salt water, what to look for

I might be going to look at a boat this weekend that has been primarily used in brackish water and I was wondering if there was anything specific to look for. The owner says it was flushed and washed down after every use but I just want to make sure there are no suprises down the road if I end up getting it. It has a fairly new galvanized trailer so hopefuly that would not be an issue.

Look for any leaks (noted but rusty stains) around the exhaust risers. If they are leaking on the outside then they are most likely leaking on the inside. Check corrosion of the electrical components (including inside of dist cap). Check the trailer brakes. They are first to go in salty water. There is more that this to look for but this will give you a general indication of what you are getting into. This is all from past experience running my previous boats in salt.

I have a similar question. I may be looking at a 2003 Tige 24V that has been used primarily in Salt and has 200 hours. It has had FWC since day one according to the seller. It was kept on a hydra-lift. I talked with a guy who use to work for the dealership helping him sell it where it is located right now and he said the gelcoat is good and the interior is perfect. I know this doesn't have much to do with the mechanical aspects but maybe a good indication of how the person took care of their boat. The boat does have a brand new trailer so that is nice.

Besides the risers is there any other important engine parts to check?

Is there any part of the Transmission that is important to check?

How hard is it to remove the FWC?

This boat only has the 315hp merc mag. Is this boat going to be an absolute dog?

Do you think that 29k is a good price for this boat? It has heater, stereo, tower, board racks, tower speakers, ranking cover and is the limited not the riders edition.

Chris, hopefully we both can get some good insight.

Engine is plenty strong.
Transmission can't be in worse shape than normal.
Why would you want to remove the Fresh Water Cooling; that is a big plus for me.
You really won't need to check much of the cooling (ie:risers, manifold gaskets) if it has been FWC all along as it should be running anitfreeze which will prevent rust on the internals.
It will probably have more surface rust as it was stored near the ocean. The tower bolts, and other hardware will probably be corroded.
Price seems a little high.

(Message edited by olSkoolTige on March 27, 2008)

FWC doesn't protect the risers and exhaust manifolds does it? From what I understand though risers and exhaust manifolds aren't really that expensive or time consuming to replace. Is this correct?

Yes Brett, you are right, the risers and the exhaust manifolds are not protected by the presence of fresh water cooling, but they are not so expensive to replace.

There is no raw water going through them. The FWC should have blocked port parts. It would require no more maintenance than the exhaust on your car.

The water cooling the engine should have anitfreeze which will help protect the circ pump, etc.

**edit
I looked up cooling systems and depending on type, you sould have one that has manifolds and tranny on raw water still. I am unsure what is the norm when it comes to inboard ski boats. I was under the impression the majority of FWC systems had only the exhaust elbows on raw water and cooled everything else off a heat exchanger. Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in.


(Message edited by olSkoolTige on March 27, 2008)

Does anybody know the answer to which style of FWC on a 2003 Merc 315hp Mag motor?

Take some pictures when you go look.

even with a heat exchanger your 03 merc will be running seawater through the exhaust. i dont consider them cheap to replace either.

Fresh water cooling just keeps raw water out of your engine. It is just like a car, only instead of a big air/water radiator in the front you have a smaller water/water one inside a tank that is fed raw water to cool the radiator. It still puts water out through your exhaust. This prevents your engine bay/boat catching fire from massive exhaust manifold temps just like any other inboard.