Occasionally using boat in brackish/salt water question

[teacher_dan]

My wife and I are buying a 20 - 22' wake boat this spring. We're considering new, but haven't ruled out 2 - 5 year old boats. The boat will spend most of its life in fresh water, but could spend 2 - 3 weeks each summer in brackish/salt water. Should I consider finding/buying a boat with a closed cooling system? In other words do I need to have a boat especially setup for salt water for those few weeks every year?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[JoLin]

You don't need anything special. A couple of weeks a year in salt is a non-issue.

 

[Scott Danforth]

flush with salt-away or neutra salt and call it good. wash your trailer too

I boated for years with only a super-flush kit

 

[robert graham]

It's no problem, but try to find a ramp upriver a couple of miles so when you're ready to pull your boat out it'll be running in mostly freshwater and it'll flush the motor out.....of course when you get back home wash/flush motor some more just to be sure the salt and mud is all gone....

 

[dingbat]

I would be more concerned about the boat's hardware/ wiring more so than the motor..

Salt air is a silent killer. It's harsh an everything and anything it comes in contact with. You can't prevent it, short of never getting anywhere near the coast, and you can't rinse it off.

It gets into every pore and creivs in a boat. It eats none 316 stainless hardware, seat cushion zippers, cover snaps, bimini hardware, carpet trim, etc. .It will pit and eat the cheap, zinc plated fittings right off a boat. It eats non- plated fuse panels and unsealed connections for lunch. It doesn't happen over night, but I'll guarantee you in 6 months of a SW adventure, you'll find the "evil green" has taken up residence somewhere in the boat. Its not how long, it's when.....

Buy a quality boat with quality hardware. Replacing a engine is cheap compared to rewiring a boat

 

[tpenfield]

A closed cooling system is a good thing, if you can get one, but not a requirement for the described usage as per the other comments.

So, if you do go new, then go for the closed cooling system.

 

[agallant80]

I would not really worry about it. Just flush the motor when you get home.