Dirty soft plastic winch handle pockets and cowl vents

[ignacio]

The people have spoken. Wow. They survived a romp around the North Pacific, with bottles, winch handles, and other gear, so figure they've passed at least one durability test.

Ok, let me see if I can dig up the design sketch I made last year. I'll post separately about it. Please PM me if you're interested.

 

[Blue Chip]

I've done the cleaning with acetone in the past, and it does indeed leave the surface clean but quite sticky. It also seems to sort of open up the pores of the surface, and make it more readily attract dirt in the future, so you need to treat the surface some how to get back to "normal". Painting is certainly one option, and I've gone that route on a couple of items. But what has also seemed to work well is treating the surface with either Armor All or just simple boat wax, either of which will keep it from attracting dirt - BUT which will not last, and will need to be repeated.

Brush and roller cleaner from ACE..use a LOT of product...not a DAMP CLOTH...WET CLOTH Not as sticky that way. It's the DAMP CLOTH that makes themso sticky...rinse well with water..fresh...than quick coat of wax. Next time is is REALLY easy as now the wax helps you as it is removed. Got the best looking fenders, dorade covers on the dock!!

 

[CTOlsen]

Avoid acetone

I've used Spray 9 on all tough cleaning jobs with great success. It's extremely strong, don't use on painted or oiled surfaces.

 

[markvone]

Follow up

Here is the same winch holder after scrubbing with a green Scotch pad and then soaking in 20% bleach/water.

The real question is how to keep the thing from getting really dirty again? The dirty surfaces of the holder are porous and oxidized like weathered gelcoat. The back of the holder is still smooth and slightly shiny, like polished gelcoat. The rough surface holds water and collects dirt. Cleaning and scrubbing get the dirt off but leave the surface rough and uneven and ready to collect more dirt. I've experimented with Armorall and boat wax to seal the outer surface. They give the holder a little shine and it feels smoother but its hard to tell how often it will need to be retreated.

Mark

 

[Loren Beach]

Here is the same winch holder after scrubbing with a green Scotch pad and then soaking in 20% bleach/water.

The real question is how to keep the thing from getting really dirty again? The dirty surfaces of the holder are porous and oxidized like weathered gelcoat. The back of the holder is still smooth and slightly shiny, like polished gelcoat. The rough surface holds water and collects dirt. Cleaning and scrubbing get the dirt off but leave the surface rough and uneven and ready to collect more dirt. I've experimented with Armorall and boat wax to seal the outer surface. They give the holder a little shine and it feels smoother but its hard to tell how often it will need to be retreated.

Mark

I spray painted our original vinyl vents for our cockpit with a rattle can product from Ace Hardware. It's a vinyl paint -- seems as flexible as the base material. Just use several thin coats, as it runs easily. The resulting surface is a lot smoother.

Loren

 

[Christian Williams]

If you have any Interlux Brightside lying around, that paint works too.

But gentlemen--replacing these things is 15 bucks!

 

[markvone]

Followup

I decided to paint my vinyl winch handle holders and two vent cowls with SEM vinyl spray paint. One 12 oz can easily covered all four parts with several coats. A can is $13 - 16 on Amazon. I used Gloss White 15453 which is a brighter white than the original color slightly off white but matches my buffed and shined gelcoat better. Other than being 4 times cheaper than buying new holders, the main reason I didn't buy new ones (mine are Nico Marine) was I couldn't match the mounting screw hole pattern. The painted parts survived the year much cleaner than the unpainted parts but are still showing some dark spots so I'm in the process of painting them again.

Mark

 

[supersailor]

Try bleach. I accidently spilled some on my embarrassing grungy West plastic outboard motor rail mount. Sometimes I can be a real klutz. The result was a totally clean and new looking streak down the mount. More bleach with a follow up of plastic cleaner/polish and it looks as good as when it was purchased new. I just saved $59.99. Wow! sometimes being a klutz really pays off.

Maybe a coat of the polish just before winter might pay big dividends in the spring by not giving the mold a place to start.

 

[Kenneth K]

Favorite locations for winch handle holders?

I just picked up two winch handle holders and two sheet bags this winter, as previously the boat had neither.

I bought the narrower sheet bags, so I was thinking of putting a winch handle holder inboard of the sheet bag on the starboard side (possibly with removable snaps), next to the companionway entry.

The other holder I'm considering putting on the steering pedestal support rails.

Wondering where others like the holders?

 

[Frank Langer]

We chose to keep the bulkhead on either side of the companionway in the cockpit clear, which allows my wife and I to lean against it with our feet stretched out, a cushion to sit on. It's very comfortable while at anchor, but wouldn't be if we had instruments or winch handles mounted there.
Frank

 

[markvone]

I'm with Frank on keeping the bulkhead clear for leaning/lounging against. My winch pockets are mounted at the forward corners of the cockpit footwell on each side. My primary winches are forward on the cockpit coaming and my cabintop winches are just forward of the bulkhead so I can reach them easily. I'm going to mount my line bags from my handrails outboard over the portlights and make them removeable (no dodger). I'd keep the pockets near where you need handles.

 

[Christian Williams]

I can only report that my line bags, in the traditional position, are very comfortable to lean against.

I did have to raise the winch handle pockets a few inches for cockpit cushions.

 

[markvone]

More Follow Up

I wish I had taken a picture of the winch handle pocket I painted last winter to show how dirty it got before I repainted it but I forgot. It was not nearly as dirty as my original picture but it was close to being as dirty as the cleaned, unpainted version. So I repainted again this spring. The coverage on the repaint was much better than the first time. I didn't pay enough attention and ordered the wrong color SEM 15103 Super White (instead of SEM 15453 Gloss White). Super White is a little off white and more closely matches the original color of the vinyl but without the original shine. I repainted two coats of the Super White to see how it would look. I still prefer the better color match of Gloss White but the winch pocket holder looks like new.

Mark