Cleaning Party

Over the past couple of days, I've virtually disassembled and subsequently reassembled the belowdecks spaces of my boat.

An early spring cleaning, so to speak.

You might think that there's not much to clean in a thirty-foot sailboat. Tell you what. If you think it's easy, let me know, and I'll let you volunteer for the next detail-party.

Fair warning though. When I clean at this level, it involves not only the usual buckets, brushes and such. I also use old toothbrushes, Q-tips, crevice knives and bronze-wool.

Let's get you started now, shall we? We'll start in the galley. This does a couple of things. We get the worst out of the way, first. And we start out with a clean station from which to do even more cleaning. Trust me, it works better this way, and the wee mess we'll make as we go is much more easy to deal with than doing the whole galley later.

You can share the pleasure of taking the galley stove out of it's gimbals and cleaning every corner of the vacated recess.

And the stove itself? Yes, you can gleefully take it apart, down to it's bare components, clean each part until it looks factory-new, then reassemble the thing. I'll help you put it back in the gimbals, I promise!

Of course, the fridge gets a nice defrost, too. And completely cleaned out with water, soap and bleach. Clean the sinks when you're done...the bronze-wool works wonders on the stainless, and won't leave the rust spots like steel-wool does.

Yesterday was a nice, mostly sunny day. You would have enjoyed removing every bit of upholstery from the boat, working it each piece up through the companionway hatch, carrying up the dock and over the bulkhead to the parking area. Then vacuuming each section. Twice.

Done yet? I don't think so! Now that the basic dust is out of the soft parts, dip your towel in that steaming pot of water I just boiled on the nice, clean, galley stove. Yes, I said boiled. By time I bring it up to you, it'll still be oh, 205 degrees or so. Enjoy!

Here, these gloves ought to help. A little, anyway.

Wiping the cushions with water that hot does two neat things. It really does pull quite a bit of additional yuck out of the fabric. And it virtually flash-dries right within a minute or two. No soggy cushions to worry about. Now then, after a double dose of Febreze out there, we'll let 'em sit and air out while we keep cleaning belowdecks.

The fiberglass surfaces those cushions were on need a whack with a fresh batch of hot, soapy water. And the toothbrush. Oh, and don't forget to wrap the blade of that knife in a layer or two of paper towel to get into those deep crevices!

Dust and humidity combine to make a fearsome, gluey paste in those corners and crevices. That hot water works wonders, doesn't it?

You do realize, of course, that after the galley, we're starting up in the forepeak, and working our way aft, until the entire boat is utterly spotless, don't you? While you're up in the forepeak, go ahead and remove the TV, the stereo and the bar-service.

After a nice Endust tour there, you can take this wonderful bottle of Teak Oil and this old sock and really work some oil into the wood. Oh, quit yer bitching. So what if the boat's over half-teak'd belowdecks?

The teak's worth taking care of. After all, it costs up to ten times the price of Mahogany.

Here's the easiest part of the whole day for you though. Just vacuum the inner hull lining, it's a marine carpet on a few parts of what you'd call the "walls". Don't worry, those will be torn out sometime, and lined with nicely varnished birch pieces.

Oh, you're done! Good! Now's the fun part, baby! You're gonna get to clean the head!

What's that you ask? Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a landlubber. That's the bathroom, y'see. And we're gonna clean it down to a surgical level of spotlessness.

Here's another pot of boiling water for you. Shouldn't take you but an hour or two. You got your basic training cleaning the fiberglass under the upholstery. Just do the same here, but be, oh, twenty or thirty times more anal about it, and you'll be on the right track. I'll boil you as much nice, soapy, bleach-y water as you could ever need, so enjoy your task in that two-and-a-half foot wide, five foot long compartment.

Yes, that also includes the vanity sink and shower area. Be sure to re-oil all of the teak before you're done in there, okay?

Okay. You get the drift, I don't need to go down the list, compartment by compartment, item by item.

The results are nice though. She shines like a new penny now.

A clean boat has a unique bouquet. Of course, the usual nice, clean smells of soap, bleach and the clean, non-smell of Febreeze are all there. You can get those in your house, anytime you want.

But, underlying those are faint essences of the vital fluids which run through the ships veins. Teak oil wafts heavy on the air for a day or a week. Some hints of diesel, a bit of gear oil; the musk of a clean, dry bilge....these all make a boat more than just a house that floats.

Eau de Boat. If I could bottle it, I'd either be rich, or run out of town on a rail.

Thoroughly refreshed belowdecks, I have a nice, clean place to come home to.

I rather like it here.

Comments

[Dana Matthies]

Jim,
I am glad that I am not the only anal-retentive person out there. However, with four cats, a dog, and a husband...my apartment is never sterile. Clean yes, but I wouldn't dare eat off the floors. (My dog steps in the grass...the same grass every other dog has relieved themselves in...and then she steps on the floor). I have learned to relax...I don't vacuum everyday like I used to, nor do I bruise my knees cleaning the crevices weekly...but my home is clean and comfy. I think I'd like yours rather well, too. And, after reading your entire drill-sergeant-like cleaning guide, I am rather exhausted...so I will leave my last pile of laundry sitting on my recently vacuumed floor until tomorrow.

[Sam]

No Thanks!!! Been there. If I lived in the neighborhood, I'd show up with some cold beverages and give you a hand.

On the outside: If I had a penny for every sandpaper circular motion I've put on a hull in hopes of gaining a quarter knot - I'd be a rich man.

You ever need a monkey to hang on the foredeck - let me know. I started in the sewer, so I'm not proud - I just like sailing!!!

[SwampWoman]

I belong to the school of cleaning that believes that you need to be exposed to a lot of bacterial life in order to build up your immune system.

I would have thought that my immune system would be up for about everything by now, but looks like it needs new challenges, and so it has turned on me. Maybe I need to stress it a little harder.

[mostly cajun]

Shame on you! Now I'm going tohave to do this to my boat! Hopefully next weekend, assuming the weather is good and I am not too distraught with my scores at the Saturday 600-yard rifle match in Beaumont. Actually I have list of things, including spring cleaning, installing a freshwater cooling system and replacing the cabintop handrails.

But good on ya, bud, for tackling the task...

See you around.

[Denita TwoDragons]

Dang, if I can get even HALF the chores on my list taken care of, I'm doing GREAT!

I'm more along SwampWoman's line of cleanliness--though I'm not nearly as bad as I USED to be, now that I have my son to consider. I tend to wash the dishes once every couple days, or more often if they pile up faster. I carpet sweep every other day, but I don't vacuum. Eric does that, as well as the dusting, because my asthma gets too bad. About twice a year we do major housecleaning, but NOTHING close to the level that you do. Though if I ever came down that'a'way, I'd gladly help you clean! :-)

Someday when I have my own house, I'm going to have wood floors so I don't have to worry about dealing with carpeting. I much prefer rugs I can take outside and rinse off!

--TwoDragons

[Becky Mason]

You gave me a flash back. My dad had a 38 foot Newport. I helped him clean it a time or too. I just wish he was ten years younger so he could still sail. We had many fun trips. Enjoy your sea legs while your able.

[Geoffrey]

AAAARRRRRGGHHH!

Now I have a case of the guilties!

[marcus]

I hope you saved behind the stove for me. I get to keep all the money I find.

[homebru]

I like looking at acres of brightwork. Oiled teak or varnished oak, cherry, or mahogany.

And, fortunately, a subscription to Wooden Boat is cheap.

[Ms Anna]

Congratulations, Jim. You've won the only worthy award that I know of, My Mother's Way of Doing Things (read cleaning). Now that she's 79, and I'm only 54, I can just about keep up with her. And yes, I learned to do things the way my mother does them. Thank the Lord for my mother!

As usual, you're post is helpful. I immediately wondered what brass wool was. I came to the comments to ask, but finished reading, first. Thank you, for that tip about brass wool for my stainless steel kitchen sink! I've learned my something for the day.

Now one for you and your readers. Ask you handy family dentist for a set of used, ready-to-throw-away dental tools. They are available for a price, brand new in craft catalogues, I know, but why pay when all that's wrong with the freebies is a little worn surface plating? Not only do I use these tools for craft projects, but also they are perfect for detail cleaning.

Yes, Jim, with a set of dentist tools, you can not only split the tape on sealed boxes, but you can get into every nook and cranny of your computer keyboard, pop the key-tops and get some really deep cleaning that the vacuum misses. I do wrap the tiny tips in pieces of cotton balls, but they are so tiny that they reach really tiny corners.

Now, Jim, get those freebies and start cleaning, again in those cracks and crevices you missed!

[loiq]

Hell, this took you only one day?I'm wanting to buy a steel or aluminum hull at LEAST 44ft lwl.I might just decide on fiberglass instead (w/ no teak).

[Key]

Getting stir crazy, are we?!?

Off the subject, but Hubby is loving the cigar catelogue...I'm sure he'll be placing an order soon.