First post with my first question regarding salt water boat..

[skylark]

Hi, just getting back into boating and looking at a 2003 and a 2004 380DA, the price of the 2004 is 20k more and has a few more options including auto pilot, radar and bow thrusters, the 2004 has been in fresh water for the past four years and was in Florida salt water the previous 4 years, the owner replaced the manifolds to cast when he purchased the boat four years ago, should I be concerned about the time it was in the salt water now that four years have passed?

Thanks

 

[Norman45]

Absolutely. I change gaskets every season and plan on changing manifolds and riser at 3-4 years.

 

[skylark]

Absolutely. I change gaskets every season and plan on changing manifolds and riser at 3-4 years.

Thanks for the reply.. the boat is and has been in fresh water now for four years with the manifolds and risers replaced to cast four years ago, does this mean it's classified as a fresh water boat now or is there still salt water problems affecting resale value?

 

[Loneranger]

If you like the boat have it surveyed and if it checks out ok do not worry about the salt water. I would not let the salt water years influence you unless it is shown to have caused problems. Also realize a boat is a depreciating asset. Resale value would be at the bottom of my list of pros and cons in making this decision.

John

 

[skylark]

Also realize a boat is a depreciating asset. Resale value would be at the bottom of my list of pros and cons in making this decision.

John

I'm good with the depreciating asset but just want to buy at today's market value..

 

[scoflaw]

Seeing he hasn't bought it yet, he's probably wondering if the asking price is too high considering the salt water history. I agree with loneranger, follow his advice. If you can beat them up a bit because of the salt issue, go for it, but I wouldn't sweat 4 years of salt use.

 

[skylark]

Thanks! off to look at a couple tomorrow.

 

[fwebster]

There is no salt issue so don't expect a discount for that reason. These boat are built for a salt water environment and if the previous owner maintained the saltwater exposed components, and it sounds like he has, I don't think there is anything to make an issue over.

On a boat that was moved north for the last half of its life, I'd be far more concerned about sun damage to canvas, vinyl and gelcoat since the sun in Florida is murder on boats. Since the fabrics are now 8 years old and were in a high UV exposure area for 1/2 of that, you are probably looking at having to replace the canvas, isinglass ($3500) and cockpit vinyls ($3000) pretty soon.

 

[skylark]

There is no salt issue so don't expect a discount for that reason. These boat are built for a salt water environment and if the previous owner maintained the saltwater exposed components, and it sounds like he has, I don't think there is anything to make an issue over.

good to know thanks

On a boat that was moved north for the last half of its life, I'd be far more concerned about sun damage to canvas, vinyl and gelcoat since the sun in Florida is murder on boats. Since the fabrics are now 8 years old and were in a high UV exposure area for 1/2 of that, you are probably looking at having to replace the canvas, isinglass ($3500) and cockpit vinyls ($3000) pretty soon.

He just replaced with isinglass canvas, I'll check out the vinyls

 

[scoflaw]

Fresh water boats always command a premium compared to salt. Salt is highly corrosive, and will wreak havoc. Get 6" sloshing around in your bilge and see what happens to painted steel, dripping on your wiring harnesses and whatever. Just having it slipped by the ocean will have its effects on your bright work.
Once the electrolisis begins nothing stops it. If you end up with a salter, look it over closely. If you boat in salt, look for a closed cooling system on the boat you buy

 

[KP49]

This '07 260 was in salt water for 2 years then moved to Ohio in freshwater then here to TN. This is the first time I bought a used saltwater boat and no doubt just two years was tough on it. Rusty stainless, pitted aluminum (aluminum takes it the toughest), unsealed electrical connections, isenglass, any kind of chrome plated potmetal is pitted, luckily the drive and gelcoat is pretty good. Nothing really horrible but not only do you have to worry about the salt through the engine but the salt spray/mist that gets over everything inside and out.

Nothing on mine is really ruined, but after owning it a while I notice the effects of the saltwater on many different things, most of it is cosmetic but I have had some electrical issues that were simply bad connections from the salt, mostly the open spade connections on the fusebox and things you wouldnt think about like the on/off button on the cabin TV that corroded (saltwater fingers pushing it I assume). The sealed electrical connectors are all good, but only maybe 50% of the boat uses sealed connectors.

I had the risers off the manifolds, this uses the newer 'dry joint' manifolds and risers and I was surprised how good everything looked, I would imagine whoever had it flushed the engine after use or they were replaced but they look original. Not sure when they started using the dry joint manifolds but that takes a little stress out of owning a used saltwater boat.

Myself I'll be a little wary of another saltwater boat the next time, when I seen it only spent two years in Florida I figured how bad could it be but I'm still finding salt caked in spots two years after its been out of the salt. I got a great deal on this one so I'm not really complaining, just have it looked at by someone who knows what they are looking at before buying.

 

[fwebster]

Salt water is not acid..........!

6 " of water sloshing in the bilge?..........rust on stainless?.......salt caked in spots?.........salt water dripping on wiring harnesses? You are describing boats that are not maintained and in poor condition. And, that is the key here. Previous exposure to a saltwater environment may be a good thing since that will certainly separate the well kept cream puffs from the average or worse condition boats. If you are a bottom feeder and are shopping price first, then guess what.....the cheaper ones are not going to be the best ones. Shop for the very best boat you can find and make up the price difference with good negotiating skills.

My boat has never see freshwater, except from a water hose. After 16 years in a harsh salt/sun environment, it is at least as nice as a clean freshwater boat and head and shoulders above the average freshwater boat because I do what it takes to keep it clean and well maintained given where we boat. Heck, I could retire again with the boat wash/wax time I' d save if we moved back to lake boating.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Fresh water boats always command a premium compared to salt. Salt is highly corrosive, and will wreak havoc. Get 6" sloshing around in your bilge and see what happens to painted steel, dripping on your wiring harnesses and whatever. Just having it slipped by the ocean will have its effects on your bright work.
Once the electrolisis begins nothing stops it. If you end up with a salter, look it over closely. If you boat in salt, look for a closed cooling system on the boat you buy

Did you read what Frank wrote? It's a boat built to be used in the ocean. If you want a show piece, park it on your front lawn and never get it wet. Geeze, you sound like the mother who won't let her kid take his new baseball outside because it will get dirty.

Henry

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[KP49]

Salt water is not acid..........!

6 " of water sloshing in the bilge?..........rust on stainless?.......salt caked in spots?.........salt water dripping on wiring harnesses? You are describing boats that are not maintained and in poor condition. And, that is the key here. Previous exposure to a saltwater environment may be a good thing since that will certainly separate the well kept cream puffs from the average or worse condition boats. If you are a bottom feeder and are shopping price first, then guess what.....the cheaper ones are not going to be the best ones. Shop for the very best boat you can find and make up the price difference with good negotiating skills.

My boat has never see freshwater, except from a water hose. After 16 years in a harsh salt/sun environment, it is at least as nice as a clean freshwater boat and head and shoulders above the average freshwater boat because I do what it takes to keep it clean and well maintained given where we boat. Heck, I could retire again with the boat wash/wax time I' d save if we moved back to lake boating.

Unfortunately most boaters dont take care of them like you, fresh or saltwater. That doesnt necessarily mean they are abused or everyone shopping for a decently priced boat is a bottom feeder, plenty of owners/dealers/brokers trying to get a lot of money for abused boats so no reason not to look closely at something that was in saltwater for four years.

When I pulled the bimini hardware off the windshield to replace the little pins/cables there was quite a bit of salt caked under them. Was it owner abuse or perhaps maybe there should have been a gasket of some sort under them? I dont think people take them off often to clean them out.

My fusebox is under right under the wheel covered by an unsealed door, any water on the helm runs down onto the main fusebox, not sure how many people rinse out the fusebox after each use, myself I would put a gasket on the door. Either way the spade connectors would not have corroded in fresh water, not a big deal to clean up and fix but its a potential issue depending on the design.

I wouldnt consider mine to be abused or neglected, the engine/bilge is spotless, the cabin is spotless and the gelcoat/canvas/vinyl is in great shape. So someone was taking some care of it, but the stainless swim ladder and many screws/bolts have rust stains or are pretty dull, bare aluminum brackets and hardware are starting to pit a little, none of it I ever seen on a freshwater boat.

As mentioned I bought it to use it so I really dont care about some dull hardware or pitted aluminum brackets under doors, I cleaned everything the best I can and it looks pretty darn good, I have no complaints for what I paid for it.

 

[fwebster]

The universal solvent for saltwater is freshwater from a hose. If salt water got into some nook or cranny, then freshwater will as well. So, if you find caked salt on a boat somewhere, it is there simply because somebody sometime didn't wash the salt water off.

Honest....it isn't a hard concept to grasp.

 

[scoflaw]

That's a failed concept for sure. Why do you think they invented salt neutralizers. Salt Away, stuff like that.Why do you think the ass end of your pickup truck gets rusty, no matter how much you rinse it off after launching. Electrolisis is why.
Being a true salt water boater, and retired, I'm out all day 5 days a week, boating, not buffing and polishing. Yeah, I,ve got a super clean boat, but thats because it was a fresh water boat before I bought it last year.I do the best I can rinsing and what not, but my brightwork is not as pristine as when I bought it. How come?

The OP was concerned about fresh vs, salt, and apparently me and KP49 are the only 2 guys with corrosion issues from salt. Go figure.

Frank, your a very well respected member of this forum, and I respect you for that, but sayin fresh and salt are the same. I think not, I live that life.

 

[Bob & Sue]

Our boat is in salt water all the time except for a few times in to Lake Washington it's 13 years old has always been well maintained by Sea Ray. It's rinsed off when we come in the next day it's power washed and scrubbed with soap and water with salt away run through the engine then indoor stored. It now has over 850 hours on it does need a good cleaning right now but it's a boat we use it several times a week I bought it to use not sit. As someone said look for a well maintained boat not a show piece I'd buy a well maintained salt water boat over a low hour fresh water boat that has been neglected. My bilge is clean, dry and well maintained I also use spray on salt away on it when I check fluids and for loose connections weekly. If I had 6" of water in the bilge I'd be having an insurance claim to repair the damage that let it in.

 

[fwebster]

Let's not get off the original subject here by reading into my comments stuff I never said.......Salt water is the same as freshwater?

In fact, what I said, in answer to the original question was that for an 8 year old boat to have spent the first half of its life in salt water and being properly maintained including new exhaust castings when it was moved to freshwater, the fact that 1/2 its life was in salt water should have no effect on its value.

The general consensus among freshwater boaters is that salt water is evil when nothing could be farther from the truth. Sea Rays are built for saltwater use and they will stand up as long as the owner spends enough time to wash the salt water off when he is done for the day.

I've been retired a while and have spent every day I'm in Florida on the water if the weather allows. From my experience, the only corrosion issues I've had in 20 + years of doing this are on hidden fasteners you cannot access with a hose. I find that more damage is done to Sea Rays by the sun than by saltwater.

 

[JVM225]

Way too much is made about salt water vs fresh water boats. These boats are built to operate and survive in a saltwater environment. Sure, there may be some cosmetic differences. Particularly if the previous owner didn't maintain the boat properly. But mechanically and structurally there shouldn't be any problems on a properly maintained boat.
My boat is 25 years old and has spent it's entire life in saltwater. It still looks great, and everything works exactly as it should. Mine isn't the oldest boat around here by a long shot. I see boats from the 70's all the time that are still going strong and looking good after running around in saltwater all their lives.
In keeping with what others have said; fresh water instantly dissolves saltwater. A quick spray down with a garden hose at the end of a day of boating removes any remnants of salt from anything it touches.
I changed my motors before the start of the season. One of the ones I took out was original that was tired from a quarter century of use (reason for re-power), the other was about 10 years old and it was replaced just because I wanted to change both at the same time. Neither suffered any kind of failure from saltwater use.
In fact, the 10 year old motor is now running strong in my friend's 22' Sea Ray. He needed a replacement and bought my old motor from me.
My transom assemblies are original as is my starboard Alpha drive. The port was replaced this spring with a counter rotating unit as a modification. The standard rotation that I took off of there was still good and I gave it up as a trade in towars the CR I replaced it with.
Not sure how old my HW heater is because this is only my 6th season with the boat, but it still works as it should and as far as I can tell it had raw saltwater running through it while the motors were running in order to make hot water away from the dock it's entire life. I didn't make this connnection with the new motors because I wanted to keep connections like that to a minimum, and never really used that feature anyway. That decision had nothing to do with saltwater. It was all about having less points of possible failure of a clamp or hose.
I cleaned and inspected my bilge thoroughly when the motors were out and there was no saltwater damage.
My AC unit is original after 25 seasons of saltwater running through it. The original manual head is still going strong.
My original deck hardware still looks great, and the teak trim is in fantastic shape.
After 25 years the worst cosmetic feature about my boat is the dash. It is faded and discolored in many spots from the sun. It is harder now to get the Gelcoat to shine like new, but that is more a combination of sun and age than saltwater. But I can still get it looking pretty good for an old boat before the spring launch.
Maintenance is way more important than any other factors. I would much rather have a well maintained saltwater boat than a poorly maintained boat that spent it's life in freshwater.

 

[KP49]

Thats great that people in this thread take such great care of their boat. But the fact is the OP is not looking to buy your boats, I dont think anyone would disagree its best to be more careful looking at the used saltwater boat if you dont personally know how it was maintained.