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)
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