Swobbit's line of brushes. From least harsh on the left to most harsh on the right.

Non-Skid Brush

Far right clear bristles shown above

 This brush is used to clean off stains from nonskid only. This brush needs to have rigid bristles to aggressively agitate the surface being cleaned. This brush should not feel comfortable when rubbed on the back of your hand and should not be used for any other part of your boat except nonskid. Bristles of Swobbit's Stiff White Brush are made of Polypropylene and suggested for use on teak decks, boat bottoms but no painted or glossy surfaces.

Medium Brushes

Middle two yellow bristles brush heads

Brushes that are in-between a harsh non-skid brush and smooth fiberglass brush can be very useful on a fiberglass boat because they can be used on either non-skid or smooth gel-coat. Swobbit's Medium Yellow Brush and Flagged Yellow brush features polystyrene bristles. The Medium Yellow is suggested for use on non-skid, teak, canvas, and cushions. The Flagged Yellow brush has a flared ending to each bristle that makes it a much less aggressive brush overall feature a soft polystyrene bristle for general cleaning from light non-skid cleaning to smooth fiberglass.

Smooth Gel-Coat Brush

Blue brush head on the left

This brush is used to wash salt and filth off your hull and any other part of the boat that has smooth fiberglass or bright work. This brush usually is under the mild category by brush makers, It should be soft enough to rub against your face and split nylon ends makes it even softer. This brush may scratch paint so be careful. The nylon bristles will create massive amounts of suds for whisking away nasties from your boat. The blue bristles brush pictured above is one of the softest with extra soft nylon bristles and Swobbit says it is soft enough for paint, windows and other delicate finishes not including enclosures. I however would remain skeptical and instead use a wool type applicator for paint and windows and avoid cleaning vinyl enclosures with a brush.

Paint and plastic and Isinglass brush

I have not found a brush that I fully trust for for the most perfect paint other than a pure boars head brush. Instead a good substitute is a wool pad that is also available for quick stainless extension poles. This can be used to wash, plastics, paint and even smooth fiberglass.

Deck Brushes are the tool that is used most in the realm of boat washing. If you are a true master of the wash your deck brush will be your most prized tool. It is used to remove bird droppings and snacks from your deck as well as wash away salt. Deck brushes come in all shapes and sizes as well as prices. I have gone through my share of cheep deck brushes and have dropped my share of expensive ones overboard. For that reason it is hard for me to support either the cheap screw in wooden ones or the expensive stainless steel and aluminum ones.

Cheap Deck Brushes:

So many times I have made a mess on a boat scrubbing away with a molting deck brush. That is right before I really lean into the brush to try to get a stain off the deck when SNAP, the threaded wooden shaft breaks in the brush head. The rest of the day I am on my hands and knees scrubbing by hand. I would only use a low quality deck brush if there was no other option because they are made cheaply and not made to last a lifetime.

Nice Deck Brushes:

I can remember the day I went out and got three new heavy duty stainless steel snap extension poles with the quick locking brush heads. It was the day I dropped one of them into the water and it sank never to be found again. The other two have given me years of trusty use but the one liberated pole is happily at the bottom with the fish and mud. When I look for a deck brush pole I look for a pole that is lightweight and strong. A pet peeve is when the snap isn’t lined up and you have no idea where the snap will come out and lock into a hole. Swobbit makes a pole with a track so it only goes in and out one direction with absolutely no twist. This extra runner gives extreme rigidity for a brush/pole combo that is superior to anything else I have come across.