Salt water wash down useful for teak

[170308FMLJ]

Hello. Who has experience with saltwater wash down pumps for cleaning the entire boat with harbor water? Does that make any sense at all? Our trawler has a lot of teak decking and salty harbor water doesn't seem to be the right thing for me. Or do you only use the saltwater wash down pump for rough cleaning and rinse with fresh water? Who can help me with their experiences, advantages and disadvantages? Thanks

 

[High Wire]

Welcome aboard!
No wash down pump nor teak decks.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. The VERY few times We had our boat in salt water I did do a salt water wash down of our teak decks. Plain salt water with stiff brush seemed to clean quite well. I did NOT rinse due to the fact salt water is considered a preservative/anti-fungal agent. No wash down pump. Used a bucket over the side.
I probably wouldn't wash the entire boat with salt water. Would leave a salt layer on the finish(s). Fresh and soap for that task IMO.



A couple of problems might be: added corrosion to the fasteners IF your decks are not tight and harbour water may not be the cleanest to bring aboard.


Our new boat (World Cat 2770) has a salt water wash down system we use to wash the blood off the fibre-glass decks after landing fish. Same decks are washed with fresh water after return to dock.

 

[BruceK]

Washing a whole boat with salt water is not a good idea. But teak decks yes, as a preservative. Best use of a salt water washdown pump is cleaning the anchor and rode during retrieve.

 

[Maerin]

Had Johnson 5.7 washdown pumps for fresh & seawater, independent systems. Quick connect outlets on bow, was perfect for our cruising. Unlimited water supply for washing anchor/rode, great pressure, and a fresh water to rinse the salt. Had a 2nd QC fresh outlet in the cockpit for rinsing the deck, dog baths, swimmers, gear. Used it daily, had a hose hanging just inside the cockpit aft gate. Loved the ability to connect a longer hose and wash the whole boat, particularly when cruising the Bahamas. Watermaker was a HUGE improvement for cruising comfort. Really elevated the whole experience. No teak decks though, pretty, but thank you, NO!

 

[170308FMLJ]

Thanks for all the helpful tips.

 

[Livin' easy]

Thanks for the info...didn't know about the bennies of salt water.