Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

Getting rid of mould

from Treadmaster

I

don’t know why, but come spring

2017 Keppel’s Treadmaster was

particularly mouldy. We’ve had a

similar problem previously when

we’ve left her to over-winter in foreign

boatyards. Much less in the Med, as

to be expected, but it

always came off easily

enough by scrubbing

with warm soapy water,

aided by a splash of

bleach. This time it was

very different. I had

very limited success,

even after an awful lot

of scrubbing.

I don’t usually get

brainwaves when I’m fed

up, but on this occasion I

did. I wondered whether

Fenwick’s Tent and

Awning Cleaner – excellent

for removing grime and all

sorts of green gunge for sprayhoods,

mainsail covers and cockpit tents – might

work on Keppel’s rather sorry looking

deck covering.

In a nutshell, it worked extremely well. I

followed the instructions given for canvas

cleaning to good effect. I applied the liquid

to the lowest part of the deck first and

worked my way uphill toward the foredeck

Richard Hare finds a

new – much easier –

way of clearing fungi

from his deck covering

Fenwick’s cleaner did the job

working an area of about

0.5m^2 at a time. As

instructed, I rinsed off

as I progressed. On

scrubbing, it foamed up

like washing-up liquid.

And the result? Well every

picture tells a story, but in

words, with a great deal less scrubbing

(harmful in itself), the stubborn grime lifted

away – and pretty easily too. The result

was the Treadmaster came up like new, as

can be seen from the photograph (right).

The 1lt bottle cost £5.70, sufficient to sort

out Keppel’s side decks. I bought it from a

caravan shop, although chandlers may

also stock it. Worth every penny.

Our Golden Hind 312, Keppel, has a lot of Treadmaster to keep on top of

to keep her looking shipshape

Treadmaster still looked mouldy even

after normal scrubbing and elbow grease

Scrubbed up with awning cleaner and

looking as good as new

PRACTICAL