Saltwater -- Really all that bad?

Here is my deal. Getting a boat this summer. The issue is that I live in an area with lots of small overcrowded lakes as well as a wide open, generally glassy puget sound. I can have the boat in the sound in less than 10 minutes from my house.

Is saltwater really all that bad? Can I just give it a good hose down after each session and call it good? Are the closed loop cooling systems needed or just marketing?

Not looking to re-sale it anytime soon that that is not an issue.

Thanks

Bakes

One of Bakes' customers is a VTX owner who rides on Wollochet Bay near Gig Harbor. The boat has zincs on the transom, closed cooling, a galvanized & painted Extreme trailer, all stainless hardware, etc. He is pretty diligent about cleaning the boat after it's used in salt water. And the boat looks great, but it cost quite a bit extra to stay that way. The good part is he only shares the bay with a few fishermen & the occasional tuber.

As for marketing.... well, I guess you could try it & see what happens to the boat.

Go talk to Daren at Wiley's sometime. He can give you a few tips on salt water riding.

Bakes,
I use my boat 95% in salt. I was nervous at first, but my dealer staff assured me that with the proper rinsing and care, it would be ok. I would get the closed cooling. That is the only option that I did not get that I wished I did. The corrosion is quite fast in salt, but you really only see the effects on the cheaper fittings (screws, cheap non-SS parts, etc.) My speaker cans were the only thing to fall victim to the corrosion last year and they were replaced by the manufacturer because they were defective in their design/plating. They were chrome plated instead of SS or powder coat so they pitted and flaked really bad. A galvanized trailer is a must and I would even get galvanized wheels. Not the prettiest combo, but the chrome wheels rust within a year, and a painted trailer is not an option for salt use. Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Jason

Don't forget about the trailer. Make sure it's galvanized like the other guys said and keep an eye on the bolts, ground wire and what not that aren't galvanized. The previous owner used my boat a few times in salt water. The boat and motor have been good, but the trailer has had some issues since.

Bakes,
This topic has come up several times over the years. Do a search and you should get lots of info on the topic.

As long as you don't have too much water in the boat it should be OK. We ride in salt 99% of the time and our sump just rusted out (due to an exhaust leak behind the motor that kept filling up the bilge) and I have seen a few other cases of it happening as well. We run closed cooling. The exhaust manifolds get pretty rough depending on what they're made of. The wiring craps out all the time we've had to replace so many wires during our time owning the boat, might not be such an issue for a newer model though. Screws, hinges, bolts etc as mentioned above won't last too long unless they're stainless.

Our trailer needs at least one new wheel bearing every 6 months, and the wiring on it is not so hot either.

Other than that you get worse water spots due to the salt, and it's less pleasant then fresh water when you drink it through your nose on a face plant. Also your wake will be smaller, but harder.


Flush the cooling system every time, use a flush like Salt Away for the best results, and maybe some oil on the motor after riding like WD-40. We actually use a sealer, it looks terrible but it provides a barrier so the water doesn't reach the metal.

(Message edited by jtnz on April 21, 2009)