My boat in saltwater

[kylef]

Hi all. I have seen this question asked before but it's normally with relation to deep sea fishing - mine is not.
I have a Stingray 190RS with a Mercruiser 4.3 AlphaOne, I will add a photo or two. She has no leaks and runs well, doesn't overheat or anything. Our closest lake is an hour away but we live a stone's throw away from the ocean. There is a nice sheltered bay, which I will also attach a photo of. I am looking for the opinions of as many as possible on whether I should take my boat into saltwater or not. I would not be heading out into open water, only in the bay with the kids on skis or wakeboards, etc.
If I were to flush the motor out properly on the flushmuffs/hose (like I do every time we get back from the lake) and give her a good soapy wash and a good rinse - am I doing my boat a disservice by putting her in saltwater?
Please excuse all of the photos but I thought I'd include as much information as possible

 

[Lou C]

Mines been salt water for over 20 years! Moored in it as a matter of fact. In 100% salt water use we have certain maintenance rituals that must be followed for the boat to last. But in your case regular flushing will be fine. The boat will be fine. The trailer looks galvanized so that is much much better than a painted trailer.

 

[Sprig]

After a day in the salt , flush the engine with fresh water, and hose down the hull, outdrive and trailer, especially the trailer. You’ll be fine. I personally would clean, inspect and repack the trailer wheel bearings once a year. Salt water is a harsh environment but a routine as above will mitigate the effects of salt. Enjoy your time on the bay.

 

[Tassie 1]

Just give it a good wash and flush after a trip out in the salt.
Two of our 5 boats live in saltwater alll day every day.
You'll be fine.

 

[Scott Danforth]

with flushing you will be fine

I would change your battery cable though. that is a failure waiting to happen.

 

[Lou C]

Yep Scotts right change both of those cables use marine cables and no wingnuts or those auto parts store clamps that allow corrosion to travel up the cable.
On an important but unrelated to your question….if that boat has wood cored decks I would get rid of that carpet and have the deck re glassed and gel coated in non skid gel coat; or use a marine deck paint. Carpet over a wood core deck is the down fall of older boat construction, it holds in moisture and causes rot. The rot will appear wherever there are screws in the deck to mount things that weren’t sealed and the carpet stops the moisture from evaporating. This, is a far greater risk to the longevity of the boat than salt water use.
One last thing you have the old style wet joint exhaust and if you see any sign of water seeping from that joint between the exhaust manifolds and exhaust elbows it’s time to get the exhaust inspected and in salt it may be necessary to change the elbows if they have a lot of flaking corrosion and pitted sealing surfaces.

 

[mike_i]

My boats is only in saltwater and after each use I rinse and flush then rinse and flush again with freshwater. You'll be fine.

 

[QBhoy]

These engines have been successfully running in salt water for nearly 4 decades now. As long as you change the consumable parts like manifolds and risers every 4/5 years…nothing to worry about. I’d worry more about what the salt does to the rest of the boat. As said…flush when you can after use (not a need of she’s in the water kept) and leave her full of antifreeze in winter. Keep her Coated in inhibitor oil too…she’ll be grand.

 

[tpenfield]

Boats go in salt water . . . that's what they do.

I keep my boats in salt water. Don't worry too much about dunking your in the ocean, particularly since you rinse it out.

Make sure you keep your anodes fresh and are of the correct type. Will you be going in both fresh and salt on a regular basis?

 

[JimS123]

OK, I'l be the odd man out here. 65 Years boating in fresh water. My engines last almost forever.

Many years ago I had the opportunity for a huge work promotion. It would have put my beloved boats in salt water. I said heck no, I won't go. My buddy took all the extra cash.

Turned out there was life after the company. In fact I made out better than those that moved. But that's another story.

My buddy had nothing but trouble with outdrives and manifolds, even though he did the right things. Eventually he moved back north, after his boat had many repairs and much expense.

I collect outboard motors. After buying a few salt water motors and having issued removing the freaking screws, I gave up.

Just my opinion, based on 60 years of experience. When I come home I park the boat in the garage. No flushing necessary. I don't need the hassle.

 

[QBhoy]

OK, I'l be the odd man out here. 65 Years boating in fresh water. My engines last almost forever.

Many years ago I had the opportunity for a huge work promotion. It would have put my beloved boats in salt water. I said heck no, I won't go. My buddy took all the extra cash.

Turned out there was life after the company. In fact I made out better than those that moved. But that's another story.

My buddy had nothing but trouble with outdrives and manifolds, even though he did the right things. Eventually he moved back north, after his boat had many repairs and much expense.

I collect outboard motors. After buying a few salt water motors and having issued removing the freaking screws, I gave up.

Just my opinion, based on 60 years of experience. When I come home I park the boat in the garage. No flushing necessary. I don't need the hassle.

I get you Jim. I do think that looking after engines like these when in the salt, can make them last. Changing manifolds every few years and especially avoiding leaving them open to oxidising when possible makes a difference.
But all that aside…I definitely know that some boats just don’t do well in the salt. Horrible environment for some boats. Engines aside…some boats can deal with it. Some just can’t. One of the boats I have, I just wouldn’t put anywhere near the salt. Another would have no issue at all. Here where I live, we use Loch Lomond fresh water, but 4 miles away is the west coast of Scotland and salt water boating. For talking sake…If The same bayliner bowrider from new, was used the same way, maintained the same way etc…but one in the loch and the other in the salt…we all know what would happen. One of them would be toast very much sooner than the other

 

[Lou C]

Next spring I promise I will post pix of Northport & Huntington NY as well as the harbor behind my house here in Long Island so you can see the hundreds of boats that survive and are used all season long here. My boat has been out on the mooring for 20 seasons. It still has the original outdrive & transom mount. I replaced the cyl heads about 4 years ago, I have changed the exhaust 3 times over that time period. That’s about it. 20 years of salt water boating with the same boat that was 14 years old when I got it. Most of the boats moored behind my house are 10-30 years old. Some are more than 40 years old. I see the same ones every year. There only a few new boats back there.
Here one for you…salt water doesn’t rot transoms like fresh water does!
What helps in salt water is regular maintenance and using a gasket sealer like Evinrude gasket sealer or Merc perfect seal on all bolts, on the outdrive and anywhere that gets wet. I haven’t had my boat back to a mechanic in about 15 years. Figured it out for myself using shop manuals and 50 years worth of backyard mechanic experience….

 

[Texasmark]

Hi all. I have seen this question asked before but it's normally with relation to deep sea fishing - mine is not.
I have a Stingray 190RS with a Mercruiser 4.3 AlphaOne, I will add a photo or two. She has no leaks and runs well, doesn't overheat or anything. Our closest lake is an hour away but we live a stone's throw away from the ocean. There is a nice sheltered bay, which I will also attach a photo of. I am looking for the opinions of as many as possible on whether I should take my boat into saltwater or not. I would not be heading out into open water, only in the bay with the kids on skis or wakeboards, etc.
If I were to flush the motor out properly on the flushmuffs/hose (like I do every time we get back from the lake) and give her a good soapy wash and a good rinse - am I doing my boat a disservice by putting her in saltwater?
Please excuse all of the photos but I thought I'd include as much information as possible

Your trailer will be the main concern, especially the wheel bearings. Folks in S. Texas usually buy galvanized trailers for longevity and either have a live axle whereby the grease flows through the spindle, or have at the least Bearing Buddies.

 

[Texasmark]

OK, I'l be the odd man out here. 65 Years boating in fresh water. My engines last almost forever.

Many years ago I had the opportunity for a huge work promotion. It would have put my beloved boats in salt water. I said heck no, I won't go. My buddy took all the extra cash.

Turned out there was life after the company. In fact I made out better than those that moved. But that's another story.

My buddy had nothing but trouble with outdrives and manifolds, even though he did the right things. Eventually he moved back north, after his boat had many repairs and much expense.

I collect outboard motors. After buying a few salt water motors and having issued removing the freaking screws, I gave up.

Just my opinion, based on 60 years of experience. When I come home I park the boat in the garage. No flushing necessary. I don't need the hassle.

When I was growing up I fished both types of water. I only had one outboard boat and non galvanized trailer but had 2 sets of fishing tackle. One reason was the different baits for the different types of fish but the main reason was the salt attacking the box and contents plus the rods and reels.

 

[Lou C]

Agreed the spindle lube/super lube system works well because with frequent greasing you can see if the grease has gotten contaminated with water. It’s tough to make trailer brakes last in salt water if you are a trailer boater and put the trailer in the water every time you use the boat. In that case stainless steel discs will give the best service. I have been able to use galvanized drum brakes because my trailer doesn’t go in the salt water often.

 

[tpenfield]

My main ingredients for maintaining my boats in salt water are:

• Marine grease
• Fogging oil
• Barnacle Buster
• Iron Out

A full closed cooling system is a must if you have an I/O, I'm not sure flushing will hold off the gremlins for that long.

I have a few small outboards that are 35-50 years old, I've had to adapt some of them to running better in the salt. The older Merc's (pre-1979) were pretty much fresh water only motors.

Many people who run in fresh water seem to be afraid of ocean waters. People who run in the ocean (there are lots of them) tend to learn how to keep the engines/boats in decent shape.

 

[Lou C]

Based on my experience with raw water cooling (admittedly limited to one boat) I think you can get 15 years of pretty trouble free engine life in salt water. After that what happens depends on maintenance habits. When I took apart the top end of my old engine in 2017 it had been used in salt 6/months each season on a mooring never flushed till the end and winterized full of the best PG antifreeze I could find. What I found was that the block was fine but the cooling passages in the cyl heads were getting eroded and the machine shop suggested replacement for the best outcome. So I installed a pair of reman heads on the old short block and 4 years later it’s still fine. I think the same is true of outboards, if I wind up repowering this boat I would without a doubt add closed cooling at least a half system to protect the engine and it also makes winterizing easier.
As far as the outdrive & transom mount the Cobra has held up great. Very few repairs needed. So salt water is nothing to be feared in fact it is fresh rain water that truly ruins wood core fiberglass boats.