Salt water boat
 

Im a freshwater boater and Im looking at a 8year old saltwater boat with with 400 hours on it. Should i be scared of this and run ? Surveyor said boat was overall in good condition. No flush kit on motors. Anyone with any thoughts ??????

No flush kits? I would be nervous. A salt water boat can be real pretty on the outside if washed often. However I have taken salt engines apart and re-rigged salt boats that need a big hammer just to break things loose. I have seen drives that will not come apart even with a forklift jerking on them. I would look for another boat. A boat that has not been flushed is a guarantee it has issues in the block. Plugged water passages and rotted parts. All these things will not show up on a survey.

What year is it? What kind of drives does it have? And how much are they asking for it?

If it's cheap enough to put motors in it, it might be worth buying, but otherwise you might want to steer clear.

werent you buying that 292 outta Missouri?

I agree with Brad. You might be looking at motor rebuilds in the near future(which if it is the boat I am thinking might be pricey) and at the very least prob exhaust. BUT take off some of the hoses off and look at the metal and see what it looks like and look for the effects of salt water on the engine that wouldn't get rinsed or cleaned up. I don't want to tell you to walk away if the boat is a nice boat but I would be a little leary.

Thats what I thought thx for the input guys 88242ls check your pm mail

My 311 came from New Jersey. I too would have preferred to find a non salt boat, but it had the options I wanted (Magnums and Bravos) and was cleaner overall than nost of the boats I looked at. Six years later no problems at all from the salt water usage, never had any corrosion or rot.

The big thing was how well it was flushed & cleaned after salt use. Just because it doesn't have a flush set-up doesn't mean it wasn't flushed wirh muffs. Still any of the thin castings can be a problem including water pump, exhaust manifolds, etc. May want to have an exhaust riser pulled to get a better look.

I have had a number of boats, and I live on salt water.
I always flush my engines immediately after each use and have had flush kits on only a few boats. I have used muffs for years on the others. I have also used extensively some kind of corrosion guard on the entire engine and every electrical fitting, and have also replaced my pumps and hoses 3 to 5 years. I also never had a problem breaking loose bolts or any other salt /rust problems. I also use Salt Away and wax and clean often the hull. I know I am one of the few that maintain and care with with this frequency, but my boats are nearly as good as fresh water boats.