Salt Water?

I live 10 minutes away from Long Beach Marine Stadium and I have been considering putting my boat in salt water. I have only been in fresh water the past 7 years. I know it will ruin my trailer over time, but will it really hurt my boat if I flush and wash good?

I was wondering if there was anyone out there that has been using their boat in salt water and what has been the affect?

OOO you have opened a can of worms here!

I personally ride in salt water along with plenty of over people and while it does take a whole load more maintenance its not going to harm your boat that much.

If you wash and flush after each outing and rinse down your trailer then you'll be fine although there will be plenty of scare mongers on here who will tell you your trailer will rust away over night after being in salt and your come back to it the next day and all tht will be left is the rubber tyres and the hull of the boat on the floor!

Does your boat have a fresh water closed cooling system? I don't know anything about salt water, but from other threads, it seemed you needed the fresh water cooling system if you were going in salt water.

I don't run fresh water cooling. If it was a new boat I would consider it but one mine its not worth it.
A have a friend who also takes his 2000 air nautique in the sea with us and his has closed cooling.

As long as you flush for 15 mins or so after and wash down thats as much as you can do or really need to do.

There is a reason why “salt water spray” is what governments and industries use for testing of products for corrosion resistance. It is one of the most destructive environments that normal “consumer goods” can be exposed to.

Will dropping your boat and trailer into salt water cause it to immediately turn into a pile of rust? Of course not. Will it negatively affect the life of your boat and trailer? Yes, it will.

Ask WakeWorld leader Dave Williams how happy he is about his one time dunking of his trailer into salt water.

When you go to sell your boat, your boat WILL be worth less money than a boat used only in fresh water (everything else being the same).

If you think of your boat as just a necessary tool to pull you around, and you don’t care about the damage, the extra maintenance and expense; use your boat in salt water and enjoy it! If you take pride in your boat, and want to keep it in top shape for years to come, don’t put it in salt water.

Just adding one more opinion from someone who has “been there, done that”.

Geoff

Yep, Jay is right, controversial topic.

I have a 2005 CC SV211 that I run in salt. I went for the closed water cooling and a galvinized trailer. I wouldn't run my old boat in salt as it had neither.

Geoff's description is pretty good. I use my boat in salt water, no real problems, just a lot more work after we get home from riding and all the metal stuff tends to corrode more than if we were in fresh water. Here's my routine:
As soon as we get home I jump out and start the engine, attached to a hose. I put a second hose with a little sprinkler under my truck. Then we take our time pulling the gear out of the boat, washing it off, and hanging it up to try. Then we take the hoses and try to rinse off the bottom of my truck, the outside of the boat, and the trailer. It's more work than if we were riding in fresh water, but it's a lot better than not riding.
Also, be prepared for more corrosion (or more work keeping it off)on lots of little things, like your pocketknife, screws on your boards, battery connection in boat, connections between trailer and car, etc...

Thespleen,

Sounds very familiar!

I do have one cool trick to add however....I live right next to Miramar Lake (small lake, 5mph limit) and I've gotten in the habit of dunking my boat in the lake to flush as much of the salt off as possible. I don't even take the boat of the trailer but I do flush the heat exchanger, run the ballast pumps, etc....a little sneaky but it helps!

I've been riding the bay for the last few weeks. We'll have to hook up out there one day.

-Tyler

Lets see, as per Geoff, you must not take pride or care about your boart if you dunk it but Geoff what about those whos only option is salt?? "If you take pride in your boat, and want to keep it in top shape for years to come, don’t put it in salt water."
Sorry Geoff all i have is salt and i still take pride in my boat. You need to take more pride to own a boat near salt due to all the extra maintenance so go ahead and dunk it but be forewarned it will cost extra time and money. We spend on average 30 minutes just to flush the engine and rinse hull,outside of engine, toys, and, trailer (with saltaway).

Bob,

I'm extremely anal about my boat too and am curious about your saltaway comment. Never used it before. How's it work and are you happy with the results?

Bob,
Please don’t apologize to me. If salt water is your only option to get out and board, then you do what you have to do. Kelly Stoval, the person who started this thread, lives just miles away from me – close to the ocean. He posted, looking for others experiences that have put their boats in salt water. Because I have owned several boats that I have used in salt water, I felt I could share my experience. Bottom line is that salt water use for our boats is detrimental. How detrimental depends on too many factors to go into detail here. If you understand this, and make an informed decision to boat in salt water, that is your decision. Just know there is a premium price to be paid – when compared to boating in fresh water.

Bob’s final sentences of his post put this into perspective much more eloquently than I did. ” You need to take more pride to own a boat near salt due to all the extra maintenance so go ahead and dunk it but be forewarned it will cost extra time and money.” That was well said Bob.

Just one story of my own personal experience:
I thought I was “Mr. wash down” with my boat. I would spend a good hour at the wash down lane after using my offshore boat in salt water. I would flush the engines for at least 30 minutes while I washed the hull inside and out. I sprayed the engines with Boesheild. I kept desiccant in the boat. The custom cover had vents. I flushed the trailer and trailer brakes every time. I really thought I was doing “everything” I could possibly do. One day boating around the back side of Catalina Island, I braced myself against the windshield frame, AND THE FRAME BROKE! Saltwater had got behind the glass frame and the rubber trim. It ate the aluminum frame. There were huge white pockets where there was once aluminum. You could not see it from the outside of the frame, but once I took it apart, it was obvious what had happened. I removed the dash to get the windshield frame hardware. All the wiring behind the dash was now green with corrosion. The cheap “stainless” hardware attaching the windshield was corroded, and the bolts snapped as I tried to remove them. When I went to get a new complete windshield assembly (big $) I asked the guy at the boatyard why my windshield frame failed on a five year old boat that I maintain meticulously? His reply was “You put in salt water” “you were lucky to get five years” “I make more money selling this stuff than the dealership makes selling you the boat”.

Again, just one persons experience.

Geoff

Hey tyler,
We've been going real early Sat. mornings and it's been awesome. We went last Sunday afternoon and it was so-so (boats and wind) but maybe we've just been spoiled by the last few great experiences. Going to try to make it out this Friday afternoon and or Sat. morning. We're in a blue/white Ski Brendella with an strangely tall tower Give me a yell if you're out there.
Jared

Jared,

I'll keep an eye out for you. Gotta love those early mornings on the bay with great water and nobody out there! We were out Sunday morning and probably just missed you. The wind was blowing pretty hard when we pulled off. My boat is an Air Nautique 211, blue with a grey stripe.

-Tyler

Geoff i just took it kinda personal by the way you wrote your statement. Some of us are not as fortunate to have the option. Hell im just about 10 minutes from the ramp. I did also have a similar experience with salt eating away the aluminum engine hatch hinge, inside 3 years. Was sprayed down with boeshield also, but dont you dare say i dont take pride in my baby

I found it's worth the extra clean up and flush exercises if you have a local hole like that. I live by a salt water lagoon in san Diego and love it. 5 years on the nautique and no worse for wear(had a galv trailer though). get a good pressure washer and sun it for a day after.