Pressure Washer Revolutionises Pontoon Maintenance At Braunston Marina
Tim Coghlan is the Managing Director of Braunston Marina Limited, a well established canal narrowboat marina located at the crossroads of the Grand Union and Oxford canals in Northamptonshire.
Braunston Marina is a major centre for leisure craft and narrowboats, with modern mooring facilities for 250 boats and over two miles of wooden pontoons that need to be maintained. It also sells all types of new and used narrowboats, there are two dry docks, and a wet docks, a craneage pad and a service area capable of most repairs.
Tim and his team needed a high performance, industrial strength pressure washer to clean the decked piers in and around the boat moorings allowing safe access for the marina’s many visitors and residents. With mature trees surrounding the Marina’s two basins, there is quite a large build up of algae and moss on the pontoons during the winter months, which with traditional pressure washers, were slow and messy to clean, and required moored boats to be moved away from them whilst this was being done.
Tim spotted an advertisement for the Hurricane Combi industrial pressure washer range and contacted Clemas & Co, a family run business based in Tewkesbury.
Tom in sales at Clemas takes a consultative approach to matching the right cleaning machine to the particular cleaning task at hand. Tom explained, “We discussed how the pressure washer would be used and what it was going to clean. Once I had all the necessary information we considered two Hurricane Combi industrial pressure washer options, these were the P2 and the larger P4 model. These industrial cleaning machines were chosen based on the manoeuvrability, physical widths and weight of the two machines. I discussed with Tim the pros and cons between the petrol and LPG for the Hurricane P2. Both models were quoted competitively and following this Tim promptly requested a free of charge demonstration for the following week”.
The rotary twin jet system of the Hurricane Combi range is designed to clean these types of applications and in addition is supplied frequently to customers wishing to clean large floor areas such as pavements, driveways, sports grounds and yards. The spinning arms turn at 2000rpm with the jets just millimetres from the floor surface ensuring an efficient and superb cleaning performance. The Hurricane P4 Combi has the added advantage of a standard lance and hose attachment for conventional pressure washer use too, just simply select which system you wish to use by the lever and the water flow will be directed to one or the other depending on your application.
Tom visited Braunston Marina and a demonstration of the larger Hurricane P4 was carried and was received very well by Tim and his colleagues. The machine’s rotary twin jets soon removed the surface and engrained soiling but most importantly cleaned the algae and moss removing the potential trip hazard. Roy the maintenance engineer tried the machine himself in 2 or 3 areas and was very pleased with results achieved and in such a short time. It was decided that due to the widths of the narrow pontoons the smaller P2 model would be more than sufficient and this would be the machine of choice. Tim said “A brilliant demonstration, and most helpful in determining our needs. The machine really does CLEAN!”
Tim was happy with our prompt service, expert advice and product information and loved the machine from the demonstration. The order for a Hurricane P2 Combi pressure washer was received within 24 hours of demonstration so they could get on with the cleaning before the winter set in. The purchase also included a 12 month service contract, a wise choice since it’s an engine powered unit. The contract means the pressure washer is serviced twice a year by a specialist Clemas engineer at the Braunston Marina. These service contracts often prove to be more cost effective in the long run as they reduce the chances of unexpected break downs that lead to cleaning down time, or inferior cleaning results from using a machine that may not be working at its best.
The machine was delivered ten days later and training on the pressure washer was supplied by our pressure washer specialist engineer. Tim was very pleased with his purchase and after a few weeks of use he emailed us to say “Just a quick note to say how brilliantly the Combi Pressure Washer is working. It really has revolutionised our pontoon maintenance, doing the job in a third of the time. Our moorers are full of praise too.”
Tim went on to say “There are several companies offering the same products but the level of service and the approach to choosing exactly the right machine for the particular task is what makes Clemas stand out from the rest. They make sure the cleaning machine is the right one through asking a number of questions relating what we are trying to achieve. Their knowledge and experience has ensured I haven’t wasted money on the incorrect machine”.