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Vacuum Recommendation for new 2019 Pontoon

RunningYld said:
A boat full of grade schoolers who think the boat is only a water taxi to a place to play in the sand make it a necessity.
Determined its impossible to get them to clean their feet every time they get in and out. Our 3 kids and usually 3 or 4 of other peoples kids = hundreds of little feet in the boat in a day.
Either spend all day telling them to clean their feet or the wife and I can enjoy the day and not worry about it.
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When we beach, we place a large (approx 24" x 16" x 8") Tupperware container half filled with lake water on the beach directly in front of the front porch. Everyone steps into the container with their sandy feet and then up onto the front deck.
 
RunningYld said:
We run the a cordless Dyson through about every time we take the boat out.
A boat full of grade schoolers who think the boat is only a water taxi to a place to play in the sand make it a necessity.
Determined its impossible to get them to clean their feet every time they get in and out. Our 3 kids and usually 3 or 4 of other peoples kids = hundreds of little feet in the boat in a day.
Either spend all day telling them to clean their feet or the wife and I can enjoy the day and not worry about it.
Much easier to vacuum quick while loading supplies on board the next time we take it out.
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Well,
When they are LEAVING the boat, it shouldn't get dirty. But, when they are entering the boat, yes, it can get dirty from beach sand etc. But, by far, it's not impossible to keep the boat pretty darn dirt/sand free when the little ones or even the grown ups return on deck from the beach. On our other boat, an '06 Kayot 220V, it had a *front washdown* installed from the factory. We liked and used it so much that, when we got this new to us '14 Benny 25RCL with the 350HP Yamaha, we had a front washdown installed on that boat too.

When we acquired this present Benny, the previous owner had a rear washdown installed when it was new. Since he passed away, we can't figure out why it was done. But, the front wash down is a must, if you beach your boat and have folks or dogs etc. getting out and back in again. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, a *washdown* is simply a hose and nozzle, concealed in a tube (or at least it is in ours) and, there's a cover to the tube to keep the hose and nozzle in place when not in use.

Now, when you beach the boat, we turn on the pump which, is an RV type water pump that is what's known as a *demand* type pump. That is, once the system is self primed, the pump ceases to run but, the system is under pressure. When a person opens the cover to the washdown, and pulls out the hose, then opens the nozzle, the flow begins and the pump runs. With our pump, there's quite a substantial stream of water that emerges from that nozzle. I can spew water in about a 1/4" diameter stream, about 25' or more out in to the water. The nozzle is adjustable to make it a fan, cone, or straight stream.

A cone or fan works best for washing off dirty feet, including dogs. It's a very efficient system. When the person stops flowing water, the pump quits. When we're done using the washdown, the self coiling hose just tucks right back into the tube and the cover is replaced. The picture(s) below are not the best representation of our system but, you'll get the point.
Scott

P.S., The first pic, when you click on it, if you look the very front of the boat, right next to the front gate, on the left side, you'll see the coiled blue hose emerging from the tube, under the left front seat. On the second picture, you're looking at the cover over that tube, from the front of the boat. In the third pic, you're looking at the cover over the tube for the rear wash down. Incidentally, those covers are removed by twisting one quarter of a turn in the counter clockwise direction. And also by the way, the pump is supplied with lake water and there is an intake for it, running right down the rear of the left pontoon. There is a filter in the system that is just in front of the pump so, in case there's gook entering the system, it's caught before it enters the pump.
Scott
 

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Fire up that looks like the way to do it. I didn't know you could get front wash down systems. The next time the wife says the boat is full of sand I'll bring it up. Maybe I can talk her into upgrading the boat :). And since this is probably not a common option on used boats I'll get to order a new one. If I tell her about sunedog's foot bath tub she'll get cheap and won't let me buy a new boat.
Now I gotta talk the kids into bringing more sand in boat then they normally do without the wife catching on to the master plan.
Whenever its time to get a new boat it won't have carpet. Inside our playpen is carpet but the back "fishing area" and rear deck are seagrass. Those areas are easier to clean but get a lot hotter in the sun.
 
Running,
Those wash down kits are not all that expensive. It all depends on which model you buy and, how it's made and what comes with it. The one you see, the blue coiled up model, came with the tube housing, the door, the coiled hose and, a nozzle. And, from Bennington, it was around $300 or so. Yeah, without a doubt, it was/is a bit pricey. But, if you buy a nut and bolt from Bennington, it's gonna cost you your first born. Here is a fairly similar kit:

Amazon.com: T. H. Marine WDSB-2-B Washdown Station And Hose, Color Polar White: Automotive

Buy T. H. Marine WDSB-2-B Washdown Station And Hose, Color Polar White: Hose Connectors & Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com

Now, here's the deal. As you can see, the kit(s), when purchased from NORMAL suppliers, Amazon, ebay etc. are not all that expensive. But, if you're not the handy type, installation can get the better side of your wallet if you go to your local Bennington dealer/service center. Not knowing some very important information about how things come apart on my boat, I simply contracted my local dealer to do the install. And, guess what, THEY SCREWED IT UP! When I got out on the water after having it installed, I turned on the pump, opened the wash down door, pulled out the blue coiled hose and, opened the nozzle, only to find that there was ZERO WATER emerging from the nozzle!!!!!!!! CRAP! Now what?

Well, since their work is warrantied, I contacted them and they were more than happy to setup another appointment to remedy the situation. But, here's a side note here. When we decided to have the toons polished, I had to figure out how to remove the side aluminum trim, that mates the bottom of the deck to the toons. There's about 21 bolts that hold that 25' piece to the boat sub frame. They're a bit of a pain to remove but, not insurmountable. I'm used to things being a pain in the ass. So, after all the bolts and nuts are removed, that entire piece of trim is removed so that the person doing the polishing, could go farther up on each toon and not take a chance on damaging the aluminum trim. But, in removing that trim, I found that I could access much of the under-floor plumbing and electrical.

Well, since we had these toons polished, I was not gonna take a chance on one of the boys at the Bennington service area goof any part of that polish job up so, I decided to remove those trim pieces once again, to see if I could figure out what the problem with the no-flow of water to my new wash down was. Well, it didn't take long to find the culprit. Those boys don't remove the trim when they do work. So, what they (the actual guy that did the wash down install) didn't know was, he looped and kinked the hose from the pump to the wash down, TWICE! So, when I found out that was the problem, I disconnected the flexible tubing from the new wash down and, removed much of it, back to where the problem(s) were and, straightened all that flex line out. I secured it with wire-ties to much of the cross members to keep things from etching while the boat is under way and, even while on the road being transported.

Once that was all done, I put the aluminum trim back and, we headed out to the water. Yahhhhhoooooo, I got a ton of water being shot out from both those wash downs. And, I didn't have to take it back down to the boys at Bennington. Yes, I know, they did the work in the first place and they should have been the ones to fix it. I don't disagree with that at all. But, again, I had/have polished toons and, did not want the potential for scratching them to take place, even though they owed me a repair. I got two problems taken care of by doing it myself, in way less time than it would take to take the boat down to them, have them goof around and figure out where the problem(s) were/are, then go pick the boat up.

Now, here's the intricacies of how things work. When our boat was new, it was built with a sink and spigot. To supply that system, there was a very small tank and tiny water pump, just below the sink. Well, when the previous owner wanted a rear wash down installed, he had the local dealer remove that water tank and tiny pump. Then, he had them install a much, much larger pump in the rear of the boat. They then did a water pickup tube down the back of the left toon, that's plumbed from there, to the water pump. Then, they installed and plumbed the rear wash down to that pump and, they ran a line to the existing spigot in the sink. All is well.

But, here we come and, we want a front wash down now. So, they Teed into the line coming off the output side of the pump and, ran a whole new line, under the deck but, not visible from the bottom of the boat, to the front section where, they went up through the deck, right next the front left seat. There, they installed the wash down and, hooked up the plumbing to it. I gotta say, without a doubt, that wash down is invaluable when it comes to keeping all that beach crap OUT OF THE BOAT.
Scott
 
Hi
I want to also install a wash down in my new Benny. I was thinking of putting the pump in the back rest behind the driver's seat. Then run the pickup tube through the deck to one of the rear holes in the back of the boat. Next It would go into the box that's connected to the rear of the pontoon. I would try to pick up the power from an empty switch on the dash. Not sure if this will all work. If anyone has any suggestions or cautions it would be appreciated. Thanks
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
If you can track one of these down they are great!!!

Trac Outdoors Portable Washdown Pump Kit - Self-Priming Marine-Grade Pump - Includes Everything Needed to Power-Spray, Just Add Water (69380) , Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EVIOC5G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_A4XBHK3YQJNENRX49BZ7
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I bought this exact model probably based on a recommendation from SemperFi back in 2017. I really thought we’d use it more than we do. It works great! We just don’t need it like I thought we would.

I want to also recommend this product 100%! Just make sure you will actually use it more before sinking money into adding a wash down line to your boat, or buying something portable like this option.

Our Trac portable wash-down pump frankly sits in our garage collecting dust.
 
Vikingstaff said:
I use our cordless leaf blower to clean vinyl seagrass flooring. Then a wet hand towel when needed of things that don’t blow off. Has been the quickest and easiest route for us. Then periodically we do the full dawn dish soap and water cleaning of furniture and interior panels.
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+1
 
Looneytunes said:
Hi
I want to also install a wash down in my new Benny. I was thinking of putting the pump in the back rest behind the driver's seat. Then run the pickup tube through the deck to one of the rear holes in the back of the boat. Next It would go into the box that's connected to the rear of the pontoon. I would try to pick up the power from an empty switch on the dash. Not sure if this will all work. If anyone has any suggestions or cautions it would be appreciated. Thanks
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If you want something without all the hassle of a built in one, I bought one of these to rinse things down. Haven’t had a chance to use it but seems like a great idea. You can use lake water, bottles of water or hook your garden hose to it and it is low pressure so shouldn’t damage anything.

Hydroshot Portable Power Cleaners | WORX

Keeping things clean outside the house has never been easier with the extreme versatility and portability of the Worx Hydroshot power cleaner.
www.worx.com www.worx.com
 
I love the idea of a built in wash down system and/or something that attaches to the battery. I used the DeWalt powerwash (since I had a bunch of batteries already), on low, with the wide angle - it was AMAZING. The dirt that came up from the floor was significant (and we did not beach), it cleaned up the lotion residue that was on the seats after a week of use, yet it was gentle enough to also clean my feet. I think the key was the fine mist with just a little pressure = the right combination.
 
Looneytunes said:
Hi
I want to also install a wash down in my new Benny. I was thinking of putting the pump in the back rest behind the driver's seat. Then run the pickup tube through the deck to one of the rear holes in the back of the boat. Next It would go into the box that's connected to the rear of the pontoon. I would try to pick up the power from an empty switch on the dash. Not sure if this will all work. If anyone has any suggestions or cautions it would be appreciated. Thanks
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Make sure whatever you install, drain it come fall if you live in a winter freeze climate. Lost my first portable to cracked pump.
 
If you ever have a Dyson, it's hard living without it.

At least until my wife bought a high line robot vacuum cleaner--comparable to a I Bot. Our house is remarkably clean with it running 2 hrs. every morning.

But for the boat, the Dyson would be hard to beat. I also carry a Dust Devil vacuum when I can get to 110 volt.
 
I have this one and love it. I have the 4amp batteries to run it.
 

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1trotter said:
I have this one and love it. I have the 4amp batteries to run it.
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Man I love Ryobi. I have probably 30 of their 18V tools, lights, vacs, etc… Love my 10” mitre saw!!!
 
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