Saltwater perception - your thoughts
 

It's funny how my perception on buying, owning or using a boat that was in saltwater has changed, I used to be like a lot of fresh water guys and feel that I would NEVER buy a saltwater boat, but since we've boated down here this past year my thoughts have changed.

Now I know there's lots of saltwater boats that are ate up, but that's mostly because the owner hasn't cleaned and maintained the boat properly, our Formula has been down here for one whole year now and we've put close to 100 hours on her and other than the outdrives aren't as shining as they used to be and they can be shined up again, (dahm, WD40) anyway, I flush it like crazy after EVERY use and wash 100% of it every week even if we use it or not.

So if I can keep a boat clean and mostly unaffected in saltwater I'm sure others can and do, even though I would be very picky which boat, I would buy a saltwater boat if it has been taken care of like I've done my Formula.

There's tons of multi-million dollar boats boating down here, so we all can't be wrong, can we............................your thoughts.


With this being said, I am looking to sell the Formula to go with a CC and outboards, much easy to clean and maintain.

if you dont have closed cooling and at 100 hours their is more internal rust weather you flushed it or not...try removing a hose at the thermostat housing and you will see the corrosion already starting..the damage is internal...just my o2..

I'm with you, I moved down here 4-5 years ago and I was worried. You pegged it... "other than the outdrives aren't as shining as they used to be" nothing has really changed that wouldnt have in Georgia on Lake Lanier.

I keep my boat stacked it is literally pulled out within 5 minutes and never stays in the water. My dock guys know I like it pulled immediately so I tip them extra. They get it out fast, spray it down and stack it. The funny part is I always go back the next day and spray the outdrives with the water displacement stuff in the green can similar to your WD 40 but then they look great!

Not if its a 525, 496, etc. They are closed cooled. Its all copper. I've had my heat exchanger off and it looks as good as 5 years ago.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was told when I had the nice new closed cooling/freshwater flush-outs installed that no saltwater gets to the engines, only the exhausts and they get flush out after every use.....................yes....................no.

If you have the anti freeze tank next to the engine (pink fluid), then they are closed cooling and like you said, water only goes through the exhausts. However, if you have CMI headers and they crack like all 5 of ours did then the salt water will get into the engines and ruin them.

I think I'm all set-up, got the anti-freeze tanks all filled up right next to my 502s.

I see no issues with it. It's all about the owners care for the boat.

I am closed cooled so that helps but still. A owner who gives two craps about his boat will assure the steps are in place so that the boat gets cleaned and treated properly. It's usally pretty appearent on the ones who choose not to take that care.

I would buy either and I did. I bought a Salt boat and I would beg for anyone to come look it over and say that salt has doing anything worse to my boat than a fresh water one the same age. The previous owners took the needed steps to assure it's life just as I am doing too.

salt away is apretty good product running in salt water going to get some corrision but proper flushing will heip

In trying to sell mine, I get the question a lot.... But like many say, I flush and wash it after every use.. I take care of my stuff and go the extra steps to keep it in good shape.

yes joey,,your all set for salt water..you got the rite set up for salt water...the baja guy mis read what i wrote...

no chit really..reread,,i wrote closed cooling which means theirs antifreeze running through the engine..i know about the 496 and 525's cooling systems..did not know joes already had closed cooling on his boat..

Has anybody had problems adding a closed cooling system to a older boat that never had closed cooling and had been run in fresh water?

I was told by a builder he was afraid scale would clog the exchanger.

yes, I would not buy a salt water boat without knowing the history of it. Yours, I'd buy it in a minute but I don't want to spend 30 grand on a boat right now.... you're asking 30 grand for it, right?

I figured you didn't know that I had a closed system, makes all the difference.

My boat was 10 years old when PBC installed them on mine, I bought a mercruiser kits just like would have been installed as if they were new and they work great, no problem at all, PBC did a great job.

If i can take the stereo/amps/speakers and one engine out................OK deal............lol.

The boat is like new, I bought it when it had 60 hours on it and I've taken excellent care of it, PBC re-built the top ends when they installed the flush-out/closed cooling, less than 80 hours ago.

You did it up right with adding the closed cooling. That protects the engine block/heads/intake from saltwater. The seawater pump, power steering cooler, oil cooler, fuel cooler, heat exchanger, and exhaust manifolds/risers will still have saltwater exposure. Very nice setup.

Thanks for the nice comments, with anything I've ever owned I figured if you're going to do it, do it right, or don't do it, I had PBC pulled both engines and pretty much went through both engines, rebuild them and install the goodies before I had bajaholic (Brian) haul it down here, I didn't want any problems out in the open water.

Someone will eventually get a nice 353 when it's available next Spring.

We have always flushed our volvo small block boat, but when we started using salt away it was obvious the improvement just by looking as the water flow out of the outdrive when on the hose (flush kit between the waterpump and outdrive). The stuff is great

we put a closed cooling system on that same boat ^ after 200 hours of use, at 500 now and we have not had any issues with scale in the exchanger

Since moving down here all my boating has been in salt and while you can keep your boat pretty perfect if you try, the salt will corrode anything and everything if given the chance. Obviously if there were two identical boats for sale and one was from fresh water use only nobody on their right mind would buy the one used in salt. When I bought my previous boat it was from a guy in Las Vegas, I went there to sea trial it and they took me out for the day, it was awesome to just pull it out of the water take the trash out and be done! No rinsing, no flushing, and no washing! I'll take the beauty of the ocean and the hassle of the salt that comes with it though, as long as the boat has been properly cared for nothing wrong with a salt water boat.

The biggest irony of the "fresh water only guys" is they have never boated in salt water yet there were 200+ boats in Key West last week, some exceeding a million dollars in value that all were in the evil salt water......

Pretty much every MTI, Skater, Outerlimits, Cig, Nortech etc........................All hit salt water at some point in their usage and they all come out ok! :D

I clean, flush, and use "salt away" religiously after every use. Even at poker runs I take her out in the evening, stay up till past midnight, wash, rinse etc. but I hate to have her sitting in the salt. Often I dunk the whole boat and trailer in a fresh water lake near by. I would NEVER buy a boat that had contact with " frost" or freezing temps. NEVER. No matter how well it's "winterized" there are always hair line cracks on the gel coat and fiberglass. To many issues with the motors also. Rubber cracks, impellers dry, gaskets shrink.. etc. I lived in Chicago for a long time and I know all about temperature issues. While salt is a nasty chit, I can always clean and wash it off. My 1994 Infinity never seen freezing temps and my Avanti been mostly in salt water and you couldn't tell. I'm pretty anal about maintenance and I use about a can of 10 W 40 or Teflon enriched silicone every time I go out spraying all the outdrive. It's worth it. Just my .02 :) But.. there is the "fresh water" boats in "all summer" states. Now you talking but you miss the ocean environment.

I was the same way until I came down and have lived it and saw how many fresh water boats (mostly very expensive) from up North and come down South 8-10 times a year and boat over the winter, then I got to see first hand what salt water doesn't do to a boat if it's cleaned and taken care of, I guess you just have to live it.

It just takes a lot more work to keep a salt water boat in GC, that's all, it's a PITA but I love living at (near) the beach so it's a trade off I'm willing to make. BTW: there is a reason outboards are so popular for salt water boats, they are much more corrosion resistant and super easy to flush and wash.

It just about cleaning and maintenance.. Yeah its harder to keep a boat in good condition in Florida but you also use it all year round unlike up north. The man reason boat's look like crap in florida is lazy people just like you see people that don't take care of there house or cars.

True dat !!!!!!!!!!!

......

Agreed - the strongest anti salt guys are always guys that live 1000 miles away from it.

I would agree the older the boat, the cleaner the fresh water ones look but dunking a boat in salt isn't like dunking a car in salt water......Boats are made to get wet! The steel brackets go first ( like the support brackets for the trim pumps, motor mounts, the trim pumps themselves) and the heat/humidity adds to the corrosion so a little sitting water in the bilge makes for a nice sauna for the rust!

I wouldn't be afraid of a salt boat but I wouldn't pay the fresh water premium either (seems freshwater means a 140K boat new is 119,900 asking price 10 years/500 hours later :D).

I've boated in salt water most of my life and moved to the upper Chesapeake a few years ago where it's mostly fresh water.

Salt water definitely has a profound affect on the boat and equipment, there's no denying it. However, it's not the end of the world and if you maintain your stuff like you're supposed to and take the extra precautions necessary you'll be ok.

When I lived in NJ I'd spend at least 30 minutes flushing the engines, washing the boat and lubricating the entire engine room with CRC after every single boat ride. Even if it was a short boat ride, the engines were flushed..

Now I pull onto my lift, pack our stuff and head up to the house. I don't have to do the salt water regiment anymore...

I'd buy a salt water boat again and will probably buy one in the future if it's well cared for.

My buddy wants to sell his 36 Outlaw SST ( it's not listed) and the people on the board once they hear it's in Miami they get turned off. I don't get it at all. If it's cared for, washed, waxed and taken care of and egines are closed cooling then there's no major issues like some people think. Do you have to be more anal ? yes But then again you shoukld be. I have my guy wash and wax my boat every 2 weeks doesn't matter if i use it or not, it still gets done. For the ones that have PMed me in ref to the Baja and have turned away, If they only knew the deal they are missing. Its the cheapest 03 you can fine with low hrs (130 or so )

I changed my trim pump brackets to stainless steel ones I got off ebay that solved that issue. Why the a holes at Merc still make them in steel is baffling.

For you guys who are constantly spraying everything down with 6-56 or WD40, switch to Corrosion-X and you only have to do it once a year, that stuff is incredible. I sprayed my trim lube bottle brackets with it almost 2 years ago and they still don't have any rust. I cleaned off the loose paint and gave them a good soaking with the Corrosion-X and that was it no more rust. I say this because I have used all the different products on the market at one time or another and none of them are as good as Corrosion-X.

I keep my Advantage on the lift behind the house in Cape Coral during the winter. I spray it liberally with corrosion inhibitor, flush and spray and wipe it down every time we use it. For the most part when I take it back north for the summer you could not tell that the boat has been in salt water.

Late this fall I had Eddie Young do the top end of the 525 in the Advantage. Figured that since it was already at the shop I'd have him go through the XR drive just to be safe. The drive was fine other than this. Apparently a seal had let go and this is what the gulf did to the linkage. Nice :)

Thanks for all the comments guys, great stuff, maybe they will dispel the negativity of boating in salt.

Where do you get Corrosion-X?

locally they have it west marine, and some tackle shops, but I usually buy it online.

CRC Marine has a product called Salt Terminator that you rinse down and flush with.

yes

You missed a spot!! :drink: nice clean setup,

Thanks, I try and keep her clean,

I have been boating in South Florida for 35 years. One trick I learned from an old "Salt" was to inject Dawn Dish Washing liquid into the fresh water flush regimen and let it sit in the block. I have never had a corrosion failure of a block or exhaust manifold in practicing this habit. There is something in Dawn that neutralizes the effect of NACL on the FE...it's as if it coats the surface of the block and prevents the salt from reacting with the iron.

I remember my Chemistry I recall that most household dish washing detergent has Soda Ash in it which is higher on the PH scale than Salts such as Sodium Chloride and the Dawn simply neutralizes the effect of the salt because of this.

Anyone else ever hear of this?