The short answer to that question is definitely, yes although it will require some special precautions and maintenance.
We are located in Florida, and even though we enjoy the lake occasionally, you can’t beat saltwater. Whether you are staying close to shore enjoying sand bars, amazing views, eating on a dockside restaurant, or going offshore fishing or for a weekend in the Florida keys. To my family and me, there is no question; we prefer saltwater every time.
Here is a list of things to do before and after you take your freshwater boat on saltwater. This can be applied to inboard/outboard boats, also knowns as stern drive, to jet boats and outboard boats.
Cleaning routine
This topic is kind of controversial. On one side, you have OCD people that, after using the boat for 3 hours, will take a day and a half cleaning every inch of the boat multiple times.
And on the other side, you have the people that keep their boats always on the water and will flush the engines occasionally and call it good. I believe the sweet spot is somewhere in the middle.
This is what works for us, after taking our i/o boat in saltwater during the weekend, we will take a couple of hours, and wash the boat and the trailer with the pressure machine. We put soap to the entire boat with a soft telescopic brush and rinse everything with plenty of freshwater. Then we dry the boat before storing it.
Spray anti-corrosive spray on the engine compartment and on any other parts that may get corroded. Flush the engine with “salt-off” for about 15 minutes to give the engine time to warm up to open the thermostat and circulate water through the engine’s cooling passages. It is also recommended to wax the hull once or twice per year depending on use.
Let’s not underestimate the nasty effects of saltwater. Without the proper care of your boat, salt can damage and deteriorate your boat. If you want to boat on saltwater, you have to develop a good cleaning routine and inspect the components of your boat that can get damaged by saltwater. This is what we keep an eye out and regularly check on our boat.
Regularly boat components inspection
- Bilge pump – The bilge pump is one of the boat’s most essential safety features. Simply explained, it pumps unwanted water out from your boat. Whether it is from rain when the boat is docked, from taking a few waves in or should your boat develops a leak, and you need time to find it and fix it or wait for the rescue to arrive.
You must inspect all of its components regularly. You want to make sure that there are no cracks and corrosion on the wiring. A bad connection or wire could prevent the bilge pump from working properly or at all.
Inspect and make sure that the water lines are in good working condition and without restrictions or bents. If equipped with metal clamps, make sure they are tight and not corroded.
We installed a second bilge pump on our boat just as an added precaution and for extra peace of mind. They are super inexpensive and easy to install.
- Electrical connections – Corrosion is the main cause of electrical failures on a boat. If not careful, saltwater can find its way into your electrical connections, corrode them, creating bad connections, and possibly equipment malfunction.
It is essential to be diligent with the cleaning and also create a routine of applying some anti-corrosion products to your electrical connections like de-electric grease. Bad or corroded electrical connections are not a joke a lot of boats catch on fire each year due to faulty electrical connections. Make sure your boat is not among them.
Check your fire extinguisher to make sure it is not expired or damaged in any way. Get a new one if necessary.
- Batteries– Batteries are a vital part of your boat. Saltwater can corrode and deteriorate battery connections and prevent them from charging or working properly.
Regularly check for corrosion on terminals and cables. If your boat is equipped with multiple batteries, check all of the connections between your batteries. Also, the switch controlling the batteries.
Clean terminal connections if needed and apply dielectric grease to prevent them from corroding and cause you problems or even leave you stranded in the middle of the water.
- Anodes– Basically, these sacrificial anodes protect other metal parts of your boat. They are weaker pieces of metal that sacrifice themselves and corrode before other metal components of your boat.
They are acting as some sort of decoy so that corrosion can still occur in those pieces of metal and not on essential parts of your boat. The three most used sacrificial anode materials are magnesium, zinc, and aluminum.
Magnesium is the best option for freshwater. Zinc and aluminum are best for saltwater. Aluminum being the best, in my opinion, because they are better for the environment than zinc anodes. It is important to inspect and replace them accordingly to prevent severe corrosion damage to your boat parts.
- Boat trailer– for my family and I boat trailers are a super important piece of the boating lifestyle, as we want to be able to tow our boat to different destinations and be able to explore as much as we can on the water. This is why for us it is very important to take very good care of it. It is essential to inspect all of your boat trailer components regularly.
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- Bunk boards for rot or tear on the carpet.
- Tongue trailer coupler for corrosion
- Check tire tread and sidewalls
- Inspect rims for corrosion, cracks, or bent. Make sure lug nuts are tight.
- Fenders make sure they are secured to the trailer
- Take a good look of your winch, look for dried rot or tears
- Make sure tie-downs are working properly
- Inspect axle, springs and u bolts for corrosion and make sure bolts are tight
- Check bow stop
- Check taillights to make sure they are functional.
- Inspect wiring and clean connections if necessary.
- After each use, I recommend that you wash your trailer and rinse off with plenty of water if possible, submerge it on a local lake this way you can also flush the engine.
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If you have a painted trailer, it is important that you take extra time and wash and rinse it really well. Use some salt removal products. Let it dry before you store it for a couple of weeks or even months.
On a painted trailer, the corrosion starts from the inside out and a lot of times you can’t even see it until it is too late. If you have a painted trailer and are planning on using your boat on saltwater, we recommend looking into upgrading to an aluminum trailer. It will be worth every dollar.
I used to have a painted trailer years ago when I owned a PWC. I did not know much about trailers or the required maintenance back then. Well, let me tell you I went over some train tracks on our way home from a long weekend on the beach. The trailers axle broke in half, and there was no fixing it because it was 7:00 pm on a Sunday. It was a bad ending to a nice weekend on the water.
The takeaway, take care of your trailer, and it will take care of you.
- Flushing motor– this is also extremely important, as you know, the engine is the life of the boat. What works for us is dumping the boat in the local lake for 15 to 20 minutes on the way back home.
By doing this, we take care of flushing the engine and getting rid of saltwater and also gives the boat trailer a bath of freshwater.
Sometimes the lake is not an option or because there is none on your way home or it is very late or whatever the case might be. You can always flush the engine with your garden hose and muffs. Or the garden hose attachment if you have a PWC or a jet boat.
We have used this method countless times with no issues whatsoever. Make sure to give the engine some throttle and let it run for 15 to 20 min to allow the thermostat to open and circulate water throughout the engine’s cooling passages completely.
Wash and rinse the outdrive with plenty of water. We also get in the engine compartment and kind of rinse the engine with fresh water to get rid of any salt that might have gotten there.
Let the engine and outdrive dry and spray it with some sort of anti-corrosive product.
The boat is garage kept and to prevent any kind of moisture from forming on the engine compartment, we keep it open so it can vent. We have taken all these precautions, and we haven’t had any issues with using our boat in saltwater.
We did the same with the PWC that we owned for about six years with no corrosion issues.
In conclusion
Is saltwater bad for your boat? Yes, saltwater can have a negative effect on your boat. But also driving your car on a typical day can have a negative impact on your vehicle. You don’t let that fact prevent you from driving your car and you for sure shouldn’t let saltwater prevent you from enjoying all of the good times and new adventures that you and your family or friends can enjoy on saltwater.
All you have to do is keep up with your maintenance schedule and develop a good cleaning routine. It takes me and my wife usually about 2 to 3 hours of cleaning and maintenance after spending a weekend on the water.
Once you figure it out, it’s not really that much time, and this is a family of four, two adults and two kids. So if you have been thinking about it, go for it!! And enjoy.