Boat wax?

[Michael Ludwikowski]

I am in the process of cleaning my Nitro. I bought it last year and am waxing it for the first time. The question I have, is will any wax do? Can I use a car wax, or do I need to use a marine wax. I use Maguire's Gold on my vehicles and was going to use that on my boat.



Lud

 

[Jim B]

I use mothers california gold non cleaner wax on my boat. It works well and seems to last long enough. I dont know if there is really any difference between boat and car wax.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Most any wax will do, but marine waxes are eco friendly and hold up better in wet environments. Remember, do NOT wax the bottom of your hull, contrary to what a lot of people think, it will actually slow you boat down and impede performance. Keep the bottom clean, and use a rubbing compound, not wax, to "buff" up the bottom. Wax only the cap.

 

[Brian Bell2]

Rob,

Question:

I do not wax the running surface of my boat. How about the sides?

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Sides are fine, you just don't want the "pad" touching the water to be waxed. It creates to smooth a surface and increases the surface tension/suction of the water on the hull. That increases drag and reduces speed. Ever notice how your boat runs better in light chop than on a dead calm day? Actually a good thing to do, is to take 300-400 grit sandpaper and lightly sand the last 6" of your transom, going in the direction of the chines. It creates a little air flow under the hull and helps the lift.

I've read a LOT on high performance hulls and boat performance.

Make sure you keep your hull clean, but don't wax it. I find the 3M compound I use to buff up my boat works great all the way around. It's not a wax, but really shines up the boat without having the negative aspects of wax when I use it in the hull. But it's pricy at $30 a bottle.

 

[Sisco Sisk]

Rob,

Why would waxing the bottom of your boat slow it down? I used to do it to my last boat and would gain 2 or 3 mph.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Just based on what I've read Sisko, everything says not to wax. Maybe you had the exception. I will be trying the sanding of my transom this year to see if I gain any. I have also looked into on several performance websites and the same conclusion is always drawn. If I had more time, I would wax mine then GPS it. Then run it totally clear of anything and GPS it again. Then finally the rubbing compound and sanded transom and a final GPS to see the final results. I'm sure it's like anything else, each hull is unique and subject to it's own learning curve.

You can find a lot of this stuff from different sites about Gary Fountain speed boats, not to mention Bass Boat Central, and the BFHP.

I cannot recall the name right now, but I found in depth hydrodynamics and flow pattern data on some high performance boat racing site. The boats like the Budweiser boat, etc. The boat equivalent of Nascar or Formula 1.

 

[Michael Snow]

To expound a little. Get a GOOD carnuba wax (or silicon or teflon if you insist on non-natural stuff). Wax everything with gelcoat on it (besides the bottom). That means the dash, the interior that isn't carpeted, all that stuff. If you do that once a year, you should be fine on the sides. However, you need to get the top cap more often... every few months.



There are two products worth looking into, but these WILL NOT REPLACE a good wax. One is Kick'nBass Bass Boat Clean and Shine. It is a spray-on, wipe off cleaner with some carnuba wax in it too. Strangely enough, the other product I'd mention is made by Make 'em Bite (another scent/attractant company), called Make It Shine. Both products are 1 qt (32 ounces) if memory serves and $9.99. I've never seen the KnB product in retail stores, but some of the boat shops carry the Make It Shine product. Make It Shine is NOT a cleaner, simply a spray on, wi'e off wax, so you have to have a clean boat to start.



Now, like Rob, I've heard NOT to wax the pad because it causes the water to stick to the hull, making it slow down. However, Cosmic (Ken Kross, founder of Kick'nBass) recently stated on bfhp that putting his product on the pad will increase the speed by 3-4mph but putting it on the prop would cause you to just sit and spin the prop because it was too slick to grip the water. Therefore, we obviously have two contradicting points of view.