So as promised here’s what happened yesterday – but can I start by saying that rarely has a job like this given so much satisfaction. I am impressed with the end result.
When I bought Discovery III (known as Lene Marie then) – I renewed the main teak deck but left the stern as it is in ok condition).
I’ve put in some photos so you can see the process.
Firstly you need the red and green treatments – these are highly effective (and do not do as I did and get the red on your skin – I have lost a layer of skin from my knees). You need heavy duty scourers – I used Starbrite ones and the coarse one was better that the soft. I also have a long handled soft brush which I used to ensure even coverage (especially useful for the green). A bucket of water is essential if you have heavily greened decks to keep the scourer working – and also to keep the deck wet as you work. Proper gloves are also needed – I found the red went through those surgical gloves fairly easily
So first I washed the decks and topside just using boat cleaner to get rid of dust, bird poo etc.
You can see here that they are heavily stained – lots of green on them
So once wet – you put the red on. It will inevitably hit the gel coat – there’s little you can do to avoid it really. Although it says to keep it off I did not notice any lasting effects. You then really do need to rub with a moderate pressure to loosen the algae. I found it came off easily, but my long handled brush was too soft to shift it. You can see the difference in colour in this picture.
This is the longest stage in the process. I kept repeating the process on stubborn areas, washing with a hose – I was amazed at how much dirt and algae came off.
Once you’ve gone around with the red then you use the green – I slopped it on and then used the long handle brush. This takes very little time and then wash off and leave to dry for 4-8 hours. Now the decks have come back looking new.
I used this much of the treatments for my Nauticat 38.
Happy to hand this onto anyone who wants it (or indeed the supplier, Onward Trading is based next to my office so I can pick some up and then people can get it from me at the weekend in Gosport Marina if more convenient and saves the postage).
Lastly I applied just one coat of natural Semko – it says to do two coats but I ran out – I bought a quart and probably need three.
Decks now look good and I look forward to seeing what they are like wet and ithe long term durability of the treatment.
Next weekend I will recommission the engine, clean the canvass sail covers, polish the topsides get the sails on ready for Easter weekend.