Suggestions for going from fresh to salt water

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Author Topic:   Suggestions for going from fresh to salt water

Milepost43 posted 08-11-2005 09:55 PM ET (US)
Planning on going to Naples area for the winter and will be the first saltwater for my 04 220 Dauntless. Have it on lift in covered slip now on lake near ATL. Also,will be using dry storage for first time. Any tips/cautions/etc to watch out for will be much appreciated.
bigjohn1 posted 08-11-2005 11:33 PM ET (US)
Not really that bad I guess once you come to realize everything will rust much quicker around the ocean. Make sure you attack any rust at the earliest opportunity - and rust will come. The "time" you have till it gets worse on a lake will be greatly reduced around the ocean. Also, no more quick cleanups like you get away with around lakes. Take your time and do a thorough rinsing of the boat and engine with a hose after EVERY outing. I do a through cleanup job but I do it as quick as I can - it still takes me about 45 minutes with the hose to do the boat, motor and trailer (and I already have taken all excess gear out of the boat). In short, just allot a little more time for post-trip cleanup and stay one step ahead of any rust that WILL form.
Chuck Tribolet posted 08-12-2005 11:53 AM ET (US)
It takes me about 10 minutes to hose out my Montauk, engine,
and trailer. Coming up on 7 years and maybe 500 days in
the ocean. No substantial rust on the boat. Some spot rust
on the trailer.
By dry storage, you mean the multistory thing where they use
a forklift?

Chuck
macfam posted 08-12-2005 02:20 PM ET (US)
bigjohn1,
It takes 45 minutes?
What kind of water pressure are you getting in Guam? ;)
LHG posted 08-12-2005 03:48 PM ET (US)
Biggest problem for you will be the drystorage. You'll get forklift marks on your hull bottom, and possibly some bottom paint residue from the boat that sat there before yours.
Be careful how the rack supports your hull, or you will get indentations. Usually these operations are not the best for Whalers. Keel support is non-existant. Long bunks are your best bet, but there will be only two and they will not be near the keel. I had a lot of problems when I dry stored my 25 Outrage, and finally gave it up. Once they set the boat down on bunks that had previouly held a freshly painted boat they had just done. Paint was left on the bunks, and got on my hull. Getting the paint off was a nightmare.
Engine flushing is problem also, and they usually want to charge you for it
bigjohn1 posted 08-14-2005 08:01 AM ET (US)
macfan - we get good water pressure. I was adding up the time to perform engine flush, interior and exterior hull rinse, and trailer rinse. I do tend to probably go overboard though and shoot water in every darn hole on that EZ-Loader trailer as it rusts so easy.
andygere posted 08-15-2005 07:17 PM ET (US)

quote:
Any tips/cautions/etc to watch out for will be much appreciated.
Pay attention to the tides.
newportguy posted 08-15-2005 08:07 PM ET (US)
Hi Guys,
I have boated on the saltwater all of my life. At the beginning of the season I soak the motor with WD-40 and then half way through the season I hose it down on a nice warm day let it dry and soak it again. Then at the end of the season I do the same and have never had a problem with anything on the motor rusting.
Larry
bigjohn1 posted 08-16-2005 07:39 AM ET (US)
Larry, lots of guys here do the WD-40 routine and it seems to work well just as you say. There seems to be two lines of thought on saving your engine in the Pacific Islands. About half spray their block down with Merc Corrosion Guard (or similar product) and basically forget about it and just touch up areas needing it once in a while. The "other" camp uses WD-40 like you do but they re-apply it about once a month. I used it on my engine when I boated on the East Coast (South Carolina) and never had any corrosion issues but it doesn't seem to work as well on the islands unless you re-apply it often. One guy I know uses only spray lithium grease on his block. It works well but boy, does it ever look messy and ugly once its applied.
Whalerider posted 08-16-2005 09:06 AM ET (US)
Don’t worry about it. I have been in salt water all my life, NEVER had a motor or motor parts corrode, very little rust, etc. Whalers and Mercs are made for saltwater. Hose it off and flush the engine after each use. Anything else you do is for cosmetics and how much of that you do is up to you. Relax and enjoy.
Mark
bigjohn1 posted 08-16-2005 08:24 PM ET (US)
Mark, just wondering where you live.....not protecting the block would never fly here as they rust very easily - Merc or otherwise. Come to think of it, motors with corrosion anodes handle it easily without protection but the older motors and small ones without anodes in the block will rust all to crap if not properly preserved.
Whalerider posted 08-16-2005 09:43 PM ET (US)
I live in South Carolina. I admit that every motor I have had has/had the anodes, I don’t leave my boats in the water and I rinse them down after use. I have never owned anything but new engines and the longest I have owned one was only 6 yrs., but I never had even a hint of corrosion.
You are correct that you cant go wrong using a good corrosion protect, but WD-40 wont do anything too help with corrosion, it is a water displacement (WD) not a corrosion preventive and it will also remove any oil/grease on your engine, says so in BIG letters right on the can. IMHO it will actually promote corrosion in some cases. I know that the firearm guys have documented that it promotes rust on blued metal. Just my opinion.
Mark
Whalerider posted 08-16-2005 09:48 PM ET (US)
p.s. the guy has a 220 Dauntless...so he has neither a small motor or an old motor...I stand by my statement.... Relax and Enjoy.
boxers posted 08-21-2005 12:43 PM ET (US)
You might want to coat the trailer springs, lug nuts ect. with lithuim greese. Coat all the bolts as well. Be sure to flush your trailer with fresh water copiously after you launch or retrieve.
Also coat all the metal fittings with a light (very light) coat of lithuim greese on the hull.
The motor and electrical connectors (under the console) can be coated with pure silicone spray or corrosion inhibiter. Some folks like WD-40 but it is not my first choice. BeoShield...good stuff but expensive, made by Boeing works very well too.
PS I'm not sure how much fresh H20 flushing is possable when the boat is lifted from the salt water to your dry slip? You may want to ask.

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Author	Topic: Suggestions for going from fresh to salt water
Milepost43	posted 08-11-2005 09:55 PM ET (US) Planning on going to Naples area for the winter and will be the first saltwater for my 04 220 Dauntless. Have it on lift in covered slip now on lake near ATL. Also,will be using dry storage for first time. Any tips/cautions/etc to watch out for will be much appreciated.
bigjohn1	posted 08-11-2005 11:33 PM ET (US) Not really that bad I guess once you come to realize everything will rust much quicker around the ocean. Make sure you attack any rust at the earliest opportunity - and rust will come. The "time" you have till it gets worse on a lake will be greatly reduced around the ocean. Also, no more quick cleanups like you get away with around lakes. Take your time and do a thorough rinsing of the boat and engine with a hose after EVERY outing. I do a through cleanup job but I do it as quick as I can - it still takes me about 45 minutes with the hose to do the boat, motor and trailer (and I already have taken all excess gear out of the boat). In short, just allot a little more time for post-trip cleanup and stay one step ahead of any rust that WILL form.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 08-12-2005 11:53 AM ET (US) It takes me about 10 minutes to hose out my Montauk, engine, and trailer. Coming up on 7 years and maybe 500 days in the ocean. No substantial rust on the boat. Some spot rust on the trailer. By dry storage, you mean the multistory thing where they use a forklift? Chuck
macfam	posted 08-12-2005 02:20 PM ET (US) bigjohn1, It takes 45 minutes? What kind of water pressure are you getting in Guam? ;)
LHG	posted 08-12-2005 03:48 PM ET (US) Biggest problem for you will be the drystorage. You'll get forklift marks on your hull bottom, and possibly some bottom paint residue from the boat that sat there before yours. Be careful how the rack supports your hull, or you will get indentations. Usually these operations are not the best for Whalers. Keel support is non-existant. Long bunks are your best bet, but there will be only two and they will not be near the keel. I had a lot of problems when I dry stored my 25 Outrage, and finally gave it up. Once they set the boat down on bunks that had previouly held a freshly painted boat they had just done. Paint was left on the bunks, and got on my hull. Getting the paint off was a nightmare. Engine flushing is problem also, and they usually want to charge you for it
bigjohn1	posted 08-14-2005 08:01 AM ET (US) macfan - we get good water pressure. I was adding up the time to perform engine flush, interior and exterior hull rinse, and trailer rinse. I do tend to probably go overboard though and shoot water in every darn hole on that EZ-Loader trailer as it rusts so easy.
andygere	posted 08-15-2005 07:17 PM ET (US) quote: Any tips/cautions/etc to watch out for will be much appreciated. Pay attention to the tides.
newportguy	posted 08-15-2005 08:07 PM ET (US) Hi Guys, I have boated on the saltwater all of my life. At the beginning of the season I soak the motor with WD-40 and then half way through the season I hose it down on a nice warm day let it dry and soak it again. Then at the end of the season I do the same and have never had a problem with anything on the motor rusting. Larry
bigjohn1	posted 08-16-2005 07:39 AM ET (US) Larry, lots of guys here do the WD-40 routine and it seems to work well just as you say. There seems to be two lines of thought on saving your engine in the Pacific Islands. About half spray their block down with Merc Corrosion Guard (or similar product) and basically forget about it and just touch up areas needing it once in a while. The "other" camp uses WD-40 like you do but they re-apply it about once a month. I used it on my engine when I boated on the East Coast (South Carolina) and never had any corrosion issues but it doesn't seem to work as well on the islands unless you re-apply it often. One guy I know uses only spray lithium grease on his block. It works well but boy, does it ever look messy and ugly once its applied.
Whalerider	posted 08-16-2005 09:06 AM ET (US) Don’t worry about it. I have been in salt water all my life, NEVER had a motor or motor parts corrode, very little rust, etc. Whalers and Mercs are made for saltwater. Hose it off and flush the engine after each use. Anything else you do is for cosmetics and how much of that you do is up to you. Relax and enjoy. Mark
bigjohn1	posted 08-16-2005 08:24 PM ET (US) Mark, just wondering where you live.....not protecting the block would never fly here as they rust very easily - Merc or otherwise. Come to think of it, motors with corrosion anodes handle it easily without protection but the older motors and small ones without anodes in the block will rust all to crap if not properly preserved.
Whalerider	posted 08-16-2005 09:43 PM ET (US) I live in South Carolina. I admit that every motor I have had has/had the anodes, I don’t leave my boats in the water and I rinse them down after use. I have never owned anything but new engines and the longest I have owned one was only 6 yrs., but I never had even a hint of corrosion. You are correct that you cant go wrong using a good corrosion protect, but WD-40 wont do anything too help with corrosion, it is a water displacement (WD) not a corrosion preventive and it will also remove any oil/grease on your engine, says so in BIG letters right on the can. IMHO it will actually promote corrosion in some cases. I know that the firearm guys have documented that it promotes rust on blued metal. Just my opinion. Mark
Whalerider	posted 08-16-2005 09:48 PM ET (US) p.s. the guy has a 220 Dauntless...so he has neither a small motor or an old motor...I stand by my statement.... Relax and Enjoy.
boxers	posted 08-21-2005 12:43 PM ET (US) You might want to coat the trailer springs, lug nuts ect. with lithuim greese. Coat all the bolts as well. Be sure to flush your trailer with fresh water copiously after you launch or retrieve. Also coat all the metal fittings with a light (very light) coat of lithuim greese on the hull. The motor and electrical connectors (under the console) can be coated with pure silicone spray or corrosion inhibiter. Some folks like WD-40 but it is not my first choice. BeoShield...good stuff but expensive, made by Boeing works very well too. PS I'm not sure how much fresh H20 flushing is possable when the boat is lifted from the salt water to your dry slip? You may want to ask.