in water one full week ??
 

anyone ever leave there boat in the salt water for one full week.......no bottom paint of course.......how bad was it when you pulled it out ?

I was just going to ask this same question!

What do you mean by How Bad was it?

Left my boat in the water at the Destin poker run last year for 5 days. Looked fine when I loaded her up.

I mean, was there a lot of growth or how bad was the staining on the hull.......??

that's good to hear.....

My dad does it all the time. It depends on the time of year and temp of water. He just pulled one of his boats out of the water after 12 days...not a single bit of growth. If he went 12 days in August, he would have barnacles.

My boat does not have any white gel coat (multi colors) but I could not see any staining. Dad's fountain with a white bottom had a significant stain line.

didn't think of that......the water is very cold stil here in L.I.....

One week is no big deal, some lakes will leave more of a scum line after a week than the salt, if you leave it two weeks or more, you will start to see the negative effects of saltwater, like, tiny barnicles, slime, growth, also the proper zincs will need to be in place if you leave it longer than that.

thanks for the info guys......I put her in late Saturday and am going to pull her out Sunday afternoon......as each day goes by I get more nervous about leaving it for that long.......now I feel a little better........

Should have no problems at all. If you use the boat throughout the week it will help keep any growth to a minimum.

I run down to the Jersey shore for 5 days on mine every summer and have never had a problem other than the nasty brown stain I get from the Hudson River.

I have left mine several times and never had any growth of any kind but the stains are a PIA but they do come off. Other than that I had no problems.

Like others have said, a week and you should be fine. I would start to worry about growth if the boat is sitting for 10+ days. Nothing a power washer and a good scrubbing cant fix.

great thread, i had the same question. what about the drives? anything to worry about from a corrosion stand point. i just replaced my zincs.

If the Zincs are new or in good shape, no problem for a week or so.

I agree with all the other comments. The pain in the azz mostly is the staining on white gel coat but that can happen in a day or two, fresh or salt depending on the conditions. A good quick acid wash and all is right and white again!

We have always found that the better the coat of wax you have the easier it will be to remove the water stain but bad news is if you have to use some sno-bowl or "acid" product, it will eat away that nice wax job. We did lake Michigan near steel mills for 4 nights after a massive wax job to the boat and the chemicals in the water (water was perfectly clear in appearance, could see 25 feet down) from the factories, etc. left the nastiest toilet yellow line on the entire bottom. Had to strip the entire wax job and redo it.

so do you guys flush the engines in the water, and just keep the water valves closed?

I'll second the opinion that it depends on the area and the water temp. I moored mine for one week in the ICW at Hilton Head, SC in July, and there were small barnacles on the transom and trim tabs and a thin sheet of algae needed to be scrubbed off the entire hull.

When I run my boat in salt water I always flush and wash right when I pull it out. I then head right to my fresh water lake and wash and dip the trailer.

I had left my boat in for 4 days out east one August, but w/ daily use.
Very small barnacles that came off w/ a stiff brush.

But Johnny, why is it sitting in?
You not at Al Grovers?

we kept my brother's boat in salt water for over a week; boat is usually rack stored daily, so no bottom paint. The only thing we say was some yellowing of the hull below the water line and the sacrificial anodes were pretty chewed--I guess they did their job. Cleaned the hull with FSR and no more yellow. You shouldn't have any problems.

I trailered over to Glenn Cove on Saturday.....was going to pull her out on Sunday but had such a good weekend I decided to pull her next Sunday.........nice to change the scenery once in a while......

Have kept a boat in the water in the keys in the summertime many times and no issues.

I have been boating in salt water my whole life. It will not kill anything to run the boat for a week and not flush until the end of the trip. As long as you flush thoroughly, really wash the boat top to bottom, keep a good coat of wax on it and store it right, you can not tell a salt water boat from a fresh water boat.

The only thing I would really worry about is leaving it in the water for a long period of time if running open cooling and aluminum heads and or block.

Johnny, you'll be fine leaving it in for a week. Put a fresh coat of wax on her.

Keep your drives trimmed all the way in, and your tabs trimmed all the way up. (Keeps the exposed rams tucked in.)

Make sure your annodes are in good shape, and you have the proper material for salt water.

Make sure your Mercathode system is good order.

If you have external hydraulic steering, make sure the exposed rams don't get all gunked up.

all good tips......thanks guys......so far she still looks clean.....

Johnny,
Are you going to move the boat or let it sit all week? It wont be that bad, just a scum line that will wipe right off. Your boat has wax on it. Juan will get it off no problem.

he sure will.......remember when we were discussing good guys to do the detailing........I let Grovers do it but made sure Jaun did it himself......he came in on his day off, did the best detailing job I have seen...... the boat never looked so good........

It better be for what you paid.

also if you are using it everyday nothing will really have a chance to grow

dont worry about the bottom gettin dirty, I took it for a ride today ............ :eek:









I saw u puttin it in the water last sat.. :evilb:

mine is green after one week :)

I boat in salt water an most of the time im in and out same day. When I do get the chance when I rent a place on the water or stay at relatives the boat could be in for a week or more. I never see any staining on the hull. Sometimes you have a scum line depending on the movement of the water near your boat. I wash it down with a brush and it comes right off. Its funny how much nastier it gets being in fresh water. Maybe it depends on the lake. Hard water or something. Have fun in the salt! nothin better

Just top it off when your done Tom........Lol......:evilb: But seriously I would guess you have some local knowledge about the ramps over there......is Tappan usable at low tide and which is a better ramp.......? I don't care if I have to pay I just hate waiting for the tides all day......

I boat in the warm salt waters of the Caribbean. Left the boat in for a week last month in a very stagnant marina. Hull was pretty grimey but some on/off and pressure wash and back to new.

yes, tappen is much better, u have to use the side next to the bulkhead. When u leave the ramp to head out go straight out from the ramp towards p.wash. to deeper water. DO NOT GO TO STARBOARD there is shallow water there...