Lake boat vs Florida boat aging question

FastOlson · Jul 7, 2023

In general, further north allows less UV to attack the gel coat. Freshwater is a lot better for all the systems and parts than the warm corrosive salt water in Florida, the gulf coast, and SoCal. "It's a latitude thing."

This all has a direct effect on the price of boats in these hot and salty areas.
I have known riggers and they usually say that a standing rig can last (generally) 15 to 20 years in a cold fresh water area, 10 to 15 years in a cold salt water environment, and about 8 years in hot salt water.
If looking at a "cheaper" boat in Florida, make your offer contingent on spending major $$$ for a new standing rig and a repaint within the first year. A lot of parts like sheaves in blocks will be disintegrating, as well. Running rigging will need replacing sooner than on a "northern" boat, too.

As a wise person once said about a lot of things in life, , "there is no such thing as a Free lunch".

Sidebar: if you are maintaining a Catalina 27, you already have a rather 'big' boat, in many ways. You will find that systems on a 40 footer have a lot more parts and lengths of wiring and hoses ($$), but the functionality is about the same. When we moved up from our 26 footer to a 34, the only major change was having an inboard engine and pressure water.
We soon added furling and 12 volt refrigeration, and grew to appreciate both of these... in minutes!

LakeOntario270 · Jul 8, 2023

I know plenty of 30 year old boats with the original rigging here on Lake Ontario.

FastOlson · Jul 8, 2023

LakeOntario270 said:
I know plenty of 30 year old boats with the original rigging here on Lake Ontario.

So Very True here in my fresh water area, as well. I know sailors that wish away all maintenance expense with something like: "the mast has not fallen down in XX years so there's nothing wrong with my rigging!".
Preventive maintenance, whether hull, rig, or engine, is a foreign concept to a lot of owners.

(I used to do several deliveries a year on sailboats, and learned a LOT of lessons about deferred maintenance and McGyver-ing stuff together. I was lucky to have learned so much on different boats, and sometimes, upon reflection, was just lucky to be alive.)

Don S/V ILLusion · Jul 8, 2023

Havng owned boats both in New England and Florida, generalities about location can be misleading.

The biggest difference is how long the season is. I’m not sure if constant UV radiation exposure here is worse than the freeze/thaw cyclic effect up north. If you want to compare two boats in different climates with equivalent level of use, care and maintenance, I’d say it’s a toss-up which location is better/worse. However, its unrealistic to find 2 boats comparable in that respect. And if you can’t find 2 comparable boats, your question is objectively unanswerable.

FastOlson · Jul 8, 2023

Don S/V ILLusion said:
However, its unrealistic to find 2 boats comparable in that respect. And if you can’t find 2 comparable boats, your question is objectively unanswerable.

That's the kind of common sense answer that will take most of the fun out of the Internet!

jon hansen · Jul 8, 2023

the OP's question was about freshwater boats v saltwater boats.

on average it's about a 5 to 1 average. that salt KILLS everything. nasty stuff

Don S/V ILLusion · Jul 8, 2023

jon hansen said:
the OP's question was about freshwater boats v saltwater boats.

on average it's about a 5 to 1 average. that salt KILLS everything. nasty stuff

I read the question to be two-fold but regardless,
from where did you derive the 5:1 ratio?

jon hansen · Jul 8, 2023

your right, two fold.

my ratio comes from my observations of boats, cars, ships and the endless threads on this websight of all the destroyed gear on this websight.

back in the wood boat days everyone knew that dryrot was way worse in freshwater compared to saltwater. lots of repairs up on the lakes.

cars that run through salt all winter v cars that never see salt.
working ships on the lakes, the bulk of all the ships are all 40 years old and running strong. a bunch of WW II era ships still hauling cargo today.

aeolus gets stored inside, heated above freezing, rig comes down every year. i'm in great shape. all the other of my vessels are inside-cold. great shape.
that outside winter storage is nasty. lots of damage. but that's another thread.

try and sell a 12 year old car from N.J.down. in Fla. the locals won't touch it with a 10' pole. rust rust rust

observation!

Don S/V ILLusion · Jul 8, 2023

xavpil said:
Isn’t it New England salt water?

It’s been a few years but last I checked, there were some lakes there, e.g., Champlain, Winnipesaukee, ….

Scott T-Bird · Jul 9, 2023

Don S/V ILLusion said:
However, its unrealistic to find 2 boats comparable in that respect. And if you can’t find 2 comparable boats, your question is objectively unanswerable.

@xavpil , why not identify 2 boats that you would consider, one from Florida and another from a freshwater location (probably on the Great Lakes where there would be a strong market for the boat you seek). Then ask for comments. You would probably get some really astute observations! That way we would know if price factors into your calculation or not.

dLj · Jul 10, 2023

As a completely unscientific response, based exclusively on limited experience, the difference between a fresh water boat and a salt water boat is not measurable. The fresh water boat will have notably less corrosion everywhere.

I bought a 40 plus year old fresh water boat and the lack of corrosion found anywhere on the boat was amazing. Compared to every salt water boat I've owned there is almost no comparison. Salt water boats are fighting corrosion everywhere deep within their systems. Fresh water boats are not. The 5:1 ratio posted earlier seems conservative to me. I'd probably put it at more like 10:1. But I have very limited data.

dj