Up here just about everyone's got a boat, or knows someone who does. And out on the Cassowary Coast, boats cop a hiding. Between the tropical sun, the salt, and sitting in the humidity between runs, a boat that isn't looked after goes chalky, dull and tired fast. A proper boat detail pulls it back and keeps her looking sharp — here's what's actually involved and why it's worth doing up here.
Why FNQ is brutal on boats
Everything that wrecks car paint between Cairns and Tully hits a boat twice as hard, because a boat lives in it:
- Salt. Salt water and salt air chew into gelcoat, stain the hull and pit alloy and stainless if it's left to sit.
- UV. Our sun oxidises gelcoat fast — that faded, chalky white you can rub off with your thumb is the top layer cooking off.
- Humidity and mould. Vinyl seats, carpet and canopies go mouldy in the wet season if they stay damp.
- Waterline scum and stains. Tannin from creek and river water leaves a brown stain along the hull that a normal wash won't shift.
What a boat detail actually includes
A boat detail is a deep clean and restore, top to bottom — not a quick hose-off at the ramp:
- Full salt wash-down and hull clean, including the waterline scum and stains
- Gelcoat cut and polish to cut back oxidation and bring the shine back
- Metal and stainless polished — rails, cleats, props and fittings
- Vinyl seats and upholstery cleaned, and mould and musty smells treated
- Carpet and floors vacuumed and shampooed
- Clears and canopies cleaned up
- A protective coat over the gelcoat to help it last
Gelcoat isn't car paint
The shiny outer layer on a fibreglass boat is gelcoat, not paint, and it oxidises differently — it goes chalky rather than just dull. The good news is a machine cut and polish can bring a badly faded hull back to a proper gloss, a lot like a cut and polish on a car. If the gelcoat's gone right back it may take a couple of stages, but there's usually a good finish hiding under that chalk.
Protect it or you're back to square one
Cutting the oxidation off is only half the job — bare, polished gelcoat will start oxidising again in our sun straight away. That's why we seal it afterwards with a wax, sealant or ceramic coating so the salt and UV have something to fight before they get to the gelcoat. It's the same logic as ceramic coating a car up here, and just like paint, the surface has to be properly decontaminated first or you just seal the salt and grime underneath.
How often should you detail a boat in FNQ?
More often than a car, because it's living in salt and sun. As a rough guide, a full detail with a cut, polish and protect once a year keeps the gelcoat healthy, with a wash-down and a re-coat of protection through the year — especially if she's kept on a mooring or out in the weather rather than under cover. Trailer boats that get rinsed after every run and stored under a roof will go longer between full details.
Where we do it
Boat detailing is best done at our detailing studio at 61 Ryan Street, Innisfail, where we've got the space, power and shade to do the cut, polish and protection properly and out of the sun. Bring her round on the trailer and we'll sort her out. For bigger boats or ones that can't move easily, have a chat with us — we can look at coming to you across the Cassowary Coast.
Book a boat detail
Cassowary Coast Car Care — detailing studio at 61 Ryan Street, Innisfail, serving boaties right across the Cassowary Coast. Have a look at our Car Care packages, request a quote, or call 0481 787 960.