DIY Tips for an Underwater Hull Clean: Part One

First and foremost, it’s important to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). To protect yourself from the underwater elements you need a wetsuit and a mask.

As a guide for local Queenslanders, a 3mm wetsuit is enough for up to 2 hours in the water in summer. However, in winter you might need a 5mm wetsuit, a hood, and gloves. This type of equipment will protect you from your temperature dropping too low. You might also even need a shark bend – you never know!

To breathe underwater, you will need at least a scuba tank, a regulator, a buoyancy compensator, and a pair of fins. You must have at least one other diver with you to ensure you’re safe underwater.

Now, let’s talk about the actual tools used to clean your boat’s hull…

You will need some kind of brush, cleaning pads, and scraping tools. You can get most of these tools from a hardware store like Bunnings. Depending on the intensity of growth on the waterline of your vessel, you will either use cleaning pads or a scraping tool. If you do need to use a scraping tool to clean your waterline, make sure you go slow while scraping at a 30-35 degreed angle.

Once you have finished your waterline, you should have a better understanding of how to do clean your hull.

In the next blog, we will show you how to clean your running gear in the water.