I have a 90 hp Johnson 2 stroke on my Crestliner and was wondering if it's OK to put my boat in the ocean?. Will the salt cause problems with my engine or hull or electronics?. It is totally a freshwater boat. Don't want to mess up my Ducky Boat. Any help or advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Good Boating, Kayote
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You will want to flush your motor out with fresh water after being in the ocean. Other than that just wash the boat every once in a while and you should be ok.
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Be sure to wash the trailer brakes and hubs after each launch or you will have a bad case of the squeaky brakes. [
] And of course the motor flush is a given.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#122629][size 3]All the suggestions above are the right thing to do. Salt is corrosive and will eat things alive. Be aware of your electrical connections, this includes your trailer plug. One other thing you may consider is buying a couple cans of spray-on corrosion inhibitor and coating everything really good before you put her in the salty drink. [/size][/#122629][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#122629][size 3]Also take the time after EVERY trip to flush the motors, livewells and give the boat & trailer a minimum of a good rinse down. No matter what you do, eventually, the salt starts to win after extended periods of time but if you’re just going to take her on a vacation and bring her back you should see no problems. [/size][/#122629][/font]
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All good info. The only thing I can add is that corrosion really only takes place when the areas exposed to the salt water are exposed to air. I had a Catalina 27 in the Great Salt Lake for many years and never did much to the Merc 7.5 outboard other than squirt it off on the outside and let it drain after each outing. That motor still runs great and looks great. Though if I were to take my fishing boat out, I'd take a little more care to remove all salt. You can also plug all external livewell ports on the outside to prevent water from entering in the first place.
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]A lot of guys on the coast use their livewells for live bait such as anchovies & sardines so that is why I mentioned flushing your livewells and bait tanks. If you're not going to used the livewell, by all means, plug the ports and save yourself a little work.[/size][/font]
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