Spring Cleaning For Boaters

Cataraft Tubes after two seasons Proper storage and care, is essential to getting the most out of a boat. Growing up my dad made a big...

Cataraft Tubes after two seasons

Proper storage and care, is essential to getting the most out of a boat. Growing up my dad made a big splurge for us when I was around 8 years old and bought a Momentum Cataraft (kudos to any of you that remember those) from Andy and Bax in downtown Portland. That Cat had many a trip down the Deschutes River, and made tons of great fishing trips. Over the years it would get patched, seams would start to leak, and have the wear patches start to fray, all things boats do as they age. That being said the boat last 21 years before it was retired, long past the estimated lifetime when it was purchased, and that was due to proper boat care and maintenance.

Last year I was frantically hunting for winter steelhead, along with remodeling a house my wife and I had just purchased, in short I didn't get the chance to take my boat apart and give it the through cleaning it I would of liked. This year we were determined not to make that mistake, so last weekend we got to work and figured we would share the process.

Scrubbing the boat down with inflatable raft cleaner

The first thing we did was make sure to put some extra air in the tubes, it doesn't need to be fully inflated, however, enough that when you go to scrub it the brush won't sink into the water. Second pull the frame, for folks with rafts this isn't as big of an issue, however, those with cats know this alone is a process.

Next find a spot you can spray the boat down and wash it. We opted for our front yard, however, in years past we have done it on the trailer as well. You just want to make sure that the spot you choose has a surface that is friendly for the boat, ie gravel or asphalt would not be my first choice.

Now is time for the "real work" to begin. Give your boat a good rinse, to get any loose material and dust off the boat. After that it is time to apply a inflatable boat cleaner, the product we used is literally called Inflatable Boat Cleaner, pretty simple. They sell it in multiple sizes so if you get the bigger size you will want to grab a household spray bottle as well.

Make sure to keep the boat somewhat wet though out the process

Spray the boat down with cleaner, no need to do the whole boat just go in workable sections. With my wife, kid and I scrubbing we used the top half of the boat as our workable section, if doing this solo you might want to quarter it up. Once the boat is sprayed leave the cleaner for roughly one minute. Let the boat cleaner do its thing and start to break down the dirty and scuff marks on the boat.

After the boat has sat with the cleaner grab a nylon scrub brush and apply some good ole elbow grease. Once it has thoroughly been scrubbed rinse it off. You may find yourself needing to do this more than once, particularly on sections where the frame sits. After that we flipped the tubes over and cleaned the bottom half of the tube. As we go we make sure to look for any scraps or punctures that look worrisome. Once the first tube was done I moved it to the trailer which was dry and rubbed the whole thing down with shop rags, before repeating the same procedure for tube number two.

After both tubes were cleaned and dried we started to apply 303 Aerospace Protectant, or 303 for short. I'm sure people use it for a ton of other things, however, I have only used it on boats. 303 in short is sun screen for your boat. It is a UV blocker that will help protect your boat from the sun
and keep it from deteriorating faster. When applying 303 the key is to apply the right amount. Its like putting on sunscreen, to much and your rubbing it in forever, to little and your getting a sun burn, just the right amount and your having a great day in the sun. For PVC boats they say once a year should be fine. For hypalon and urethane boats you may want to apply again mid-season, especially if your spending a good amount of time on the water, or storing your boat in an exposed area.

Left tube has had 303 applied while right hasn't

After the boat has been applied with 303 it will become noticeably slicker. Take extra precaution getting in and out of the boat, and when stepping on it. After you get the 303 all rubbed I like to let the boat sit for 10-20mins, its probably not necessary but I like to give it a little more time to "soak" in before doing anything else to the boat. At this point I like to re-rig my boat before calling it a day. I personally flip my cat tubes so my front is now the back and my back in now the front. This helps to insure equal wear on the tubes, especially on the bottom. The front of the boat tends to be the one that gets dragged up on beaches, or rocks when stopping, this helps lessen that toll.

I also take this time to give my straps a good once over, replace any that appear to be getting worn out. I will also make any adjustments to my frame or the way I strap the frame to the boat. It is a great time to experiment with some new changes, and fix the things that were bugging you all last season. After that you are good, put the boat back in storage until you are ready to hit the water again.