Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
That is why you see beads of water on a freshly waxed vehicle...it beads because the wax repels it. Ever notice when you drive down the road with a freshly waxed car the beads seem to follow the same path? that is due to water sticking in those pathways, so more beads follow it due to less resistance. As to mattering on a fishing boat?....it makes the other parts of the hull nice and shiny but does nothing to make the boat faster. 
Ryan...the reason you saw a gain in speed (especially with the crownline) was due to cleaning the dirty hulls...not the waxing itself. If you have a bunch of debris (even scaling from hard water, slight algae buildup, or even just plain dirt/scum) that inhibits the flow of water over it in a laminar motion (creating turbid water around the hull) it will significantly cut down on the hull's efficiency. So....the accuracy of your statement is due to obtaining a clean hull...not the wax itself. If you cleaned the hull and didn't wax it, I would bet you would find no difference in a gain of speed as compared to just a clean hull. It definitely makes sense with the crownline if the hull had not been cleaned for the length of time you mentioned.
Steve
Edited by VMS 4/17/2010 1:35 AM
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