Saltwater

[Wormsloe]

We acquired a new to us 1994 PS190 that we are going to use for free skiing in saltwater.

I have read about flushing and engine care.

My main question is for people who use their inboard skiboat in saltwater, is it OK to keep our boat floating at the community dock in the water for a weekend / 3-4 days at a time and then rinse and flush it thoroughly when we pull it?

Thanks!

[chrislandy]

Do a closed cooling conversion and preferably a full one including manifolds. Salt water, even flushed each time will eat the manifolds in a couple of years. You still need to flush it, but it's the bit thats designed to take it. Also add an anode or two to the boat especially on any aluminium/steel interaction area

[JackQ]

I do not believe there is an effective conversion for full (including exhaust manifold) for your boat. I skied is Salt Water for 15 years, the last 9 or so I had a freshwater cooling kit installed, with issue on the engine. I at first would run fresh water after each use to preserve the exhaust manifolds and I would get 4-5 years out of them, a friend never would run fresh water and would get 4-5 years. I realized I was just wasting time and gas, and every 4 years, I would replace the manifolds (approx $500), much less hassel.

[hammerski]

We used to sell a lot of these. Just install in the line, injects the solution in the water intake to protect the engine and manifolds. Hope this helps! Salt Away SA32M Concentrate Kit with Mixing Unit, Salt Removing Cleanser, 32 Fl. Oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AXNJO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_juZIFb991F2Z6

[GSchmid]

I've been a regular saltwater skier for over 20 years. My current boat has been on salt for 18 years, and it runs/looks brand new. Here are my thoughts on how to be successful in this environment:

 

1) need to keep your bilge almost 100% dry. Any moisture under the engine box will start corroding the engine. Check the shaft seal, rudder tube, exhaust system for any leaks. If you do get water in there - which you will, then rinse it out and dry it before putting away. This seems hard to with the boat sitting in the water, much easier if you are trailering your boat in and out of salt.

 

2) I'm a big believer in closed cooling. I have had it on my boat from day 1. It was a $1000 kit. I've never had any problems with it and last summer when I took my cylinder heads off, the water-jackets looked perfect. Well worth the $1000!

 

3) Manifolds and risers do turn into a "consumable". You will have to replace every 4 years. The good news is they are readily available (at least for the Ford PCM) and can be changed in a few hours if you are handy. Costs are ~$800 per set, including gaskets.

 

4) Monitor the riser/manifold interface for leaks. If you see any evidence of a leak (salt trail), fix it ASAP. I always run a file across both interfaces to make sure they are perfectly flat. Also, your a torque wrench to install the riser. I use 25 ft/lbs.

 

5) My first trailer was painted, it lasted 3 years and the fenders were dangling. I'm on year 17 with my galvanized trailer, it's not a thing of beauty, but it's structurally sound. There are a lot of good options for trailer brakes: Stainless calipers, Galv-X rotors, Stainless backing plates, etc.. These parts last many years (~8 years maybe), and they aren't that much more expensive than the standard steel parts.

 

I hope this list is helpful without scaring you off. Because saltwater shouldn't be scary. When you add up all the costs of saltwater, and divide by the number of useful years, you'll see that it's a minor cost.

 

 

 

 

[JackQ]

@GSchmid, stated alot of things I forgot that I did. I agree with all, even if not in salt water you should use a file to flatten and take edges off the manifolds before installing. Additionally, I used nevercease on all manifold and riser bolts, on a few occasions I changed to stainless bolts for all. As GSchmid stated if you observer even a small leak, correct it before you have a nightmare of frozen and broken fastener.

[dave2ball]

I used to run in salt for 20 plus years before I relocated. If you use WD-40 on metal connections exposed bolts and so forth you will be good. As stated earlier keep your bilge dry and alway flush the motor.

The biggest issue will be the trailer. If you keep a good wax on the frame and put WD-40 in the channels or the inside of the C channel of the trailer that will help. Expose the trailer to as litter saltwater as possible when loading and unloading and that will help keep the trailer looking good. And hopefully rust free.