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Salt Water and your Boat/Trailer

Old 01-12-2011, 06:34 PM
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Question Salt Water and your Boat/Trailer

hey ive heard over and over that salt water can be extremely damaging to your boat/hull/trailer if maintence isnt kept out...
do you guys power wash your boat/hull/trailer right at the launch ramp?....also i know these events are extremely fun however is it difficult to put your million dollar Skater or MTi in the salt water each time....?
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Old 01-12-2011, 07:13 PM
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Soap and water with a brush is all I have ever done. Hose down the bilge with WD40 or smiliar when done cleaning. It works very well. If you are only doing it once in a while then I would just give it a really good clean. I flush my motors for 15 min each after a trip into the salt. While the motors are running I wash the deck and interior then the sides and trailer. Takes about 1 hour.
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Old 01-12-2011, 07:19 PM
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Get a garden style "dial-a-sprayer" and fill it 2/3 car wash soap and 1/3 white vinegar. Spray it all down, do your washing, rinse. The vingear greatly improves the salt removal. Works the same (has the same PH) as the expensive salt removing products. If you have access to hot water, that works even better. Both my boats have black outboard engine cowlings and when I use the above method I have no salt when it dries even if I dont scrub,
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Old 01-12-2011, 09:19 PM
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I stop at the local DIY self car wash that has hot water. Power wash with soap then I brush then rinse. Power wash the whole trailer. By the time I am home the boat is dry and clean. I then flush the engine with dawn soap for about 10 mins and wash the engine bay out. After all said and done I wipe down with a quick detail wax.
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Old 01-13-2011, 06:39 AM
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I bring my boat home, flush both engines thoroughly with Salt-A-Way. I spend a lot of time spraying down the outdrives and making sure I get in every nook and cranny that i can see. I spray the entire trailer with special attention on the brakes.

Salt water isn't going to hurt "the hull". Salt water just doesn't play well with metals. HOWEVER, it is salt water - not ACID. Alot of the boats in our area are used exclusively in salt water and I would bet they are as clean as ANY boats in the world.
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Old 01-13-2011, 07:58 AM
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We always carry soap and brushes for that reaon, as quick as we find a hose everything gets cleaned
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Old 01-13-2011, 08:39 AM
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Lucky you guys dont live on the coast, you would spend all your time washing and waxing and panicking your boat will rot away.

If you have a closed cooling boat you can hose your boat down and run the fresh water flush at the same time and be done in 15 minutes flat for the average 35 foot boat. I keep it on a lift and sometimes dont wash it down till Sunday as it would be back in the water in 8 hours. I have lived on the Intracoastal in South Florida for 2.5 years and boat 2-3 times a week.

About 5 months ago I lost a motor then pulled my motors and drives. The hull and bilge were fine other than dirt - salt wont hurt fiberglass. The oil cooler and closed cooling system were fine. The drives are the only area that showed aging and that was where paint was chipped. Salt water isnt going to ruin your boat in 1 weekend. Keep it fun - salt water isnt acid, it will be ok.
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Old 01-13-2011, 10:23 AM
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If you have a boxed steel painted trailer unless its sealed & pressurized, it won't last long in salt water!
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Old 01-13-2011, 11:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Audiofn
Soap and water with a brush is all I have ever done. Hose down the bilge with WD40 or smiliar when done cleaning. It works very well. If you are only doing it once in a while then I would just give it a really good clean. I flush my motors for 15 min each after a trip into the salt. While the motors are running I wash the deck and interior then the sides and trailer. Takes about 1 hour.
cool...thanku for the tips
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Old 01-13-2011, 11:05 AM
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Originally Posted by BY U BOY
I stop at the local DIY self car wash that has hot water. Power wash with soap then I brush then rinse. Power wash the whole trailer. By the time I am home the boat is dry and clean. I then flush the engine with dawn soap for about 10 mins and wash the engine bay out. After all said and done I wipe down with a quick detail wax.
thanks for the tips!
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