Salt water vs fresh water,bad for boat?

K

Kelly Forest

New Member
Aug 3, 2009
7
GREENVILLE SC
Boat Info
2008 sport 185
Engines
4.3L Alpha 1
I'm moving to northern Floida.I presently live in SC,where there is no salt water to worry about.I have heard that you can run your boat in either,then some people say may cause damage.I have been told that the lakes and or rivers near jacksonville have most of the salt on the bottom.I have a new 185 sport so I am concerned.I love my boat ands take excellent care of her.Thanks for any suggestions in advanve.:huh:
 
Have you been talking to a guy name Wesley? (Grin) Keep it flushed out and should not have a problem.
 
I have been boating in the coastal Georgia waters all my life and have found that as long as you flush your system after every outing, you should be fine. One thing about salt water, if you are lazy and don't clean her inside and out after every outing it will show very quickly. Good luck on the move.
 
Owning a boat that cannot be hauled every outing, I budgeted an exhaust system replacement every 4 years (risers, elbows, manifolds). About $2K per engine. Two mechanics in my area said typical is every 5-8 years, with an engine replacement around 16 years (of course, it might be more than the salt water that drives the engine replacement. . ). Some others have cited about 3-5 years.

I have not had the boat long enough to tell you my experience.

With flushing and haulout every weekend, I too think you can probably avoid these expenses.
 
Well, I have only run my new 175 in the salt water twice so far, but based on the local marine shop recommendations I do the following:

1) Remove the snap in carpets - I don't run the boat in the salt water with the carpets installed
2) Spray the engine with Corrosion X prior to each outing (or similar product)
3) After the outing completely hose down the boat inside and out with Salt Eliminator (or similar product) included, then completely rinse with hose water only. Not the engine, though - keep that compartment closed
4) Flush the engine for 10 minutes with Salt Eliminator included
5) Spray the prop nut with Corrision X - I found it sometimes will "green up" otherwise
6) Dry the boat with towels and then admire it for a few minutes
7) On days not using the boat look for whitish haze on aluminum items and wipe them off (bimini tends to be an area where this occurs from missing it with the hose down)

Basically, fresh water is your friend. Use it early, often and everywhere after the outing. Salt Eliminator adds to it by apparantly helping lift the salt from the surfaces.
 
Four Suns said:
I don't understand the "snap in carpet" issue... Can you explain?
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I actually was told by my salesman to remove the carpets from our boat before we took our trip to the gulf. Didn't listen to him & just rinsed the carpets along with everything else in the boat when we came back. No problem.
 
I too wonder about the carpets. What is the logic in removing them?

Are you afraid they get wet? Bah. We are talking sport boats here. You should have swimmers and tubers dripping all over the place. . If the carpets aren't getting wet. . you ain't using the boat right! No. . they won't last forever. Neither does the engine.

I make sure that my carpets are left out to dry if they get wet. I also run a steam cleaner over them a few times per season.
 
comsnark said:
I too wonder about the carpets. What is the logic in removing them?

Are you afraid they get wet? Bah. We are talking sport boats here. You should have swimmers and tubers dripping all over the place. . If the carpets aren't getting wet. . you ain't using the boat right! No. . they won't last forever. Neither does the engine.

I make sure that my carpets are left out to dry if they get wet. I also run a steam cleaner over them a few times per season.
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Apparantly the carpet material and salt don't mix too well and the carpet will break down over time. I have no personal experience with that. It was recommended by the shop. But if salt water is all you mostly run in, then keeping them out does seem kinda useless.
 
I still own my first boat, it has been run in salt water (Puget sound) it's whole life. It is a 1979 Fiberform Waikiki, 17' w/115 Johnson outboard hanging off the back. I have replaced the power head & transmission once. The fiberglass is washed down and the engine is flushed for 10 minutes with fresh water after every salt water excursion. If I didn't take advantage of this beautiful salt water body 5 minutes from my house I'd be an idiot.......
 
I think your heart is telling you right...first don't move...second don't put the boat in salt water.
 
My boat is run exclusively in salt or brackish water and has been it's entire existence. It was kept in a slip for the first 11 years and now is on a trailer. Yes - salt air and water can have a negative impact on the boat and trailer. The advice here to keep things rinsed off, flushed and clean will prevent things from getting too bad. My boat is now on the 3rd set of exhaust manifolds which seems to be right in line with the 4-6 years of expected life using Mercruiser parts.

It gets flushed everytime I get back - except for a few times where I got in late and then it was done over the next day or so. The key is running the engines until they are warm so the thermostat opens and then let it run for about 5-10 mins to keep things clean. If I'm boating at a fairly busy time I also warm up the boat before I leave the house so sometimes it gets flushed a couple of times with each outing. I boat in fairly shallow waters and know that sand gets sucked up so I also drain the exhaust manifolds and engine every couple of months to prevent sediment from settling. I also replace the water pump impellers every year since it is cheap insurance and I'm sure sand and sediment will shorten their life. At about $35 for each drive it's not a major setback to do and I have it down to about 30 mins per drive. Make sure you are cleaning the boat well after each outing - but that applies to both fresh and salt.

The trailer needs to be rinsed off well - including flushing the brakes to prevent corrosion and to make sure everything is working properly. If you have to replace your brake pads/shoes - make sure you use non-metallic pads as the material will rust. In my case the pads had to be specially ordered as they didn't stock organic pads for my application. I spray bolts, lugs, screws etc often with a rust preventor - I use PB Blaster on my lugs and Amsoil Metal Protector on everything else.

Bottom line - enjoy boating! You're moving to a great area to boat in so don't let a little salt scare you away. Just update or modify your maintenance schedule and enjoy yourself!
 
As long as you flush and wash down your boat after a outting you are going to be fine. At the start of the season it would be a very good idea to give the boat a great coat of wax and every so often wash the carpets with woolite soapy water. Go enjoy boating! :thumbsup:
 
I boat only in fresh water, and my 1982 Seville was still looking great and running fine when I sold it a couple of years ago. Maintenance is increased and service life is decreased when running in salt water, but the ocean is a beautiful place and I would not let the extra expense/effort stop me if I lived close by.
 
My 200 select lives in salt water 365 days of the year, it comes out once a year to be antifouled , serviced and the anodes replaced, and then goes back in again.

It is now 4 years old, and so far I have had no issues due to salt water apart from the cheap hose clamps that Mercruiser use on the engine have rusted through and needed replacing.
 
Georgia SeaDawg said:
I have been boating in the coastal Georgia waters all my life and have found that as long as you flush your system after every outing, you should be fine. One thing about salt water, if you are lazy and don't clean her inside and out after every outing it will show very quickly. Good luck on the move.
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:smt089From big cruisers to sport boats, every opinion on here I have read says this is they Key!! Rinse Rinse Rinse !:smt089:thumbsup:
 
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