Leaving in salt for the summer. Precautions?

[NWhippie]

Well, finally found a summer moorage. We've always kept the boat on the trailer in between trips so this is a first for us. Besides things like bottom paint and zincs, what else should I be doing in preparation for the 3 or 4 months it will be in the salt water?

Should I leave the outdrive up or down while at the dock? My mechanic once told me to always leave it down because if left up, the bellows might conform to that position and then when going down, could crack.

We will not be hooked up to shore power or water but my bilge pump is wired directly to the battery so it'll come on either way if activated by the float switch.

I followed jwfoster4 's thread about fw flushing but we're obviously going to be in a lot longer than two weeks. We could go through the locks into Lake Washington once or twice to give the whole thing a freshwater bath and flush but is it necessary? I have fw cooling.

How about keeping gulls and otters off the boat? I could see the gulls perching on the radar arch or dome itself and pooping all over the tonneau cover (cockpit only) or convertible top depending on what I have up at the time. I don't have a bow cover. There are signs of otters on the dock and the owner says he doesn't think they venture onto the boats but I really want to make sure. What do you guys do to dissuade the critters?

Last, what about insurance? Should I call my agent and let him know that I'll be in the water and not on the trailer in my driveway for the summer? Does it make a difference?

TIA for any and all suggestions to make my summer docking a worry free experience.

Ed

 

[HUMPH]

I would flush after every trip if it were me. Salt water hates boats. An easier fix is to install fresh water cooling. It is a bit costly but will keep your engine fresh.

As far as leaving outdrives down in salt water goes... I would not even have outdrives in salt water unless I kept the boat on a lift of some sort. You are asking for trouble with that but at a minimum raise them to keep as much out of the water as possible.

 

[NWhippie]

Thanks for the reply Ken and I already have freshwater engine cooling. More concerned about the OD and it's raw water intake pump. Don't boaters in the rest of the world leave their boats in the salt for longer than 3 or 4 months at a time?

Ed

 

[HUMPH]

That's what the mechanics are for, that gets them lots of business. Shoot a PM to Frank Webster here and ask for his thoughts. Frank is well respected and very imformed...

 

[tobnpr]

Don't worry about it.
You can't flush because you're in the water, but don't sweat it. No big deal.
Saltwater is not acid...an I/O left for long periods will have corrosion issues due the aluminum outdrives, but a few months is not a big deal. Get all your scheduled lube maintenance done before you splash.

I had my second boat (just sold her) at a slip with no power. I could run a cord to charge the batteries when I could get to her, but no permanent connection. A couple of good "frog drowners" drained the batteries due to the bilge pumps working overtime and she had a ton of water in the bilge because I couldn't get there to get the batteries charged.

If you're going to be off the boat for more than a week or two at the most, I'd invest in a solar panel to trickle charge the batteries. I know it's done all the time, but boats on a mooring make me very nervous...be sure to close all your seacocks and do a thorough inspection before you leave her.

 

[Pietro]

Don't boaters in the rest of the world leave their boats in the salt for longer than 3 or 4 months at a time?

Ed

YESS! ...and the mechanics here are pretty rich here!!
I had a 27' italian boat with Volvo i/o that I left in the water almost all year....and every year I had to almost rebuild the drives....:smt013

 

[Lazy Daze]

The outdrive must be left in the DOWN position. Not so much because of the "set" that the bellows hoses will take (very minimal - remember trailered boats are like this most of their life). The reason is that with the drive UP, you may very well have some of the anodes out of the water, which means they won't do their job and you'll have less protection for the metal that is still in the water.

Make sure you have the appropriate anodes for your area and replace them when they are worn out (1/3 to 1/2 gone) and you'll fair well. Don't try to save a few bucks by not replacing your anodes at the appropriate time.

Check the Mercathode system, too... if you have that. If not, seriously consider adding it.

But, yes, I agree with the above statements that V-drive or inboards are the better choice - but you can still have good success with outdrives.

 

[Jim M]

Always remember this a public forum and not everyones advice is the right advice.

 

[JVM225]

I think you'll love having the boat in the water. They're is nothing better than turning the key and going.
I have a friend who trailered his boats for about thirty years. Two years ago he rented a dock space to keep the boat in the water, and he will never go back to trailering. He can't believe he waited all those years
I'm not an expert, but I can share my experience.
My boat is 23 years old, always in salt water for each spring to fall season.
Both drives are original with no damage from the salt water, as is the starboard motor. The motors are raw water cooled.
Most boats around here stay in saltwater all season long, and some are older than mine. Some of the larger ones even stay in all year with ice eaters, and only come out for a short haul in the spring.
Paint the bottom and change the zincs every year. I leave my drives down at the dock. Put a couple of coats of good wax below the rubrails, you won't have much of a chance to get the hull during the season.
Keep an eye on the manifolds and risers. You can probably expect to get about five years out of them, give or take a year. I pull a riser on each motor every year to have a look inside. It's easy to do, and only costs you the price of a couple of gaskets.
If the riser(s) look bad, change the manifolds too. Even if you don't think they're bad, they aren't far behind.
I do the pumps in the drives every other year. I could probably get away with every three years, but they are cheap and easy to do.

 

[magster65]

Zincs and bottom paint... no problem.
Don't be alarmed by the 'shaft drive guys' dire warnings. :grin:
Outdrives need some love once a year with zincs and cleaning.... and a quick alignment / bellows / u-joint / gimbal set-up check... which is usually all fine. However... an unmaintenanced outdrive is trouble looking for a place to happen.
Something to consider... most of the growth on your hull will be on the sunny side of the boat so if possible, have the stern (drives) in the shade. It makes a huge difference.

 

[julians]

It'll be fine in salt for a few months.

- Make sure you have the anodes changed for salt water anodes, if you have fresh water anodes on now.
- always leave the drive fully down, it keeps the anodes fully submerged, and the hydraulic rams fully compressed, if left extended you can get marine life growing on the rams which can damage the seals next time you move them.
- If you dont have any antifoul paint, the bottom of the boat will get growth on it within a couple of weeks that will knock a few mph of your top speed, and affect your fuel economy, so be prepared to put a mask and snorkel on and scrub it clean. Or get it painted, might be bit costly to do that if youre only going to be in salt for a couple of months.


My 200 select lives in salt water 365 days of the year, I have no corrosion issues on the drive or prop, just change the anodes yearly, no other issues from being in salt. It been there for 5 years now, with no significant issues caused by salt.

 

[Summer Fun II]

Boating in salt water would make me feel ill.
I boat in fresh water only my risers & manifolds are just like new after 22yrs. :smt038

 

[Four Suns]

Boating in salt water would make me feel ill.

me too.

 

[NWhippie]

Thanks for the replies guys. Unfortunately, without trailering to a lake, the salt is all I've got here in the Sound. The boat has always been a saltwater boat so it's already got bottom paint and saltwater anodes. We just always have put it back on the trailer after trips and then spend a few hours washing it down and buttoning it back up to keep the tree crap off it. Oh and of course always fresh water flush it for 10 or 15 minutes on the hose. That's why I'm concerned about leaving it in for the summer.

Ok, outdrive precautions aside, how about discouraging the animals? Does anybody use plastic owls anymore? My dad always did that on our Ed Monk 36. How about the otters?

Ed

 

[julians]

I dont have a problem with animals on my boat, but I do see a few boats round here with plastic owls, but not sure how effective they are.

 

[jhild]

Can’t help you with the birds. I’d recommend that you take a look at what the locals are using.

I don’t think anyone addressed your question about insurance. Yes – You should contact your agent and tell them that you’re planning to moor the boat for the season. I’m sure they’ll ask you for some general information about location, etc. I don’t know if this will impact your insurance, but they will definitely want to know where the boat is being kept.

 

[Summer Fun II]

I have a sail boater thats 6 slips down from me.
He puts rubber snakes on his boat. I've never seen a bird near or on his boat.

 

[Gunn]

Saltwater is not acid...

I'd glad you mentioned that...you'd think from some of the responses here that it was indeed acid, and a boat should never be set afloat in the stuff!

Oh wait, my boat is 16 years old and has never touched water without some salt in it. Pristine.

Tom

 

[julians]

Its a funny attitude that a lot of you guys over in the US have towards salt water.

In the UK there are very few lakes where you are allowed to run power boats, so everyone goes on the sea.

Majorca (where I keep my boat) is a small island in the meditteranean sea, theres hundreds of boats that are kept in the sea 365 days per year, probably 40-50% are outdrive driven with the rest being shaft or outboard driven.

I'm sure the maintenance costs are higher in the salt, I guess the exhaust manifolds will be the main thing that needs replacing more frequently, but generally speaking its not a lot different to keeping the boat in fresh water 365 days per year, you still have to change the anodes, and keep the antifoul up to date.

So far , after 5 years in salt, I could put the following down to salt water:-

- I've had a thermostat fail
- I've had some hose clamps fail through corrosion.

I'll keep you posted on how long the exhaust manifolds last.