Short term salt water?

[SportPhish31]

Alright so here is my problem. I have my college spring break coming up and im going to the beach as most college students do and I was hoping I could bring my new boat along and try it out, but im assuming its a fresh water boat. The beach house we go to is on an inlet that is like maybe 30% salt water 70% fresh water. So my question is can I leave my boat in the water the week we're there or should I take it in and out each and every time im not using it? Is a 86 Sea Ray Seville btw.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: Short term salt water?

I know some people talk about salt water like it is acid, but one week in the water will not be a problem. At the end of the week, do a good flush on the engine/drive and wash down the hull.

Since you will be boating waters with different conditiins than you may be used to, make sure you know where you are going, rules of the road etc.

I'm sure you're going to have a great time.

 

[Philster]

Re: Short term salt water?

Moderately brackish water for one week = don't even worry about it.

Flush and clean her at the end of the week. Have a brewskie when doing this.

Enjoy life.

 

[Don S]

Re: Short term salt water?

I know some people talk about salt water like it is acid, but one week in the water will not be a problem. At the end of the week, do a good flush on the engine/drive and wash down the hull.

I agree 100%. Salt water is not acid, and it's a lot of fun. Enjoy your trip.
I have boated in almost exclusivly salt water for the past 30+ years. You can get a product like Salt-Away to flush your engine, and to hose off your boat, drive and transom shield if you like. Being in warm salt water you may notice the beginning of some baby barnicals and a green slime on the bottom after a week, but not a big deal if you wax the bottom first. The wax also prevents the gelcoat from yellowing from salt water.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Short term salt water?

+1. Where do people even get the idea of a "fresh" vs. "saltwater" boat? until I came here I'd never heard any one say it before. It's like saying you have a left or right handed bicycle. A boat, is a boat, is a boat. If it floats, you can put it in water. Of course, there's a bit of extra care to be taken for prolonged marine use, but nothing crazy. Shoot, I usually go from fresh to salt back to fresh again in a single trip. Have fun at Spring Break!!!! ( safety first )

 

[nlain]

Re: Short term salt water?

Use the boat and enjoy, like others here I boat in salt water, had first boat 17 years, an 87 SeaRay Seville, took care of it, had to replace the manifold and riser at about 15 years, it still ran good. Flush it real good when you take it out, get the Saltaway and use it, great stuff. I will say get a paper chart of the waters you will be in so you can know what is where under the water if you do not know the waters you will be in.

 

[cribber]

Re: Short term salt water?

Enjoy your time out on the salt water and heed what nlain posted so that you have a great time. Look over the chart of the waters you'll be playing in and check the local tide tables and you'll be fine. Hit up this website for info: http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/chartspubs.html

 

[SportPhish31]

Re: Short term salt water?

Thanks everyone, I'll check out that salt stuff and I'm prolly gonna invest in nav/depth finder. How deep do y'all think my boat goes into the water from water line to the bottom of the hull?

 

[Don S]

Re: Short term salt water?

How deep do y'all think my boat goes into the water from water line to the bottom of the hull?

It's called draft. When you get the boat out of the water, put the drive down and measure from the bottom of the drive to the ACTUAL water line on the transom. That's your draft.

You not only need to know your draft (actual, not what you think it is) you also need to know what the actual water depth is, the tide and where you will swing if on anchor. You don't want to be sitting in the wrong place when the tide goes out.

 

[Lowe170]

Re: Short term salt water?

College spring break, unfamiliar waters and a new boat? What could happen!? Not sure any of this is a good idea, dude. Why risk it?

 

[Willyclay]

Re: Short term salt water?

Do it and have a great time! BUT, don't forget about flushing the trailer off with fresh water especially if it is steel. Also, you might want to invest in Bearing Buddies before this trip and be sure you are clear on how to service them.

Man, wish I had a boat when I was in college!

 

[SportPhish31]

Re: Short term salt water?

thanks for the support everyone, im only a freshman in college too.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Short term salt water?

That Seville will draw about 30 inches of water. When you rev her up to get on plane, the transom will sink quite a bit. If you are in less than 5' of water you may hit bottom with the prop, depending on how much weight is in the boat, and how hard you hit the throttle.

 

[nlain]

Re: Short term salt water?

You need to make the measurment that Don D mentioned so you know for sure. I went to the Sea Ray website and checked what they say, I used 1987 year since I had one, 17' 12" drive up, 28" drive down, I checked up to 21' 14" drive up, 30" drive down. This will change when you load the boat, it will set a little deeper in the water with the load in it. So with that said add a few inches to the measurement for safety. When you get in skinny water you better know how and what the bottom is if you are going to stay on plane, sand bars will stop you quick, less than the length of your boat, I learned that lesson quick when I was new to boating, only mine was about half tide. Mud bars are a little softer but they will stop you also. Best thing to do in skinny water is go slow. One more thing, depth finder tells you what is under the transducer, not what is in front or off to the side, yes you can get side imaging today for a little more money.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Short term salt water?

don't get a depth finder for this trip. It only tells you how deep it was, not how deep it's going to be!

be mindful of the tides, especially mooring it overnight.

talk to locals about whether channel markers are accurate and if so, stick with them

Skip the salt away or other cleaning gimics

 

[SportPhish31]

Re: Short term salt water?

what about a marine gps, do they show depth?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Short term salt water?

marine GPS only shows Lat/Long position. If they have a bult in map you can see water depth as measured decades ago. Combo FF/GPS units wll show current depth. In combo with the chart you can figure out if the water will get shallower and where.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: Short term salt water?

My boat is over twenty years old. Until June of last year, she had never "tasted" salt water. Several iboaters had a get together in St Augustine, orchestrated by Fireman431. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=458161&highlight=st+augustine

My motor is a Yamaha stern drive. They are no longer made and are very difficult to find parts for, especially manifolds. I wanted to have the most protection possible, as this was not to be the only salt water excursion my boat would have. My motor runs like new. I want to keep it that way.

Prior to the trip, I did a lot of extensive online research on Salt away and Neutra-Salt systems. I read several published reviews, and many consumer reviews. I ended up going with Neutra-salt. It's installed in line with your raw water cooling. It all sounded pretty complicated, but the installation took me about 20 minutes, and was really quite simple. The 20 minutes was for everything except the mounting of the rocker switch on my console.

The Neutra-Salt system not only neutralizes the corrosive effect of the salt, but also leaves a protective coating on everything it contacts. When you're ready to shut down your motor, you press and hold the rocker switch for 45 seconds, and then shut down the motor while holding the switch. Once the motor is shut down, realease the switch.

Here is a link: http://www.volvopentastore.com/Neutra-salt/dm/store_id.366--view_id.344740

The price has come down since last year. It is now $269.00 It was $360.00 when I was in the market. I did a lot of online shopping around, and finally found one on ebay brand new in the box for $170.00 with free shipping. I'm extremely happy with it. Now that the price has come down, you may do even better than I did.

Taking your boat to spring break sounds great. You'll be a really populular guy. Please forgive me if I sound like I'm preaching; but please, please don't operate you boat while intoxicated, have all your safety equipment in order, and what ever you do, please don't allow yourself to be talked in to loaning out your boat.

Have a GREAT time, and be safe!!!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Short term salt water?

interesting info about your flushing system but not a bit necessary for this college guy on a one week trip.

my fatherly advice, in addition to the other good safety advice, is don't be tempted to overload the boat, and get the other guys to buy your gas!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Short term salt water?

I looked at the neutra-salt system. I would be real interested to know what the solution used to neutralized the salt. I could not think of anything, but my chemistry is not great.

Alternatively, if you have freshwater available at the dock, you could flush the risers and manifolds (engine off) just by installing a tee in the raw water lines. Also, Mercruiser manifolds have several threaded plugs where elbows could be installed. A little heater hose and some clamps and viola, a fresh water flush. The engine blocks last a long time(25+ years) in salt water, compared to the mannys and risers. Flushing manifolds and risers could save a replacement ($700 Merc V8/V6).

Of course none of these are on point for the original poster. He needs to watch the water, and not let his male friends do stupid stuff.