Algae Removal Made Easy 2

I hauled my Alaskan charter boat, the Polar Bear, out of the water today for the 100 hour service on the Yamaha outboards and while it's out of the water I'll give the hull a good cleaning to exorcise any hitchhikers that have attached themselves to the bottom. One of those hitchhikers is algae and it can be a pain the rear to remove.

I thought I'd share a little trick that makes it easier to remove the algae growth on the bottom of any boat. Take an old spray bottle and add approximately one cup of bleach to the bottle and fill it the rest of the way with water. Roughly one part bleach to four parts water is fine and an even thinner mix will work. In this case I used an old 409 bottle, but any old spray bottle will get the job done for this task.

Spray the algae and any other growth down with the bleach mixture and within seconds it kills the algae and weakens it's hold on the hull. Wait about ten to fifteen minutes and then hit it with the pressure washer and the algae comes off easily. I've been doing this for about ten years now to clean the hull on various charter boats and it works like a champ. Every time I've forgotten to zap the algae with bleach I've kicked myself, as it takes twice as long to blow the growth off with the pressure washer. 

Here's a couple of photos that show one month worth of algae and barnacle growth on the hull of the boat. Left untreated this algae can grow into an underwater forest in just a couple of weeks. Best to get it while the gettin's good!

These photos were taken less than a minute after the bleach is applied. Notice the difference!

I then sprayed the hull with the pressure washer and the algae blasted off easily. Oila! I've got a clean hull and the Polar Bear is good to go for another month of fishing charters here in Southeast Alaska.

From Las Craigas, Alaska…good fishing to you!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com