Boating Safety & Maintenance: How to Prevent Sunscreen Stains on Your Boat
When boating or fishing, sunscreen is a crucial item to have with you — nothing can ruin a day out on a boat worse than a bad sunburn. With increasing attention being given to skin cancer, the market for sunscreen is growing exponentially year after year. This market offers a variety of chemical formulas as well as delivery methods, including lotions of all kinds and aerosol spray-on formulas. Today, we are talking about how sunscreens, especially spray-ons, can mess with a boat’s deck coatings and how these issues can be avoided.
There is little doubt at this point that spray-on, aerosol sunscreens can cause issues on boats. These sprays contain an untold number of chemical compounds and have been known to leave orange marks everywhere on a boat, from the gelcoat to the vinyl. Additionally, these sprays are bacon-grease slick and, if sprayed directly onto the deck, they can leave the floor dangerously slippery. A slippery deck is never a good thing, especially making your way around the boat or, even worse, when fighting a fish.
Yes, leaving the gelcoat or vinyl in the sun will usually do the trick of burning off those orange spots, but that is never guaranteed, especially as these formulas grow increasingly stronger and new chemical combinations are used. If the sun alone doesn’t clear up these stains, a little elbow grease with Soft Scrub will generally do the trick. But, ultimately, the best way to avoid the problem is to avoid spraying these compounds on the deck of your very nice boat.
Curious about these compounds? Take a look at some of the ingredients that are regularly found in sunscreens, including spray-on varieties. avobenzone oxybenzone avobenzine ethylhexl methoxycinnamate octinoxate benzophenone retinyl palmitate homosalate octisalate octocrylene To just avoid issues with sunscreen sprays totally, one obvious option is to apply the sunscreen before jumping on the boat in the morning. That will give you a base of sunscreen before you start the day. Then, when on the boat, I always encourage my guests to use lotion that I provide for them. That avoids any accidental spraying onto the boat. I understand that most anglers don’t like touching sunscreen lotion before touching their gear, however, not only is lotion better for the angler, but also for the boat and environment.
When spraying, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that these formulas are made of strong chemicals. Some of the spray can land in our waterways and that is definitely not a good thing. In those cases, it’s a good idea to invest in a roll-on sunscreen when reapplying on the boat. This way your hands stay clean and so does the boat.
If you only have the aerosol sunscreen spray on your boat, it’s a good idea to use it with a towel. Lay a towel down where you are spraying, so the towel will act as a barrier between any kind of aerosol spray and your boat. No one wants to return from a great day of fishing and then have to clean sunscreen residue and orange spots off of their boat.
Ultimately, sunscreen is a necessary part of any anglers’ day and can indeed help us all avoid cancer. But application of these screens does not have to be detrimental to a boat’s surface. Wear the sunscreen to protect yourself, but, please, think twice before you spray!
