Salt Water / Fresh Water

[Steve S]

So what is the difference in maintenance between the two on a larger cruiser - say a 37' or 40' Sundancer?:smt017

 

[Glen S]

Having not owned a boat in salt water I will offer just an opinion. For sure there would be more maintenance on the power-train side - the salt water being pumped through the engine cooling systems. Salt water will cause corrosion far quicker than fresh water would for pumps, heat exchange units etc. That has to cause more maintenance to keep them functioning properly - regardless of boat size. I would assume the same would go for A/C units. The salt environment is also tougher on electronics and electrical connections - so again I would suspect more maintenance to keep them functioning vs a fresh water boat (again regardless of size). The rest of the issues would be cosmetic. Salt water is corrosive to all metals to varying degrees so every metal part on the boat lives a tougher life in salt water and will show it's age sooner. I was on a new demonstrator 470 in Naples Fla. a year or so ago and there were tiny specs of "rust" showing on some of the stainless deck fittings from salt water that are absolutely not present on my 14 year old (always freshwater) 400 DA.

 

[fwebster]

Boats used on salt water in this size range are almost all freshwater cooled, so the only added cooling system maintenance is that the sea water side of the heat exchanger will foul a little quicker and that requires slightly more frequent cleanings of the heat exchanger. The A/C units will occasionally get fouled and need to be cleaned.....which I do myself with about $20 worth of chemicals. Sea water pumps are bronze so salt water corrosion doesn't have much effect on them........what gets them are leaking seals and scored shafts. The salt water helps score the shaft, but they would run indefinitely were it not for a failed seal allow salt water to get to shafts and bearings.

The chief difference is staying head of the corrosion that a salt water boat is exposed to. To keep one looking new means more frequent washing, more frequent wax/polishing, including the stainless, and you will have to pay attention to the engine spaces. Count on annual touch up painting on the engines and transmissions and working a little harder to keep the bilge dry.

The biggest difference for me is taking care of the bottom and keeping the underwater mechanical...props, shafts, rudders, exhaust ports, intake grates, etc clear of marine growth. We do an annual haul out/pressure wash and have to repaint the bottom completely every 3 years.

Your original post lack much information about your direction, but if you intend to boat in the salt water in the south, the other added expense will be canvas and isinglass replacement a little more frequently, not because of salt water but because the sun is really hard on canvas down here.

 

[Searaybio270]

Boats used on salt water in this size range are almost all freshwater cooled, so the only added cooling system maintenance is that the sea water side of the heat exchanger will foul a little quicker and that requires slightly more frequent cleanings of the heat exchanger. The A/C units will occasionally get fouled and need to be cleaned.....which I do myself with about $20 worth of chemicals. Sea water pumps are bronze so salt water corrosion doesn't have much effect on them........what gets them are leaking seals and scored shafts. The salt water helps score the shaft, but they would run indefinitely were it not for a failed seal allow salt water to get to shafts and bearings.

The chief difference is staying head of the corrosion that a salt water boat is exposed to. To keep one looking new means more frequent washing, more frequent wax/polishing, including the stainless, and you will have to pay attention to the engine spaces. Count on annual touch up painting on the engines and transmissions and working a little harder to keep the bilge dry.

The biggest difference for me is taking care of the bottom and keeping the underwater mechanical...props, shafts, rudders, exhaust ports, intake grates, etc clear of marine growth. We do an annual haul out/pressure wash and have to repaint the bottom completely every 3 years.

Your original post lack much information about your direction, but if you intend to boat in the salt water in the south, the other added expense will be canvas and isinglass replacement a little more frequently, not because of salt water but because the sun is really hard on canvas down here.

Frank,
You said in your paragraph 3 last sentence, "...repaint the bottom completely every 3 years".

Are you having the bottom soda blasted? What are you actually doing?
thanks,

 

[fwebster]

No, soda blasting isn't necessary if you prepare the paint properly and use compatable paint chemistry. We are using 80 grit paper on a 5" rotary air sander and removing most of the residual paint. I use an ablative paint so there isn't usually a lot left. We sand until we see gelcoat, removing about 50% of the paint, or to where we see white on about half the bottom. New ablative paint is then rolled on the bottom......3 full coats and the rest of the open gallon on the waterline, so there is more than 3 coats on the high wear areas.

The hardware is sanded to bare metal and then reprimed. Honestly, I can't get much more than a year out of the hardware, so we usually pressure wash in February and sand and touch up the hardware at that time.

 

[Steve S]

Hi Frank,

I am just considering many possibilities. I currently live in the Chicago area and I am considering a 37 to 40 Dancer for use on Lake Michigan. However, I am also not that far from "retirement" and starting to plan on what I will do then in warmer locations. Have friends in Sarasota and Key West.

Rhetorically I ask...
Do I keep the Dancer up here for summer use and have a winter place down south without a boat?
Do I summer up here - keep my 210 Monaco for up here and have the larger boat down south? Vice Versa?
Do I just "commute" twice a year with the Dancer?

So that's where the questions come from... Not a specific need but weighing all the possibilities right now before I make a decision.

-Steve

 

[HUMPH]

Do I summer up here - keep my 210 Monaco for up here and have the larger boat down south? Vice Versa?

I like this option...or wait until you retire and get what you want where you want it.

 

[fwebster]

I made the same call several years ago. After spending a week boating on the coast I realized that I was done boating on lakes. Lots more to see and do on the water on t he coast, more to learn and more of a challenge to maintain the boat and use it safely. I live 15 minutes from 6 Corp of Engineer lakes in Tennessee and I don't even have a lake boat anymore.

Once you experience boating on the Gulf Coast, your decision will be easy.

As far as maintenance and care is concerned, it really doesn't matter to me....Florida is where we boat and we do whatever we need to to properly maintain the boat.

 

[Bucit]

Once you experience boating on the Gulf Coast, your decision will be easy.

As far as maintenance and care is concerned, it really doesn't matter to me....Florida is where we boat and we do whatever we need to to properly maintain the boat.[/quote]


I couldn't have said it better myself. Boating is expensive and time consuming no matter where you boat (fresh or salt) but boating where their are no limits is ideal. Either way buy the bigger boat and enjoy the waters. :thumbsup:

 

[rcknecht]

You will probably find when you retire that you don't have as much time as you thought you would have. I would buy the boat up here and use it until you retire. I would then make a trip down the Miss thour Tom Bigbee on my want to FL... Then I would spen more time boat in FL and less in the lakes...

 

[terryp]

Hi Steve,

I live in Canada and boat in the summer. Last winter my wife and I bought a mobile home in Florida, with the intent of buying a boat for retirement in 5-6 years. My wife actually made me consider, and go with, a mobile home, rather than my desired condo on the ICW in Florida. Her rational was for the cost of the condo now, and having to wait 5-6 years for the boat, we could buy the mobile and a used boat now. Best decision we made!

My plan now is to spend 2-3 weeks every 3-4 months down in Florida, exploring all the wonderful areas on the Gulf coast. As Frank said earlier, my lake boating days are done, so will sell the lake boat and cottage this summer.

I'm also thinking that by going every 3 or 4 months, maybe rushing to full retirement in 5 or 6 years won't be that critical. We'll have the best of both worlds now. I've recently heard a trend called pretirement, rather than pre-retirement and post retirement , and it is making good sense to me.

 

[comsnark]

You will probably find when you retire that you don't have as much time as you thought you would have. I would buy the boat up here and use it until you retire. I would then make a trip down the Miss thour Tom Bigbee on my want to FL... Then I would spen more time boat in FL and less in the lakes...

The busiest guy I know is a friend that retired two years ago. That guy is now all over the place and we never see him anymore. Hard to even find time for dinner and beer with him.

 

[trit21]

Frank, I understand you getting back to fresh when sanding the bottom but do you not use a barrier coat on the gelcoat and then put ablative paint on the barrier coat?

I recently purchased my Tiara and I am not sure what type of paint the PO used. So I had planned to strip the bottom paint off and start new. I was told I should apply a barrier coat then 2-3 coats of ablative paint (going to use Petit paint for this). Thanks for the reply.

 

[fwebster]

I don't know what results Tiara owners have with respect to blistering, or how susceptible they are to blisters. My boat is at a marina owned by the local Sea Ray dealer so all I see are either Sea Rays or boats with severe blister problems that the dealer is repairing. Sea Ray began using vinylester resins in the early 90's and we just don't have blister problems now.

The only time I would barrier coat with an epoxy primer is when blistering became an issue. I've fixed one blister in 15 years on my boat, so I'm not there yet. Epoxy primers are for barrier coating, not for bottom paint adherence, so if I were you, I'd ask other Tiara owners in your environment (not someone in the located on a freshwater lake with a 6 month boating season) about their experiences with osmotic blisters, but honestly, your boat is old enough that if it were blister prone, you would know it by now.

My bigger concern in your case is the paint chemistry compatibility with your existing bottom paint since we don't know what it is. I used Interlux bottom paint for years but have had better luck with SeaHawk in the last 3-4 years. Both paint companies have great tech service folks who will help with compatiblity questions. Generally, here almost every boat uses top of the line ablative paints and they seem to be the most forgiving on previous paint chemistry. Hulls are sanded with air sanders to the point that about about 1/2 the hull shows white (gelcoat) then that are washed down, let dry and the ablative paint is rolled on with foam or 1/4" knap rollers. We do not soda or sand blast bottoms because of DEP regulations (this is Florida, after all) where the boat must be tented to capture and contain all the removed paint. Besides, we just don't have problems with paint coming loose unless for some reason there gets to be a huge build up of previous layers, which doesn't happen if you sand as I mentioned.

Hope that helps..........

 

[Alex F]

First year I got my 320 I did my own bottom job. I used the same method Frank suggested and pretty happy with my results. In the following two springs I just did some touch ups here and there (mostly just have a fresh ~6" stripe by water line), but for 3 years I had no need to repaint her. The same goes for the following year.

I know that Frank gave you just a general approach without much details, but I just want to add that after sanding, I washed her, let her dry and then used Interlux 216 to wipe remaining dust. If I recall correctly from speaking with Interlux rep, you need to apply the paint within an hour after cleaning her with 216. I applied two coats of Micron CSC and that did the trick.

After using Micron CSC for 3 years I'm happy with the paint exept for one issue, which is slime. Interlux suggested to switch to Micron CSC Extra, which was designed to fight the slime. I'm not sure if this exact paint will give the same good results in your area as I know that each region has different impact on the paint.

 

[trit21]

On my previous boat (searay 320) and the SeaRay people I know at my marina, they are using a hard coat bottom paint, Pettit SR I think it is which is Slime Resistant. Problem I have with a hard coat is well it is hard to remove when you repaint and most around here just keep applying paint to the bottom which ends up with a thick layer. Also, this last summer we had a hell of a time with slime and bottom growth and want to switch paints to ablative. People in my marina (non searay or Tiara) use an ablative and are happy with the results, slime resistant characteristics and growth control.

As Frank mentioned, I do not know what paint is on the bottom right now and plan to sand/remove that paint as much as possible. Actually, I am not doing it but will get my yard to do it and I will personally verify such. I will also ask around about the barrier coat but I just don't have alot of Tiara's in my area. Most are newer boats. Make my boat stand out in a crowd of SeaRay's that is for sure. Thanks for the information Frank and Alex.

 

[comsnark]

Alex;

That Micron paint is an ablative, correct?

I would be curious to know the experience of other NJ boaters. My boat had the standard epoxy paint for a long time, until I switched to cheap ablative one or two years after I got the boat.

I have been putting on a ONE fresh coat every hear, but I must admit that I have not "sanded to 50% bare" before repainting. This is one of the reasons I switched to ablative paint. I do powerwash immediately after haulout, and immediately before painting in the spring. I do see slime at the waterline, but the powerwasher removes it readily, so it doesn't seem to be a problem. The paint generally holds up very, very well and each year I wonder if I should bother repainting each year. Paint buildup does not seem to be an issue, and I have not noted any performance degredation over time.

My outdrives and trim tabs are a very different story. The Mercruiser spray cans simply have not done the trick. The last two years, I have brushed on Trilux 33 and have had good results, but definately still need to sand and repaint annually. The previous owner didn't paint the tabs. . . I didn't paint the tabs in year one. Although they looked real nice for two months, that was a mistake I have since corrected.

I agree that painting issues can vary significantly regionally. I would definately take advice regarding what is done in different regions than your boat with a good dose of salt.