Does Waxing a boat hull increase speed?

[duflo]

I was wondering if waxing a boats hull would increase, decrease or have no effect on speed. Seems to me it would tend to help at least topside to shed the water droplets and the boat would be dryer. Dan

[T.S.Davis]

This is a pretty age old question. It usually is reduced to name calling.

Many think a scuffy bottom helps break surface adhesion. I'm in that camp.

Then I wax the tops. The trouble with that can be that it's hard to get the tape to stick if it's cold out.

[kfxguy]

ive never seen back to back gps proof. hopefully someone has done this. Im in the waxed hull camp. I dunno why but i think that because water doesnt like to stick to a waxed surface, tends to make me think it would help. think about it....water beads quickly off a fresh waxed car....effortlessly.....on a rough finish it sticks to it. Im not certain that water sticking to it is what you want. Sure there are those that believe there is a boundry layer of water and the water hitting the boundry layer moves past it easier....im not sure im buying that. Id like to see some back to back proof myself. Everyone has thier opinion, thoughts, theories....but proof is what i like to see. But then again, I could just be totally wrong. lol

[fox88gt]

Professional boat racers prepare the bottoms of their hulls by lightly scuffing the surface at a 45 degree angle to the keel. Its difficult to explain why (i'll give it my best chance here), but waxing the bottom will actually create more friction that a lightly scuffed surface. Your example of a freshly waxed car is a good example. The water does bead from the surface with minimal effort...but have you noticed how a dull, faded car will actually hold a sheet of water on the surface and not let it roll off? When you have that surface of water sticking to the bottom the hull, the water passing underneath the hull can actually do so easier because water-to-water friction is less than water-to-hull friction no matter how smooth or well waxed the bottom is. I dont have back-to-back proof (like gps data) but I figure if its good enough for the teams that spend major dollars to go boat racing, its good enough for me:) I have heard its a 1-2 MPH on a full size boat. I do wax the topsides for easy cleanup after a trip to the lake though.

[Rumdog]

Scuff. My aero marine sprintcat handled completely different after I scuffed the ride pads. Loosened right up.

[rickwess]

The proof is in the "shark skin" suits that swimmers used to use before they were banned for being too fast. Essentially, they provided a rough surface for air bubbles to form in and reduce drag in the water.

[madmikepags]

Do this test, take your hull with fresh gel coat and or wax, put your finger in water and slide it across the surface. Then scuff it w some 300-400 grit and do the same thing w your finger, you will be surprised to see the gel coated/waxed surface your finger will stick to, the sanded surface your finger will slide over with very little resistance.

[kfxguy]

Do this test, take your hull with fresh gel coat and or wax, put your finger in water and slide it across the surface. Then scuff it w some 300-400 grit and do the same thing w your finger, you will be surprised to see the gel coated/waxed surface your finger will stick to, the sanded surface your finger will slide over with very little resistance.

Now YOU have a GOOD point. I was just about to post that in my opinion, at 70, 80, 100mph. ....water doesn't have time to stick to the hull.

[785boats]

Mike.
That's the very test I make people try at the lake side to prove to them why I scuff the bottom of my hulls.

Fox88gt.
That's the first time I've heard of the 45 degree orientation. I've only ever heard of (and done) along the hull. I must give it a go.

I even scuffed the shine off all the bright shiny bits that drag through the water, on a couple of boats, like rudders, turn fins, struts, stingers, trim tabs etc.
I don't know if it made any difference. But the theory states that it should.

[kfxguy]

So what grit? im very tempted to do this but i want to be able to buff my carbon fiber hull back out. i dont care about 1 or 2 more mph but i would like to prove this theory one way or the other. 2000 grit?

[madmikepags]

300-400 grit is good, if you buff it back out you defeat the purpose of it? I do it on all my boats. The increase in speed is more noticeable on monos, especially in the corners when a lot of the hull is in the water.

[kfxguy]

300-400 grit is good, if you buff it back out you defeat the purpose of it?

I just wanted to do it to find out if it works or not. personally i dont want a scuffed bottom on my nice carbon fiber hull so id buff it back out. Id be willing to do it for informations sake, but im not doing 400 grit because it will be too much work to get the scratches back out.

[madmikepags]

It's not just speed, its also amp draw and the boats run more consistently too. I had a LSO boat that kept overheating and slowing in the corners and just not running right, I sanded the bottom and the boat was a completely different animal.

[Rumdog]

You only have to Buff the last steps in the ride pads. You can even use the red Scotch-Brite pads

[martin]

Im a firm believer in scuffing, I have noticed that my boats after cutting the power glide further & more on top of the water. Un scuffed they settle quicker into the water & glide less.