Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

[lowery9]

I am in need of some advice as far as my boat goes. As of now I have a 2008 Maxum SR3 w/ a 4.3 I/O used only in fresh water. Would it be a smart idea to keep the boat and run it down there or sell it and find something else. I know that it is ok to run them occasionally in salt or brackish water as long as you wax, rinse, and flush. We are moving to the Destin area so not much fresh water around. Any thoughts?

 

[Philster]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Will this be a trailer boat? Regardless...

You need to up the maintenance and install the proper sacrificial anodes to the drive to prevent corrosion. Salt doesn't hurt the boat if you just are the type to take care of it. Sun and not covering a boat remain the biggest enemy and the biggest no-no.

Your only concern is if she sits in the water at a marina where people use shore power and other electric currents which, when not properly managed, can corrode anything. Stray electric current in water wreak havoc with salt and metals -- that's the only doomsday concern.

Run it (it'll be faster in salt water, especially the salt-rich Floridian water, because it's more buoyant!) and flush it. After a good flush, she has fresh water in 'er. Lather, rinse, repeat as necessary for everything else. Good times: Scrubbing down a boat with suds in your hand and suds on the boat.

If she'll reside in a wet slip, get a flush kit mounted and have the hose attachment someplace easy to get to and you come back and flush her while she runs in the water -- believe it or not.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

If you use your boat in saltwater, there?s one problem you can count on ? corrosion. The corrosive effects of salt water and sea air can pit and destroy your on-deck hardware, turn moving parts into stationary ones, and wreak havoc on your wiring and marine electronics.

The chrome plated zinc hardware/fittings commonily used on freshwater boats will begin to peel and turn to zinc powder in a year or so. Any hardware on the boat that is not 304 Stainless steel or better will begin to rust in a matter of weeks. Unless the boat was wired using marine "tinned" wire, the wiring in that boat will be a green mess within a year. There is nothing you can do to stop any of these processes short of keeping the boat in a plastic bubble 24/7. Not much fun boating in a bubble.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

dingbat you sound like a guy who lives there and doesn't want anyone else to move there!

However, what you say is basically true; there are many boats not built to handle salt air. In my opinion, all boats should be made to handle it (as all outboard motors are) as simply a measure of quality. I don't, however, think all parts will be crumbling corroded globs by year's end. Long as you stay off the WD40! But this may be an opportunity for OP to leave the lake boat on the lake and get a boat made for the new area--including with an improved design and requiring less maintenance (like your Grady).

Since it's a 2008 he may have bought it new, and will take a hit. However, it will be a lot harder to sell the lake boat on the coast and especially after it's been baptized. And one less thing to move.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Here's another option. They weren't around when I lived in Florida, so no knowledge if they work or not.

http://www.powerboatmag.com/salt-neutralizing-flush-kits.html

 

[V153]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Here's another option. They weren't around when I lived in Florida, so no knowledge if they work or not.

http://www.powerboatmag.com/salt-neutralizing-flush-kits.html

Yup! Lotta people 'round here use "Salt-Away". They have a kit for outboards too.

 

[cribber]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

If you trailer your boat just make sure you rinse it down and flush it after every time you go out. If you are planning on keeping it at a marina dry storage is best. If you're going to keep it stored at a slip get the bottom painted with anti-fouling paint. You don't want to haul around a bunch of barnacles.

 

[nlain]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

All the advice you have gotten so far is good, I live on salt water, my boat is a trailer boat, I put it in the water, I use it, I take it out, I wash it, I flush it, I use Saltaway, I rinse the boat with Saltaway, it floats the salt off, then then the wash. Take it with you, use it, take care of it and it will last you a long time.

 

[sasto]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

I guess I'm not one to ask......I have .15% in my body, 30% on it, and 60% over the boat.

What kind of cooling system do you have?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

dingbat you sound like a guy who lives there and doesn't want anyone else to move there!
However, what you say is basically true; there are many boats not built to handle salt air.

My first boat was a "freshwater" boat that I used exclusively in Saltwater. I learned my lesson. Never again

The first boat I bought for saltwater use was a 1989 Citation Cuddy. It was 3 years old when I bought it. It was kept on a trailer in OC for the summer then taken home and stored in a barn for the winter.

The boat looked like new but?.. if I wasn't getting beat to death (had deadrise, no displacement) I was having electrical problems. Every bit of the electrical system was covered in green corrosion. Every spade lug was green. Both fuse blocks where green. The entire wiring harness needed replaced after 6 years of being around salt water. This is also where I learned about Zamac fittings. Believe me, when a manufacturer recommends against using its product in a saltwater environment heed the warning. Every fitting on that boat had pock marks on it when I sold the boat 3 years later.

 

[Samvq1]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Look up Milton, FL and the Blackwater River. I lived in Pensacola several years ago. The Navy had a recreation facility on the river with a boat launch.

 

[BIGALF]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Destin is a great area for boating. If you flush it out each time you take it out of the water it should be fine. Just remember in Florida you can boat almost all year long so you must take care of boat motor and trailer all the time.
Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[lowery9]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have to say though it still puts me on the fence. I have heard that the value drops quite a bit as she gets "baptized" as home cookin stated. As far as if it will be a trailer boat I am unsure at the moment. It is going to depend on where we end up finding a house. I'm looking at some with boat lifts on a bayou out there but still unsure. I am a complete newbie when it comes to salt water boating so I'm trying to soak in as much as I can. Thanks again.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

I am in need of some advice as far as my boat goes. As of now I have a 2008 Maxum SR3 w/ a 4.3 I/O used only in fresh water. Would it be a smart idea to keep the boat and run it down there or sell it and find something else. I know that it is ok to run them occasionally in salt or brackish water as long as you wax, rinse, and flush. We are moving to the Destin area so not much fresh water around. Any thoughts?

Sell your boat. Salt air/water is going to destroy it. The maintaince will be to much.

 

[lowery9]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

I actually have looked at some houses out that way (on the internet anyways) How is the water out there? I heard that it was too shallow for most boats.

 

[Philster]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

If you have a painted trailer, that must go. You need a galvanized trailer.

 

[sasto]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

Sell your boat. Salt air/water is going to destroy it. The maintaince will be to much.

Should have listened to you 25 years ago......but then again, I don't know. Hard to say.

What is freshwater boating like? Will my stuff last forever in freshwater? Heck, we have several 30 and 40 year old boats here that have never seen freshwater in their life.......except from an occasional bath and Mother Nature.

Saltwater boating is not a big deal.....Maybe I just don't know any better.

 

[jimh1626]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

WOW. You all make it sound like the boat is going to dissolve right before his eyes. Come on down and bring your boat if you want to. Great weather, long boating season, great fishing and some of the most beautiful girls in the world. Just take care of it and it will take care of you.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

[QUOTE
Saltwater boating is not a big deal.....Maybe I just don't know any better.[/QUOTE]

Sasto, the boats you and I have are made for either and last longer. There are some, however, with cheaper metal fittings and hasty electronics that aren't. It's like as I have experienced, getting a fresh water lure or even rod/reel and watch it rust or turn green.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Moving to FL with a freshwater boat

buddy of mine found out in about 12 hours that all of his seats had been reupholstered with steel staples on a trip to fl.... his boat was covered in rust streaks.... If you have a weak link salt will find it.... I bought a parts boat that had twin 26's and was occasionally used in salt.... the corrosion I found astounded me.... surely lack of maintenance was a factor but I found rotted off bolts holding the transom unit in... I had 2 oil senders develop leaks where they had corroded through the brass pipe nipple... Blower motors were junk. corroded wires everywhere and much much more....
as far as I'm concerned saltwater boats don't have I/O's IMHO of course