There is a lot of web pages that talk about salt damage to boats in
sal****er. Is this something I have to worry about if I trailer my boat (say
a searay or four winns 200,210) and use it in salt water occasionally. Most
of the time we will be on Lakes here in Northern California
(Sacramento/Folsom) but thinking about going out to SF bay (salt water) when
weather permits. My question is

1. What parts do I pay attention to and maintain after a sal****er trip from
the bay ?

2. Or fibreglass boats with inboard generally a bad idea for salt water.

Thanks

Most talk about salt damage is just that - talk.
Wash off the boat, flush the engine, and hose off the trailer after use.
If you can't wash the boat right away, at least try to hose it off. The
trailer will probably suffer the most because you'll be getting it wet to
launch and it will sit all day before you recover the boat and wash things
down.
I've had my 1998 19' bowrider with 3 liter sterndrive since it was new. My
boating used to be fresh water in the summer and salt water the rest of the
year, for the last two years it's mostly salt water. I go out at least twice
a week. It only looks old because I don't take the time to wax it - but it
starts right away and runs all day.

"Shakeel" wrote in message
. com...
There is a lot of web pages that talk about salt damage to boats in
sal****er. Is this something I have to worry about if I trailer my boat
(say
a searay or four winns 200,210) and use it in salt water occasionally.
Most
of the time we will be on Lakes here in Northern California
(Sacramento/Folsom) but thinking about going out to SF bay (salt water)
when
weather permits. My question is

1. What parts do I pay attention to and maintain after a sal****er trip
from
the bay ?

2. Or fibreglass boats with inboard generally a bad idea for salt water.

Thanks

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 02:43:49 GMT, "Shakeel" wrote:

There is a lot of web pages that talk about salt damage to boats in
sal****er. Is this something I have to worry about if I trailer my boat (say
a searay or four winns 200,210) and use it in salt water occasionally. Most
of the time we will be on Lakes here in Northern California
(Sacramento/Folsom) but thinking about going out to SF bay (salt water) when
weather permits. My question is

1. What parts do I pay attention to and maintain after a sal****er trip from
the bay ?

2. Or fibreglass boats with inboard generally a bad idea for salt water.

Thanks

I have a 21' Proline with a Mercruiser 5.7L I/O that is used only in Chesapeake
Bay. I wash the boat after each use, almost, and I religiously flush the engine
after each use. The boat is a '97. I've had no problems with the fiberglass at
all. I plan to replace the exhaust manifolds and risers at the end of this
season.

Enjoy!

John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

I flush my motor, trailer, and wash the decks with Dawn dishwashing liquid
in an Ortho lawn dial sprayer. If you want the boat to last, flush the
engine & trailer everytime you use it in salt water. In fresh water, rinsing
is fine.

Jim Rojas


"Shakeel" wrote in message
. com...
There is a lot of web pages that talk about salt damage to boats in
sal****er. Is this something I have to worry about if I trailer my boat
(say
a searay or four winns 200,210) and use it in salt water occasionally.
Most
of the time we will be on Lakes here in Northern California
(Sacramento/Folsom) but thinking about going out to SF bay (salt water)
when
weather permits. My question is

1. What parts do I pay attention to and maintain after a sal****er trip
from
the bay ?

2. Or fibreglass boats with inboard generally a bad idea for salt water.

Thanks

You make several references to a "fiberglass boat" in salt water. There is
nothing about the hull of the boat that is made any differently for salt
water or fresh. It isn't the hull you need to worry about, it is all the
metal parts.

Salt water causes metal to corrode/rust much faster. Many items you can
ignore, others you would be better off to pay attention to.

The obvious areas to focus on are those areas that get wet. The cooling
system of the engine is one such item. A boat that was built for use in salt
water would have a closed (a.k.a. fresh water) cooling system, where only
fresh water/antifreeze circulated through the engine and the sea water was
used to cool the heat exchanger (the equivalent of the radiator). For just
an occasional trip to salt water you don't need to be overly concerned, but
it would help avoid problems later on down the road if you hooked up a hose
and flushed the engine with fresh water as soon as possible after running in
salt water.

If the boat was going to be left in salt water for more than a day at a time
then you would really need to pay attention to your anodes and general
maintenance on the outdrive. Salt water can really accelerate electrolysis
which can eat away at aluminum. If the zinc anodes are in good shape you
can minimize such damage.

Rod