Slipping in salt water

L

Luvinlife

New Member
Oct 4, 2015
11
Rhode island and Massachusetts
Boat Info
2001 Monterey 218 sports cruiser
Engines
Volvo penta 5.0 gl
I am looking to move from trailer boating into a 260-280 Sundancer by the start of the 2016 season. Our slip would be in the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island from late April until October. I have concerns about leaving a stern drive boat in salt water. What is the life expectancy if left in salt? I am a fastidious owner and would watch the zincs and keep the outdrive appropriately painted. I am looking at boats from 2002-2008 and it seems most outdrives look pretty bad. Should I reconsider and look for a striaght inboard boat? Any feedback on personal experience would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I think if you have the means, I would go to a boat with shafts. I started as a kid with a 27ft boat with I/O. In the salt it was much more maintenance. I have now had two boats with shafts and the maintenance is much less and I leave the boat in the water year round. Good luck with your search. As a side note maybe a slightly bigger boat would meet your needs and you might only need to look a a year or two older. FWIW


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I had a 27ft with a single Bravo III for 9 years in saltwater from April-November.
Zero problems but, I was extremely anal about zincs, paint and cleaning with a brush every time I was swimming around the boat during the warmer months. The drive was removed every winter and cleaned up before installing in the spring.

However, inboards are much less of a hassle.
I won't bother hauling every year and now wait until the bottom paint starts to fail before a haul out.
No more I/O's for me.
 
I have had I/Os in salt water for at over 10 years without a problem. I am very good about zincs and just as important is making sure the mercathode is working properly. For maintenance I scrap any loose paint each year and prime and repaint entire drive with Trilux 33. Inboards are less maintenance but I wouldn't be afraid at all about keeping them in salt water.
 
I keep my boat in Fall River. 1998 290 DA.
Twin 4.3 with alpha out drives. They are in from mid-April until late Oct.
with proper maintenance there are zero issues.
She is in my driveway right now on stands if you want to see how they look.
I love the performance of the I/O's.
 
dpmulvey said:
Where on the Gansett Bay? I was born and raised in R.I. There is rack storage at some places.
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I slip at Borden Light Marina..... On the hard in my driveway so I can maintain her. Plus add some upgrades throughout the coldness.
 
I went from a shaft boat to drives 15 months ago. I agree, shafts are less work and realistically a better system for salt.

With that said, I also love the performance of the drives, fuel efficiency, turning, etc. I can maneuver my 44 ft boat through a crowded anchor field on July 4 with ease. I think others who said they are "anal" is the key term. If you are not fussing over them to keep them happy, they will give you problems.
 
Luvinlife said:
Right now we are leaning towards Brewers in Portsmouth or Warwick. We love Wickford too but it is a much longer drive from my house.
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We just signed up to be in Brewer's Warwick. A bit pricey, but you can't beat it for location convenience and other ammenities. Can't wait for the summer...
 
Gt, Will Borden light let you in prior to May 1st? Mine in the yard for the same reasons and my boat is an 04 and been in salt water since new and the drives look great. Anti foul and zincs each year is key.
 
My 1987 300 Sundancer has twin Alphas that have spent their entire life in saltwater.
The starboard drive is original to the boat from 1987, and I bought the port one used about 3 or 4 yars ago because it is counter rotating. The boat didn't have counter rotating drives, and I wanted to change that so I replaced the port drive with a used CR drive. But their was nothing wrong with the standard rotation port drive I took off of the boat.
 
Thanks all for the feedback. I am going to look for a 260-280 Sundancer over the next few months. All I need to do now is find one that has been well cared for so I can continue to maintain and enjoy it. Looking at early to mid 2000s.
 
SAshton said:
Gt, Will Borden light let you in prior to May 1st? Mine in the yard for the same reasons and my boat is an 04 and been in salt water since new and the drives look great. Anti foul and zincs each year is key.
Click to expand...
I think they stick pretty close to the dates advertised....
 
If you must have a choice between the two go with the 280da. Also full FWC is a must for one kept in the water full time. From my personal experience I strongly recommend an inboard powered boat if kept in the water for any length of time. Stern drive cost big money to maintain correctly. My boat get hauled out every 2 1/2 years for maintenance. Other than that the bottom gets cleaned by the diver every month. That's it.
 
Brewers seems to own R.I. now. IMO, that's a shame. Growing up each marina had it's own charm. Now it's like a Wal Mart or Mickey D's. It will be interesting to see what the lack of competition does to the price of a slip.

I digress. Cowessett used to have rack storage. Best of both worlds to me. I don't know if they have torn it down or not.
 
That is a shame. A good, well run rack facility is worth it's weight in gold for the marina and the boat owner.
 
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