Would you ever buy a salt water boat?

deafwish · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:34 am

Real men boat in the salt...

rpengr · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:18 am

deafwish wrote:

I really don't understand so many people's paranoia with salt water boats?!
Just about every boat down here is a 'salty'!

+1

I have the benefit of a fresh water lake 3 blocks from my house, so after I boat in salt water, I back the boat and trailer into the fresh water boat ramp, and run the engine at least 5 minutes.

Baldo · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:36 am

afw200 wrote:

I will say NO to a salt water boat. No matter what the price as long as I live and boat in a freshwater area. Plenty of freshwater boats to pick from in these parts. Too many area's that can get corrosion (wiring, deck fasteners, engine mount brackets,generator parts and fittings etc.) in a salty boat that will have corrosion that can't always be spotted on a survey. Those areas could eventually lead to costly repairs and unexpected breakdowns. Not worth the cost savings and potential headaches to justify it in my opinion.

You will hear soon from several who have bought a salty boat and "Love it"/ "No issues " and will say they are happy they made the decision. Good for them, at least for now......

my 2 cents

+ 1

rpengr · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:44 am

I will never buy an open boat that is left out in the sun & rain without a cover.

Exposure will make a boat down here undesirable in less than 5 years.

ric · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:26 am

Other than manifold wear, salt boats are usually in better condition due to salt water. You don't get wood rot in salt.

Manifolds are a lot cheaper than a new transom.

noexcuses · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:50 am

deafwish wrote:

Real men boat in the salt...

What about brackish?

rpengr · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:52 am

noexcuses wrote:

deafwish wrote:

Real men boat in the salt...

What about brackish?

That's a little bit "AC-DC"

deafwish · **Posted:** Fri Apr 19, 2013 5:11 pm

noexcuses wrote:

deafwish wrote:

Real men boat in the salt...

What about brackish?

Last time I watched 'Dealdliest Catch', they weren't in brackish water!

neutron · **Posted:** Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:54 am

good one DW! :lol:

OscarDGrouch · **Joined:** Mon May 27, 2013 9:30 am **Posts:** 6

Would I buy a salt water boat.... AGAIN? Depends.... I have a Vista 378 that was purchased in Ft. Lauderdale. While the boat surveyed great, most of the problems didn't surface until we were underway up the coast to home port. It turns out, that this "low hours" boat, was owned by an older couple that never took it out.... In other words, it was their weekend get-away that sat for a few years in salt water..... Any idea what salt water does to the intercoolers when a boat just sits in salt water for a few years?

In the end, by the time we got the boat to Richmond, the entire water and cooling systems had to be "overhauled", 12 new fuel injectors, blah blah blah........

So here we are 3 years after the fact.... the boat runs great... finally.... Now, would i buy a salt water boat again? Sure..... as long as the boat was well cared for with average use... I'd run like hell from an "older low hours" salt boat.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon May 27, 2013 6:44 pm

The other side of this question could be, there are boats that are designed primarily for fresh water or trailering (sterndrives) and boats that can do fine in both (outboards and inboards). The question is most relevant if you are boating in salt and using a boat better suited for freshwater or trailer/dry storage. So what do you want, small boat with sterndrive power yes fresh water may have less issues, except for possible wood rot in older boats, but if you are looking at inboards or outboards, then it really doesn't matter that much. The better quality boats are made with better fittings, wiring, etc that stand up to salt use well. If you look at an older salt water style boat such as a Grady or Whaler and then look at the same age 'lake boat' like a FW, Searay, et al there is a BIG difference. There is a reason why the same size boat from them costs much more.

ric · **Posted:** Mon May 27, 2013 7:23 pm

A 2005 year freshwater boat with 50 hours is way more damaged than a 2005 saltwater boat with 300 hours.

Bliss36 · **Posted:** Mon May 27, 2013 7:29 pm

ric wrote:

A 2005 year freshwater boat with 50 hours is way more damaged than a 2005 saltwater boat with 300 hours.

And which one has the higher resale value? Seems like there might be too many variables in your over generalized statement.

ric · **Posted:** Mon May 27, 2013 8:01 pm

Bliss36 wrote:

ric wrote:

A 2005 year freshwater boat with 50 hours is way more damaged than a 2005 saltwater boat with 300 hours.

And which one has the higher resale value? Seems like there might be too many variables in your over generalized statement.

Lower hour boats always have better resale because to a non-boat owner they think lower hours = better. All low hours in real life means anything that moves has either dried out or corroded. They're a mechanics dream. Higher hour boats have higher hours because they work and people use/enjoy it.

Imagine buying a 2005 year car that has 1000 miles and only driven 125 miles a year in 2 months only during the summer and parked under a tarp the rest of the time.

Compare that to the same 2005 year car that has 60k well maintained miles with service records.

Which one would you rather have?

Bliss36 · **Posted:** Mon May 27, 2013 8:46 pm

I'll take the freshwater driven car

You missed my point Ric. There are way too many variables for the statement you made to be stated as fact. You said

Quote:

A 2005 year freshwater boat with 50 hours is way more damaged than a 2005 saltwater boat with 300 hours.

What if the 2005 saltwater boat has sat in the water and out in the sun year round every year since 2005, not flushed or properly maintained. Now what if the freshwater boat was religiously maintained and stored in a climate/humidity controlled environment after each use. Your basically making it sound like salt water is some kind of magical elixir that makes boats last for ever, and all us freshwater guys are up here constantly replacing our rotted out wooden transoms.

If I lived in a salt water area I would buy a salt water boat because the freshwater boat wouldn't be worth the premium. As others have said maintaining your boat is really the deciding factor in how long a boat lasts.

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Would you ever buy a salt water boat?

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