T&T: salt water wash on teak decks

[Bonnie@nethere.com]

At the dock, I always washed our Albin with fresh water from the top deck
down, then eyebrow and bow to stern. Then carefully, one bucket at a time,
pour salt water over the teak decks and let it drain out the scuppers. The
very last thing would be the hull. I was told that fresh water can cause
mold on the shady side of the boat, especially in winter, in Southern
California, whereas a saltwater rinse prevents growth of organisms.

While cruising in Mexico, at then end of the day, I faithfully would wipe
down the windows with a fresh water and vinegar mixture, then the teak.
Lastly, I'd wipe down the bulwarks. By washing the salt off the varnish
with that touchof vinegar water each day, I would only have to varnish the
teak once a cruising season, except for touch ups to dings, even in the
tropics. Washing down the decks at anchor with salt water kept them clean
and safe. I didn't worry about the outside hull until we went into a marina
and gave her a allover washdown.

Bonnie
formerly "Serenity/SD"
soon "Third Time/SD"

In Reply to: "SO, if you wash the decks down with salt water, now you have
salt residue on the hull sides and everything else that got splashed in the
process. So, you rinse that off with freshwater and remove the salt from the
decks. See where this is going?  How do you folks that follow this regiment
of always rinsing the decks with salt water handle this?"