Freshwater Boat in Saltwater?

[karlwm]

Hi All,

I am thinking of buying a used Macgregor 26M. It is a 2008 with a Suzuki 70 hp motor and is a freshwater boat with no bottom paint. I will be trailering and as I live in the Puget Sound area, would like to put it into salt water.

As long as I wash the boat off and flush the engine with fresh water after every salt water use, will I be alright?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Karl

 

[Bob McL]

You will be just fine. I use mine in fresh water lakes in Arizona (watch out for submerged rocks) and also off shore in California - and I hope some day, up your way.

 

[Big Windy]

You'll be fine, just be sure you get ALL the salt off, hose it down real good.

 

[onecoolair]

Hi All,

I am thinking of buying a used Macgregor 26M. It is a 2008 with a Suzuki 70 hp motor and is a freshwater boat with no bottom paint. I will be trailering and as I live in the Puget Sound area, would like to put it into salt water.

As long as I wash the boat off and flush the engine with fresh water after every salt water use, will I be alright?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Karl

I would not worry about the boat so much, its the trailor you have to keep and eye on..

 

[dlandersson]

No problem - although at some point some bottom paint is a good idea.

Another potential problem to be aware of - blue hull Mac apparently are tend to be slower than white hull Macs - has to do the increased hull friction.

Hi All,

I am thinking of buying a used Macgregor 26M. It is a 2008 with a Suzuki 70 hp motor and is a freshwater boat with no bottom paint. I will be trailering and as I live in the Puget Sound area, would like to put it into salt water.

As long as I wash the boat off and flush the engine with fresh water after every salt water use, will I be alright?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Karl

 

[rgranger]

A nice trick to wash out your engine and to rinse off your trailer is to take the boat to a fresh water lake afterwords and dip it... pull forward and back up a few times to clean the trailer. You will look crazy but that is part of the fun....

Then run the engine for a few minutes in the lake water to clean the salt out of it also.

Also hose off the engine when you get home. Salt deposits from the air will corrode the above water line parts as well.

Go for it! That is why we have trailerable sailboats. :dance:

 

[sinnettc]

If you want to save your trailer find a marina with a sling launch. We grid that in anacortes and it was great

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Having been a small boat dealer for years, there is good advice everywhere.

If trailering, upon returning home, rinse off the bottom of the boat and trailer. I forget the name but there is an attachement you can buy that has added pressure but not enough to hurt the boat that you can buy. In addition, purchase a motor muff that will go over the water intake of the engine and flush the engine out as well. Instead of the having two hoses or without having to take the heads off the end of the single hose each time, purchase from the hardware store a fitting that you attach to a short hose that has on and off for two extra hoses to be attached to it one for the boat and the other for the motor. Include hosing off the topsides of the boat as well to include mast.

Also, use the marine grease for the trailer bearings compatible for water

 

[JohnS]

Don't know what fresh water you sail on, but I've always heard you should rinse your boat thoroughly before launching in fresh water to prevent introduction of invasive species - things like zebra mussels, hydrilla,.... Like I said, don't know if it's an issue where you sail.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

good advice for anyone sailing on the great lakes going south to bath the trailers and boats as we do not want zebra mussels in our southern lakes.

 

[Tereza]

Great advice. I will just add my vote re: the extreme care required to stop the spread of zebra mussels! They are all around us, but not yet in, Lake Candlewood.