Just curious, <BR> <BR>My boat is 7 years old and has only been in salt-water, it has been completely cleaned and flushed after every use. We have always used Salt-eliminator after every flush. <BR> <BR>Last year we changed the water-pump and the risers, we were told you should change them every five years if in salt, all of the parts looked fine when we removed them, but since they were removed we changed them anyway. <BR> <BR>As long as you take care of your stuff it will last just as long running in salt as in fresh water (imo). Keep the anodes in good condition. <BR> <BR>When all you have around is salt you get used to it.... <BR> <BR>What do you guys think. <BR> <BR>Kelly (weskel)

I'm glad you have had good luck but I think your wrong. <BR> <BR>Before I got into wakeboarding offshore fishing was my hobby. Iron is very porous and there's no way to get all the salt out. Salt will also get into things that you would never imagine like wiring. <BR> <BR>I lived in denial for a while too because every thing looked cool on the surface. At a certain point the effects of salt started to show and it got expensive fast. <BR> <BR>I have a saltwater river close by thats butter all the time and I never go near it unless it's in someone else's boat. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR> <BR>I do miss the ocean sometimes though.

Salt is very corrosive and no matter how well you flush, it takes a toll. It will also destroy your wakeboarding gear if you don't wash everything down after every time out.

true true BUT there is so many more boats in the salt then there is in fresh and people are not breaking down every minute.If you told that to somebody that only live on the ocean/sea that the boat will rot in the salt water,they would ask you why have a boat? <BR> <BR>Having said that....My MC will never see salt water but then again,it is not salt water addition.

hmmm, the most important thing when we were done riding is SOAP everything down (EVERYTHING). I used to even dump a little salt away in the bilge and fill it up, then let it drain out. After that, I would spray the engine down with WD-40. I wouldn't care a bit if the engine looked like a big grease pile after a while. Who cares, as long as it has that coating on it, it helps keep the salt residue off. <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0> <BR>To this day you couldn't tell my boat was in the Salt. <BR> <BR>Golden rule is to heat shrink any connections for wiring. I still had to replace wiring after while tho. <BR> <BR>I agree with Walt, but I do realize that if you get into a habit of being anal about taking care of things, it will definately help. However, salt crystals form in places you can't even see. When they dry, they expand and cause problems. No matter what, you are not going to get all the salt residue out of your risers/manifolds when your done. The flushPro that most people use, only fills up the risers at an idle level. That means you are not getting the salt out of the top of the risers (inside). After a while, that is why you have to replace them.

Let’s not forget the important issues here. It tastes horrible!

I am on year 4 riding in salt and I have a buddy with a 94 CC with 1850 hrs that has only been in the salt chuck. Sure it take more maintenance and yes the stuff gets everywhere. <BR> <BR>I would say you do have to look at the risers and manifolds as being an added maintenance cost every 5-8 years in salt water. <BR> <BR>I think people tend to over react on this subject.

I've been riding in saltwater for 20+ years. <BR> <BR>I've had no issues. I get 8 years out of manifolds and risers no problem. 15 min flush after every use, wd40 on every thing, engine, drive, under dash, electrics etc. <BR> <BR>To be honest i never rinse my gear (boards, suits, lines vests etc) and i have no issues wit them either. <BR> <BR>By boat looks every bit as clean as a fresh water boat and there is no visable corrosion on the engien or drive train either. <BR> <BR>We have a MC over here in the UK approaching its 30th birthday and its spent every year in saltwater moored 6 months of the year in the salt with zero flushing. Its still on the same engine block! Beat that. Sure its done countless manifolds, risers etc but they are just consumables. <BR> <BR>The biggest issue you'll have is with trailers, bearings and brakes. They sure take a hammering.

In addition to the above, I think you answered your own question. Why is everyone afraid of salt? "I change my risers every 5 years and do lots of extra cleaning/rinsing" is your answer. I don't wanna do that. When I take my boat out of the water, I wipe it off and it's basically done. What am I gonna rinse it with? Distilled water? Not to mention the trailer which gets the worst of the salt water problems. I agree for the most part that these are boats, and they are okay to go in the salt. I grew up on salt, until moving to FL 4 years ago. You also get salt on your body, etc. It's just much more enjoyable in fresh water, imo. Of course, if you take proper care of your boat in salt, it will last longer then a boat in salt that is not taken proper care of, but it will NEVER last as long as a freshwater boat. I'd like to see a 1982 2001 that's been in salt the whole time. Come down to FL, we have tons of freshwater ones!

Also Salt Water is more dense which means the wake will not be a big than in fresh!!! I guess you would just need more ballast!!!!