Hull treatments

Hi all... I am curious. What do you use on your boats to make them faster?

I am in the US so I am looking to find out some of the local products that work and don't slow my boat down.


What are the best products to wipe your boat down with after each use and before the big race?

Do you use some kind of wax to fill in the small scratches?
Do you use a silicone spray or a teflon for speed?

I understand if I do not get many replies as the answers may be big secrets ... thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

I don't know of anything - but perhaps you might start a whole new craze with this!

I generally wipe my ski down with water after a paddle - but that's to get the salt off!

There has been some very cool research on hull speed, hydrodynamics, additives (wax, oils, silicone, etc.) and texture (smooth vs rough)... I can't find it the website that summarized the data right now, but in a nutshell it suggested;

• wax is slow (prevents a water layer form bonding to the hull allowing a low friction water-water interface),
• a slight micro texture is faster then glassy smooth (the micro-texture allows water to bond to hull more easily creating a low friction water-water interface),
• there are some additives that speed up hulls, but they are very expensive and very heavy so there has to be a trade off

I believe gel coat has an inherent wax layer as part of its protective function. A complete and vigorous degreasing will remove that waxy layer. Be warned that the underlying gel coat will be at risk of staining and it will get harder and harder to clean. It will also be a dull matte finish, no more glossy wet look. Well unless it is wet...

I'll post a link when I find it again :-[

thanks for the warning and advice... I look forward to the link.