[Tim Downer]

Was chatting to one of my customers yesterday.......and as you do the subject of cleaning comes up in the conversation.
"Would you clean Yachts?" she asked........
If there is money to be made.....why not i replied.

Apparently, they are not small yachts or rowing boats......but big ones!! Her father-in-law is going to the marina next week to talk to his boat owner mates and see how mant would be interested in having their boats cleaned.......as they have said they were looking for another company to do this.

The boats will be brought out of the water to a dry dock for the interiors and exterior to be cleaned.

I am now going to do a search on the good old internet to do some research on this, but thought i would throw this out to you guys....

.....have any of you done this sort of work. What should i be looking out for or expect? Being a carpet cleaner would prove no problems for the carpets and upholstery.

What sort of cleaning chemicals would i need to look out for?

And how much would i be looking to charge for a medium to large yacht/motor boat to be cleaned?

Nothing may come of it, but i would like to be prepared incase anything comes of it.

Looking forward to your comments.

Right......now to google the internet.

Regards

Tim

[The Great One]

Hi

For the exterior you can use the autobella range of boat products, failing that they can be powerwashed, may need some kind of acid and they may need to  be scraped of barnacles.

Interior depending if wood or PVC as appropriate cleaners ned to be used.

Exterior windows, again Autobella window cleaner or a car cleaning products as they are very similar to cars.

Price £250-350 depending on size

Regards

Martin

[Comfort Sector]

Hi Tim,
Fresh Industries do a range of chemicals for boats.

Urine-Off™ now offers Charter Tough! A Marine Products Line giving boat owners the tools they need to rid their vessels of the unpleasant odours associated with urine, holding tank, air conditioner pans, drains and bilge odours.

www.urineoff.co.uk

[DP]

Anti fouling the underside of a boat can be very specialised and will almost certainly involve sacrificial coatings which may need replacing (albeit there is a lot of grunt work as well).

Any leisure boat owner with half a brain would not allow just anybody at the underbelly of his pride and joy especially with a scraper unless he was very confident that the person knew what they were doing as the damage could be enormous.

To be honest there is a lot of liability involved with this, especially if you are accused with any hull damage old or new.

Also be very careful about odours or any proclamation of being able to remove them. Boats often suffer from a bacterial condition in the hull fabric which can only be cured with a structural repair. The smell can be repulsive and you will not get rid of it by cleaning.

The boat owner will almost certainly be aware of the problem, so don’t get scammed into any freebee's. I know some owners who have done this more then once!

Otherwise good luck with it it could be very profitable.

[Tim Downer]

Thank you chaps for your comments. I have a better idea between you guys and those on the carpet cleaning forum about what to expect.

Regards

Tim
(if anything comes of it, i will post here)