Keeping my Yamaha in salt for the weekend?

[ridinpropless]

Hey everybody. I'm sure this is another of those topics that has been covered multiple times, but I wanted to ask. We are heading to Charleston, SC to hang with my brother for Memorial Day and are planning to take Ridin' Propless. He has a buddy who lives on the water and has offered to let us leave it at his dock for the weekend so we don't have to trailer it. Bad idea? We've never run this one in salt. Our old one we did, but pulled it out after each use to rinse it and what-not. We never left it in. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[chess]

Id pull it every night... it sucks but then you are running a risk... one I wouldnt want to take..

 

[spaz1868]

A weekend in the harbor should be ok. We were actually just in Charleston with our boat 2 weekends ago with a group of jetboaters and we did not see any ill effects. We kept our boat at City Marina overnight and then rode back up the Cooper River the next day. I felt good with getting a proper amount of freshwater through the system prior to the tow back home. Then we flushed it again once we got home. You should be fine as long as you flush the engines when you get it out of the salt water.

 

[ptwb]

Leave it in the water. You will be fine. I've left my boat in salt water for days and nothing has happened, no growth. I assume you will be running it every day. My general rule is pull it out every 3 or 4 days, however my last trip was to the keys and it was in the water for 5 days (but we ran it every day but 1) and there were no issues and no growth.

By far, the bigger issue of leaving it in the water will be dealing with the potential wakes from other boats. Make sure you have good ropes and bumpers.

 

[OCMD]

One weekend won't hurt at all. As Spaz said, flush it and clean it well, before you leave for home. This was my 2001 LS in 2013, used almost exclusively in salt water. 12 years old and this was the day I sold it. If you clean and flush, you can see why when I sold it in 2013, I got top dollar. Don't sweat it. Just clean it up and flush it well, before departing for home.

 

[Gym]

I boat exclusively in salt water. We leave it in often for 2 to 3 days a week. Your biggest concern is flushing the engines with Salt Away or similar product. I have tow valves installed which allows me to flush with fresh water and Salt Away while sitting in salt water. You can easily get a couple of clamps to clamp off your water intake, flush your engines after each use, then remove your clamps. Your boat will suffer no I'll effects wit a week or so in the salternative as lon as your flush after eachieve use. Just clean the boat well after it comes out. Also rinse your trailer and brakes well after the launch and retrieve. Is your trailer galvanized or painted?

 

[Bruce]

My boat spends a week or two in salt water every year. We take her for a long day on a very clean lake to clean out the salt when we get home.

Pulling her out of the water every night would likely do more harm than good as more corrosion occurs out of the water than in. It also would be harmful to your trailer.

I would go and enjoy the weekend then clean her up really well and spray oil on the clamps and other exposed items in the engine compartment when you get home.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Don't be afraid of salt water!

 

[Bill D]

I have always wondered about this, would you get a better flush running WOT on freshwater than on the hose with Salt Away? Since I have a painted trailer (that at this point is almost sacrificial since I want an aluminum one) I plan to dip the whole rig a couple times when I got back... might as well run the boat while it's in the water.

@Bruce do you still flush with Salt Away after running on the freshwater lake?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I think a full speed run under load is the best flush mechanism. But remember that when you flush with salt-a-way it's not the length of flush but the quality of solution you leave inside the cooling jackets. Don't let the flush bowl turn clear....leave a nice solution in the motors.

 

[Bruce]

@Bruce do you still flush with Salt Away after running on the freshwater lake?

I have not used salt away. I am fortunate to have Lake Ouachita which is the third cleanest lake in the country seven miles away. Soon after returning from a salt water outing we go for a day of tubing and run the engines for several hours to flush them out. I apply oil once things have dried off in the garage.

On our first salt water outing we took the trailer to a car wash right after launching the boat. On retrieval we flushed the engines at the marina then spent the next hour scrubbing the boat and trailer at a car wash. The outcome seems to be the same either way.

 

[ridinpropless]

Thanks for all the input. I have a painted trailer, so that is certainly a concern. The trailer will stay in my brother's driveway, so I was planning on rinsing it off good once launched, but I also know you can't get it all. @Bruce, I never thought about it, but you're right. It may well do more harm than good to dip it every day. Great point.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Pay particular attention to the leafs, brakes and suspension of your trailer when you hose it off.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Leave it for the time you're there. As others have said, clean and flush really good when you pull it out. Enjoy the long weekend on the water!