I've been boating in fresh water all my life. We recently bought a 308 Skater with twin 300XS on a Manning aluminum trailer with hydraulic/disc brakes. I fully understand flushing the motors, rinsing everything down with fresh water, then rinse with 2/3 water and 1/3 vinegar on the cowls. What is the best way to clean the gauges? I have been told by several outboard people to remove the cowls and spray everything down with WD40. My wife and I are very good about washing down the trailer. Should we do anything special beyond rinse down of trailer wheels, etc? We do a good job of cleaning the interior and applying vinyl conditioner also. Boat is stored indoors on the trailer and we are good about making sure it gets waxed twice a year at least. Thanks for any info.

Im curious also and will follow along, my bud's have been bugging me to run the emerald coast with them, is you trailer boxed steel or aluminum c channel or ?

Modern cowlings are very watertight. I would be hesitant to rinse under the cowlings.or gunk up everything with wd40.

My dad's 14 year old 5000 hour Florida saltwater never been flushed Yamaha 225 looked like new under the cowling when I sold it last year.

Back in the day when I was in the parasail and jet ski rental business we used to rinse and flush the motors than douse them with wd40.

It made the motors such a mess after a while , so than we switched to BoShield which is like a wax coating.

That made the motors look like crap

Best thing we started doing was nothing at all. All the moisture from rinsing the motors were causing more corrosion than just leaving them alone.

corrosion blocker.... wd 40 is water based.. find some fresh water when your done and dip the boat and trailer and let it run... an 80 dollar pressure washer from harbor freight is worth getting to spray down the boat

When I lived in the area my solution was B&W Resorts in Isleton. Private enclosed storage, Annual slip rental, splash/retrieve with their tractor in fresh water. When you venture to the bays by the time you get back to Isleton everything is fully flushed. Tell Candi (owner) Arthur (Gary) sez HI.

Salt-away is a proven product. Grab a bottle and spray, flush, etc........

Biggest thing with saltwater is to rinse the boat soon as you get back.

If the salt sits on the boat and drys it attracts dirt and dust and makes the boat a lot more work to clean.

If you just hose off the boat with plenty of fresh water soon as you can there is no need for soap, or salt away and scrubbing.

+1 for salt away
Are you boating regularly in salt or just an occasional trip to the acid water

I've been using Dawn Dishwashing liquid for 40 years and it works great !! There's something about the chemistry of Dawn the neutralizes salt but is not severe enough to cause any problems. It's a great grease cutter also.

For a protectant you might want to look at some of the new "Nano Technology" products...especially for your gages and electronics.

That is what I use and I thought I heard Geico. I hate the restrictive little salt away mixers.