Fresh Water to Salt Water

[WaterWolf]

Is there anything special that needs to be done to take a boat from fresh water to salt water? The boat in question is the 27 foot Carver Santiago with Mercury I/Os shown below. Also, what additional/regular maintenance is recommended once it's in salt water?

Thanks,
WW

 

[captndale]

Check that all your zinks are in good shape. Better yet - replace them. Check all through-hull fittings to make sure that all metal components such as sea cocks, check valves and nipples are compatible with sea water and each other. Check the entire engine cooling water circuit for the same things. Remember, brass is nor compatible with sea water but may work quite well in fresh water. Galvanized steel will work but needs frequent replacement and is not compatible with bronze. Marine bronze, stainless and plastic is best. All metal components exposed to the sea should be electrically bonded together and to the engine.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Make sure your zincs are zinc. Another material (Aluminum or Magnesium,
I forget which) is sometimes used in fresh water, but is wrong in salt.

Is your engine raw water cooled, or is there a heat exchanger? A heat
exchanger is a good idea in salt water.

Make sure you have good ground tackle.

Put your VHF antenna vertical. It's made to work that way.

Seek local knowldege about the are you will be boating.

 

[diveguy1]

In addition to keeping the zinc zincs fresh (you should replace them long before they corrode down and break off), you'll likely have some growth on the hull after leaving it in the water for a while. How much growth depends on the temperature of the water, exposure to sunlight, your bottom paint, and more. A frequent cleaning to keep the growth and barnacles off is a good idea. (But hey, you're a diver, right?).

Rinse the exterior with fresh water when you return from an outing. Surface hardware will corrode over time in the salt water environment. Salt is easily soluble in fresh water, no chemicals needed. Find a way to flush your engine with fresh water when returning to port.

 

[WaterWolf]

Thanks for all the great info.

 

[rstofer]

If your engine has a heat exchanger, there will be a zinc in the side of the tube. It will need replacing quite often. Checking it every couple of months is not excessive.

On my Newport 30 sailboat, I have a service that cleans the hull and replaces the zinc on the prop shaft every 3 months. It almost always need replacing.

You need really good bottom paint if you are going to leave your boat in salt water. It will need to be repainted every 2 years if you get really good paint (more often if you use cheap paint or only one coat) and will probably cost at least $1000. My boat is about due and I figure it will be around $1500.

If you trailer your boat, you need to clean the bottom thoroughly when you take it out of the water. There is some kind of program that is trying to eliminate contaminating fresh water with some kind of foreign mussel. You probably received a notice when you renewed your registration.

Richard

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

It's freshwater to freshwater that they worry about with the mussels.