel above the surface.   

[Southside]

So that's where those goldfish ended up that I let go all of those years ago. 

[caveman]

Nice boat.  I like all of the under-floor storage/fish boxes.  Those red snapper will taste a lot better than any carp Southside may have turned loose.  I was at a boat show in Tampa several years ago, about the time Ranger started making saltwater boats.  They had one with a carpeted fish box, which I found to be ridiculous. I walked over to the Dorado 23 and was impressed with the layout and especially the use of underdeck space.  I spent a good amount of time talking to the guy who was the company rep.  Come to find out he was the owner of the company.  He invited my uncle and me to tour his boat building facility.  We did and he spent a good deal of time showing us all of his boat models and what goes into to building them.

I've got a couple of 1100 gallon per hour Rule pumps supplying my homemade livewell.  It is made from a 55 gallon plastic drum that was cut down a little, but it will hold a good amount of bait.  

With the ridiculously restrictive grouper rules they have for the Gulf now, I may have to start trolling for other stuff.  I don't like to troll, but I do like to fish, and I really hate letting keeper sized grouper go.  Chicken dolphin and blackfin tuna may be what we troll for while we watch the bottom machine looking for snapper. 

Earlier today I was looking for a picture of my uncle, mom and grandpa from the 50's.  My uncle worked as a mate on the Miss Cortez.  To locate productive bottom for grouper and snapper, he would lower a window sash weight with ivory soap on it to the bottom.  When it came up with something other than sand, they would fish the live bottom/lime rock.  Some of their fish hauls were impressive.  Now we use satellites, sonar, spot lock trolling motors and braided super lines-and ceramic hull coating so our boats clean up easier.   

[YellowHammer]

Goldfish! 

We use big bait!  Look at this one, we had a "nibble!"  There must have been some "Yellowhammer" bream down there taking chunks out of it.  Don't fall in the water. 

[caveman]

The tall fellow is my Uncle Dan, the little girl is my mother (she's 78 now) and the man in the hat is my Papa Hatch.  My mother caught a bunch of grouper on a handline that day in the Gulf, fishing in a wooden boat using primitive technology.

I would love to go back in time to fish using the equipment available today. 

We can get back to ceramic and wax.

[YellowHammer]

I would love to go back in time to fish like that, just once.  How to navigate, how to fish, wooden boat, the whole deal.  

I have read tons on the Northern Gulf and how people navigated to fishing spots, I still don't see how they did it with only a compass and a watch.  They had rough dead reckoning navigation so had to fish big structure, live bottom, limestone swiss cheese, stuff like that.  How often did they miss the mark?  How much time spent losing a honey hole?  I tried triangulation and reckoning in freshwater where there are obvious landmarks, how could they do it out of sight of land, in a wind and a cross current.  Amazing to me, the skill required.



   

[Southside]

How tall was Uncle Dan or is it just the camera angle? 

[caveman]

He was probably 6'4" or so (He seemed much bigger-not one to toy with, but a great and friendly man).  The Black side of my family was tall.  

JMoore and I used to spend hours studying the nautical charts, back before we had Loran.  We would go to a known spot, like the lighthouse at the north end of Egmont Key.  I would drive the boat, trying to stay on a bearing, and he'd watch his watch (I did not own one at that time).  After so many minutes, we'd set the old Dusky down and look around on the flasher sonar, or later, the Humminbird we bought.  Sometimes we'd hit the jackpot, sometimes, not.

[SawyerTed]

My wax job has held up very well since June 11 in the Pamlico Sound and Silver Lake.  I pulled the boat out for a quick wash and gas fill up two weeks ago.  It washed clean, free of bottom growth and stain with just a wipe or two with a wash mitt and dawn dish soap.   

The deck rinsed clean with just a light brushing.

All in it took about 45 minutes to wash the boat from start to finish including putting everything away.   

[customsawyer]

I will add that YH's boat looks more impressive in person than it does in these pictures. I will add that he knows how to put you on the fish. I went with him one time and I had to come back to work to get some rest.