Can I wash inside of hull?

[Jetter]

As I look down to bottom of hull in through engine compartment I see lots of gunk and debris such as small leaves. I'd like to clean the inside of the of bottom hull out. Can I just pull the plug and spray out the inside with hose on jet spray? Is a power washer safe?

Again - from a total noob who is trying hard to learn.

[lancehon]

I hose mine down with just a garden hose and some detergent then drain out the plug and shop vac it dry

[JLG]

Wouldn't think you would need a power washer in there and I'd be careful to not get electrical components soaked. A simple spray with a garden hose should work. Just make sure the rear of the boat is tilted downhill if possible or the jack is up all the way. The front bilge area will hold all of the water if not.

[IDBoating]

There are commercial detergent products made specifically for this task, but I never use them. Actually, I haven't let my Tige get dirty so I've never needed to clean the bilge. But our former boat was a different story, and every Spring I'd dump half a bottle of lake-friendly dishwashing detergent and several pickle buckets (read: 15-20 gallons) of super hot water into the bilge with the drain plug installed as we trailered it to the lake that year. The driving would slosh the soapy water around, the detergent broke down any oils that might have been in there, etc.

When we arrived at the ramp, we'd first remove the drain plug and let all that water drain out. Then reinstall the plug and launch. There would be a slight residue of soapy water in the bilge but normal splashing and bilge pump operation took care of the rinse out. Result: Spotlessly clean bilge every season with very little effort and expense.

[skibumsd]

I always bought a jug of simple green dumped it in there let it sit then rinsed it out. Supposedly the stuff is environmentally friendly.

[Dandy]

There are commercial detergent products made specifically for this task, but I never use them. Actually, I haven't let my Tige get dirty so I've never needed to clean the bilge. But our former boat was a different story, and every Spring I'd dump half a bottle of lake-friendly dishwashing detergent and several pickle buckets (read: 15-20 gallons) of super hot water into the bilge with the drain plug installed as we trailered it to the lake that year. The driving would slosh the soapy water around, the detergent broke down any oils that might have been in there, etc.

When we arrived at the ramp, we'd first remove the drain plug and let all that water drain out. Then reinstall the plug and launch. There would be a slight residue of soapy water in the bilge but normal splashing and bilge pump operation took care of the rinse out. Result: Spotlessly clean bilge every season with very little effort and expense.

The only issue with this method now is that many states require you to travel with the plug out. In MN, there is a hefty fine if you are caught traveling down the road with your plug(s) in or not. Some landings have DNR interns that question and inspect prior to landing. If you have your plug(s) in for the bilge, livewells... they can fine you and will not let you on the lake. Last weekend, they asked to inspect our ballast bags (tough to do on a G23), so they made me run my pumps, claiming that if water came out they would not let me land. Fortunately, I had yet to turn on my battery switch and boot up the controls so before I could run the pumps, he said "good, no water came out, have a great day". Oh yeah, and the MN DNR is getting ALOT of complaints about wakeboats transferring AIS due to ballast...as if the folks fishing completely dry their bilge and live wells. Sorry for the derailment - message being, check with local officials before transporting your boat with the drain plug in, especially full of water.

[Jetter]

The knowledge on this forum is amazing. I didn't even think of contained water when travelling. I live in Alberta but we are headed to Idaho for a 2 week boating vacation in August. There is an inspection station going both ways when you cross the border. I'll have to make sure I'm clean and dry.

[JohnnieMo]

The knowledge on this forum is amazing. I didn't even think of contained water when travelling. I live in Alberta but we are headed to Idaho for a 2 week boating vacation in August. There is an inspection station going both ways when you cross the border. I'll have to make sure I'm clean and dry.

I got stopped traveling from Invermere to Calgary last weekend. Side road checkstop. Mandatory for all boats to stop. All they did was ask where I went and gave me some info on protecting lakes etc. However we aren't a long ways away from having the same issues here.

[IDBoating]

The only issue with this method now is that many states require you to travel with the plug out.

So just drive around your neighborhood to accomplish the sloshing.

[skibumsd]

I have been stopped in sd wy nd and mt. They put this little tag on your front eye hook that attaches to your trailer so when you hit the next check point you can just pass through if you have the tag.

[Jetter]

I think I'll try the detergent thing and drive around the neighborhood. Plenty of bumps around to slosh things around. I may also put a bunch of ice in there as well. While it's sloshing around it'll scrub the bottom of the hull. They it'll melt and I can drain it out. I have access to an ice machine at work. This trick is used to scrub the black tanks on rv's - don't see why it wouldn't work in bilge of a boat.