How long before bottom fouling...Gulf of Mexico
 

I am bringing my freshwater Formula to the Gulf of Mexico/Pensacola. It will normally be in a lift at my dock/boat house.
If I do a few days of hopping around Florida and overnighting...how many days before I need to get her out of the water to clean the hull?
Thanks,
Tom

You will be fine for a couple weeks; especially if you are running the boat each day. Just make sure your Mercathode is operating correctly, and you have the proper zincs for salt water.

Thanks...where do I find out about and test Mercathode and do you know the location of (the right) zincs on a Formula 311 with Bravos?

https://boatzincs.com/ is where I bought all of my stuff over the years.

And I know the Mercathode testing and diagnostics has been covered here on OSO in the past; should come up in search.

I don't know how severe the fouling properties are of the waters you're going to venture in are but I do know that where I am it's awful to the point that many paint manufacturers do secret testing out here. And the level of fouling varies with the seasons as well . We have no fresh water runoff areas or rivers draining into the water so it's extremely salty as well.
Based on what I've seen here 4 days is stretching it but your individual results may vary :D

The zinc anode advice is good too . I believe that Merc now recommends the aluminum anodes for salt water , unlike the old days where zincs were zinc . And make sure they're properly grounded as well , otherwise they're useless.

Available thru Amazon
I've had my unpainted hull in salt many at time for up to 8 days w/o any growth beyond the typical scum line.

We were also in the water in Fort Myers Beach for 4 days. Like to meet you sometime.