"Puerto Mio" wrote in message
om...
I just bought a Sea Ray 215 and I'm somewhat new to the sal****er.
Other than not putting it in the salty water, what is the best way to
protect my boat after I take it out?

I assume that this is a runabout style boat, in the 21 foot range? Probably
an I/O, and probably does NOT have fresh water cooling. If any of these
assumptions are incorrect then it will change the advice somewhat.

The fiberglass portion of your boat is not going to be significantly
impacted by the fact that you are in salt water. There is stuff that will
want to attach to your hull and start to grow. It will be different stuff
in fresh water but the idea is the same. If the boat is in the water for a
day or two and then is taken out the "stuff" won't get much of a foothold
and it will die once the boat is taken out of the water. If you leave the
boat in the water for a week or so you may get a buildup on the bottom that
will be a bit harder to wash off and you may have to resort to using oxalic
acid or similar cleaner.

The salt water will be a lot more corrosive to the metal parts of your boat.
Again, if you just in for the day, the aluminum parts should do just fine
(the outdrive). The outdrive should have "zincs" mounted on it , maybe
multiple ones. These will deteriorate fairly rapidly. That is okay, that
is what they are supposed to do. Plan on replacing them once they start
looking ragged.

The engine is perhaps the area that you need to pay attention to. Unless
you have a fresh water cooling system (not common on a boat that size, but
usually an option) then you will be circulating salt water through the
engine. The engine, being based on an automotive engine block, wasn't
really designed for this and you can have rust/corrosion problems fairly
early.

The best thing you can do is to flush the engine out with fresh water as
soon as you can after you take the boat out of the water. Some launch ramps
have a "flushing station" where they provide a fresh water hose so you can
take care of it right after you pull out. You will need some sort of
adapter to connect the hose to your engine, usually an "ear muff" type
device that clamps over the water intake on the outdrive. Connect the hose,
turn the water on, start the engine and let it run until it is up to
temperature (to make sure that the thermostat has opened and circulated
fresh water everywhere).

Sometimes the engine itself is equipped with an "anode" (another zinc) as
part of the cooling system. These usually are thin rods that screw down
into the water system at some point. Read your owner's manual on the engine
to see if you have any. If you do have them, be sure to check them once a
year or so to make sure that they haven't been eaten away.

The salt spray will also get onto all parts of the boat, so you would be
wise to wash down the entire boat in fresh water. This will make a
difference years down the road.


Rod