How salty is Chesapeake Bay?

[DragonAnchor]

We are heading up to the BiH event in June and am wondering what, if any, precautions or flushing/maint I need to do to the boat.

It is a raw water cooled boat and has never been to the bay. Is the run up and down the bay for the event enough to worry about flushing the raw water system? Or will the run back up the Potomac at the end be enough? Do I need to worry about the AC which I imagine will be running the entire time?

Thanks!

36days and counting down to BiH !!

 

[mrsrobinson]

Same question, kind of, for us. We too are heading to BIH and planning on making a lot of stops on the way back. We actually plan to leave Mrs. R in Hampton for 2 months starting May 24, which is salt water.

We venture into Brackish to salty water 3-4 times a year and personally I do not see a problem with it nor do I think it warrants an extra flushing. My theory, on the way home you are running her is fresh water and she is getting a nice flush then.

 

[Sea Gull]

I once owned a boat with a raw water cooled inboard that I ran exclusively in salt water. I flushed with fresh water after each use.

 

[69911S]

http://www.buoybay.org/site/public/

As you can see, the saltiest part is the lower bay.

Our AC works fine all over the bay.

We do flush whenever we pull out.

 

[Girlfriend III]

The bay is saltiest when rain is light. Since we have had a lot of rain the salt is way down. We call it Brackish. I never flush, but when I run to Annapolis or St. Michaels I wash the boat down (topside) as the salt tends to be heavier further south.