CLEAN VESSELS mean CLEAN WATERS

It’s not just marinas that can change their habits to improve the health of our waters. Individual boaters too can play an important role in reducing the pollution associated with vessel maintenance and repair. One good way to do so is to incorporate best management practices (BMPs) into daily boating activities. BMPs are management measures that ensure environmentally responsible behavior.


Below are some BMPs that boaters can implement to reduce vessel maintenance and associated vessel-repair pollution. The results won’t just mean a cleaner boat, but cleaner cruising grounds too.


Washing and Cleaning Your Boat

To stop toxic cleaning products from entering the nearshore waters, boaters can take a number of easy steps.

• Rinse your boat only with fresh water after each use. This can help stop organism growth and will extend the life of the boat’s protective paint coating. Rinsing after each use also reduces the need for cleansers and heavy-duty products.
• Look for catch basins or other collection systems at the posted wash areas of your marina, and use them. Such systems stop paint resins, chips and other hazardous products from entering the aquatic environment. If your marina does not have such a system, encourage them to install one.
• Use less harmful cleaning methods, including baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, borax and “elbow grease.”

Also keep a few things in mind when selecting soaps and cleaning products.

• Ask your marina store to stock environmentally friendly cleaning products. Boaters should purchase the least toxic product available to do the job. Examine the warning label. If it is hazardous to humans, it is hazardous to the aquatic environment.
• Look for the words “phosphate-free” and “biodegradable” on the product label.
• Buy only what you need. The smaller the product container, the smaller the potential spill.
• Keep open cleaning products away from the open deck.
• Clean spills with a rag (instead of hosing); make sure you dispose of the rag safely or stow it to clean other spills.
• Share your leftover supplies with other boaters or dispose of them safely and properly onshore, according to product labeling or the marina operator.

Sanding and Scraping Your Boat

Sanding and scraping a boat can release paint and varnish particles into the air and water around you. Toxic dust particles can irritate a person’s lungs and eyes and can also affect the health and reproductive systems of fish, birds, crabs and other sea life. It is important boaters contain their mess as much as possible. The following are some tips for do-it-yourself boat scrapers.

• Conduct all sanding and scraping onshore, away from the water and preferably in a dedicated work area.
• Use a vacuum sander, a tool that collects and stores paint particles before they get into the water or into your eyes and lungs.
• Lay tarps under the work area to catch loose particles and use a vacuum to remove the loose material. If a vacuum is not available, lift the tarp, collect the scrapings into a sealed container and dispose of it onshore.

Painting Your Hull

Keeping a boat bottom free of algae, barnacles and other growth ensures smooth, fuel-efficient boat operation. Consider using some of the less damaging boat paint alternatives. They effectively protect the hull without harmful pesticides and metals. Some contain ingredients such as silicone or Teflon, while others contain intense concentrations of organic ingredients, such as cayenne pepper.

All paintwork should be conducted onshore in a dedicated work area using a tarp to capture drips and spills. Encourage other boaters to learn more about the laws applying to boat bottom paints as well as alternative painting products by contacting the EPA, their state boating agency and their local marine supply store.

And there are other ways to slow organism growth.

• Rinse and wipe the hull with fresh water after each use.
• Apply a good coat of wax with “elbow grease” each season.
• Dry dock or haul the boat after each use, as this may totally eliminate the need for antifouling paints.

Maintaining Safety Equipment

Take care when disposing of batteries and flares. Lead acid batteries should be delivered to a lead-acid battery retailer or wholesaler for proper disposal or to a collection or recycling facility authorized by the Environmental Protection Agency or your state’s department of environmental quality. Expired marine flares can be kept onboard as a back up for new flares (but new flares should be kept separate from the old flares), or donated to vessel safety training programs. If they must be disposed of unused, they should be treated as hazardous waste. Contact the appropriate agency in your state for proper disposal requirements.

Reprinted with permission of Ocean Conservancy Good Mate program.