A yacht coming out of the water after a season looks simple to clean: hose it down, run a lance over the hull, done. Anyone who has paid for that job on a soft-coated hull or a teak deck knows how it can end. Coating lifted off in strips, gelcoat crazed by too much pressure, streaks left on the topsides, and a marina invoice for collecting the runoff. Before a service provider touches the exterior, these are the questions they should be asking the owner, broker or yard manager, and the answers they should give in writing.
1. What is the hull and deck actually made of?
The build materials decide the method before any machine is chosen. Ask which of these are present: gelcoat over glass reinforced plastic, an ablative or hard antifouling below the waterline, an aluminium or steel hull, teak or composite deck surfaces, anodised or painted metal spars, stainless fittings, canvas work and vinyl cushions. Each reacts differently to heat, pressure and detergent. A soft antifouling lifts under a narrow jet that would be harmless on bare gelcoat. Teak is scorched by high pressure and by strong alkaline cleaners. Older antifouling that has been recoated season after season tends to flake when hit hard, and a coating that has been left in the dry for weeks can be brittle enough to chip.
Get the answer in the owner's words, not a guess. If the coating system is unknown, ask when it was last applied and by whom, and treat the first square metre as a test panel.
2. What is the condition of the waterline and the boot-top?
The waterline carries the worst of the growth and the most expensive mistakes. Ask whether there is hard shell growth, weed, or only slime, and whether the boot-top stripe is painted, taped or polished. Slime comes away with warm water and a brush. Shell growth needs more force, and that is where coatings get damaged. Ask whether any part of the underwater area is already blistering, cracking or flaking, because a lance will only make those areas worse. A provider who does not ask this before starting is planning to discover the problem on your hull rather than on paper.
3. Which surfaces are in the job, and which are off limits?
Write the list out and have both sides confirm it. Hull and waterline, deck and cockpit, superstructure and coach roof, windows and portlights, stainless and anodes, rigging, canvas, cushions, outdrive or running gear, engine bay if the job extends below deck. Then list what must be masked or avoided: transducer heads, anodes, through-hull fittings, drain holes, air intakes, exhaust outlets, stern gear seals, decorative vinyl, and any electronic sensor housing. Also agree what happens to antifouling dust and residue if sanding or scraping is part of the work.
4. Where will the cleaning be done, and what services are there?
Location drives the equipment decision more than the size of the boat. Afloat alongside, on a hardstand, ashore on an apron, or up an alleyway behind a workshop are four different jobs. Ask what power is available and where the socket is, because a 220 V machine needs the right supply and cable run to reach both sides and the stern. Ask whether there is a water tap, whether the supply is potable or sea water, and whether the yard limits the pressure or the type of equipment that may be used on its surface. Ask how far the machine has to be moved and whether the deck, pontoon or ramp can take its weight.
5. Who collects the runoff, and where does it go?
Antifouling biocides, copper and the residue scraped off a hull all end up in the water unless someone contains them. Ask whether the site requires bunding, vacuum collection or a settling screen, and who is responsible for providing it. Ask what the local rules are for washing afloat, since many harbours and marinas restrict discharge of wash water containing detergent or antifouling particles, and some require the vessel to be cleaned on a hardstand with collection. A provider who plans for containment before starting is usually the one worth paying.
6. How much water and what detergent will be used?
Ask for the volume of water the job is expected to use and whether the site can supply it, because on a pontoon or in a yard with metered water this becomes the practical limit on the job. Ask which detergent will be applied, whether it is rinsed or left to dwell, and whether it is safe for the antifouling, the anodes and the sea life below. Where water is scarce, restricted or expensive to dispose of, ask about low-flow hot water and steam methods, which lift grease and organic growth with far less water than a running hose. PowerDe's cleaning equipment range covers fixed and mobile machines with steam and hot-water modes for exactly this kind of constrained site.
The fixed steam cleaning machine PowerDe HW02, for example, is listed with a 220 V supply, 6 kW heating power, a steam temperature of 160°C, a vapour pressure of 0.8 MPa and an 80 litre stainless tank. Its product page documents vehicle cleaning at fuelling stations and parking facilities rather than marine work, so a yard considering it for a hull or deck should confirm the intended use, the accessories and the duty cycle with the manufacturer before the boat is booked in.
7. What equipment and method, and who controls the settings?
Ask for the method in plain terms: pressure, temperature, nozzle type and stand-off distance, whether detergent is applied and left to dwell, and whether heat is used at all. Ask who sets those values and whether the operator can adjust them at the wand. Ask whether the provider has cleaned a hull of the same material and coating before, and what went wrong on the last one. A single machine is not the right answer for every surface, so ask how the method changes between gelcoat, bare metal, teak, canvas and stainless. If the provider cannot describe the difference, they will learn it on your boat.
8. How many people, what hours, and what happens if the weather turns?
Ask how many operators will be on the job, who supervises, and how long the work is expected to take from first rinse to final wipe down. Ask how the schedule handles tide, wind and rain, since cleaning afloat depends on the pontoon being usable and on the hull staying wet, because detergent left to dry on a warm coating leaves marks. Ask who provides the machine, the hoses and the power cable, and who is responsible for trip and water hazards on the deck while work is in progress.
9. How will both sides know the job is finished?
Agree the check before the work starts, not at handover. Walk the boat in low, raking light and look for streaks, missed panels and lifted coating. Wipe a clean cloth across a deck panel and a topside surface to check for residue. Look at the waterline stripe for edges that are clean but feathered, which shows the pressure was too close. Check every drain, scupper and through-hull for blockage from debris. Then agree what is recorded: dated photographs before and after, the settings used on each surface, the detergent applied, and a short list of defects found during cleaning so they go to the surveyor or maintenance file rather than being argued about later.
Putting the answers on one page
These questions fit on a single sheet that the owner, broker or yard manager fills in and the service provider signs. It should record the build materials and coating history, the surfaces in and out of scope, the location and available power and water, the runoff rules of the site, the water and detergent limits, the method and settings proposed, the crew and schedule, and the acceptance check. A brief like that protects the coatings, and it gives both sides something to point at if the result is not what was expected.
If you are the service provider deciding which equipment to take to a boatyard, the same information works in reverse. Send the site conditions, the surfaces to be cleaned and the available power and water to the manufacturer before you commit to a machine. The contact page lists how to reach Shenzhen PowerDe Automation Precision Equipment about cleaning equipment for a specific site.
