Stern Drives in Warm Salt Water

Sadler

Member
Nov 29, 2006
907
Live in Western NC, boat in Charleston, SC
Boat Info
2005 Nordic Tugs 37 FB
Mercury RIB dinghy with Honda 2 hp 4 stroke,
sold: 1997 290DA,
Engines
Cummins QSB 380
My 1997 290 Bravo 3 with 450 hours has been kept in dry stack all its life, and other than requiring an annual oil change and occasional topping off, has been trouble free. Recently my marina announced they were going to charge a hefty price for dry stackers to use the wet slips on the weekend. Wet slips for us "stackers" had always been free, and a group of us almost always socialize on the docks at least one night per weekend in Summer as we stay in the wet slips. So, a movement has begun and some of the dry (sterndrive) stack boaters are moving their boats fulltime to wet slips to avoid the new surcharge, which will come to as much as $100 a weekend. I am hesitant to follow them and keep my boat permanently in the warm salty water of Charleston, and watch my Bravo 3 become encrusted with barnacles. (I think I can deal with corrosion via careful attention to zincs, measuring currents, etc.) I'm figuring I'd have to have a diver clean the bottom and drive about every three weeks in Summer; with an annual renewal of the bottom/drive paint, I think the bottom would be ok. However, I'm wondering if a diver could ever keep the sterndrive from becoming a barnacle happy house, even if it is properly kept painted with TBT paint. The water intakes would seem especially difficult to keep clean as would the in-water Mercathode anode device. I've always promised myself I'd never ever leave a sterndrive in salt water, but now I'm beginning to weaken. Still, I shiver to think of all the nooks and crannies that could become choked with marine growth. I've seen drives left in the water at our marina with improper maintenance. They are almost unrecognizable.

So, my question is if there is anyone here that has successfully left a sterndrive in warm salt water year around with success? If so, what is your secret to success? Do you cruise frequently or infrequently, and have you had any problems with the drive? Comments from anyone are welcome and appreciated.

Sadler
 
I had a 95 290 DA with twin 4.3's and alphas that I kept in a wet slip year round in teh warmer salt waters of Morehead City, NC. I kept on top of the zincs and durring the warm months when the water was comfortable I put on a snorkeling mask and scraped the drives myself. I can tell you that some of the zincs would not last 12 months especially those on the trim cyliners. Every spring I hauled the boat and after a few brutal hours with the scraper and the power washer the drives would be clean. I then repainted any exposed metal with Merc drive paint and then painted the drives with Pettit drive paint. I usually did this in Feb and I was good to go until the fall. Over the winter the growth would pick up pretty good. The boat was usable but with a noticable impact on performace until the spring cleaning. You can do it but it takes some work. I now run IB's and would never go back!
 

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