Moving to Salt Water - I have questions

[robbo3]

My wife and I will be relocating to coastal NC in the coming months and with no experience on handling salt water preparation, I’m asking for your help.

1. I know my painted trailer is useless and will have the boat lifted off and stored in a dry stack

2. the dry stack facility rinses and flushed before putting away. Any tips for using a dry stack facility?

3. I’m replacing carpet with woven flooring for quick dry

4. do I need to spray down everything in the engine compartment? If so, with what and how often?

5. Do I need to replace the anodes?

6. Any tips on Navigating the area?

7. What extra equipment do I need on the boat?

8. Do I need a different insurance policy?

For this of you that do this frequently, any expert tips are welcome

Oh, and we’ll be in the Southport/Oak Island area - please say hello if you see us.

 

[Marvin willis]

I’m out of Morehead city. Just rinse your trailer really well with salt away. I don’t advise dry stack bc I don’t think they take good enough care of your boat. Just my opinion. I keep everything coated with crc656. I’d add Navionics app to ur phone for navigation.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

My wife and I will be relocating to coastal NC in the coming months and with no experience on handling salt water preparation, I’m asking for your help.

1. I know my painted trailer is useless and will have the boat lifted off and stored in a dry stack

2. the dry stack facility rinses and flushed before putting away. Any tips for using a dry stack facility?

3. I’m replacing carpet with woven flooring for quick dry

4. do I need to spray down everything in the engine compartment? If so, with what and how often?

5. Do I need to replace the anodes?

6. Any tips on Navigating the area?

7. What extra equipment do I need on the boat?

8. Do I need a different insurance policy?

For this of you that do this frequently, any expert tips are welcome

Oh, and we’ll be in the Southport/Oak Island area - please say hello if you see us.

I don’t think I have anything extra on my boat that I use in salt water than my family had their freshwater boat growing up. Just rinse everything down real good after each use. There are a verity of products like Salt Away and fabric protectors to use to spray your boat down with after use. Biggest thing is flushing the engines after each use.
If you go off shore that’s a different animal. VHF radio, survival gear, etc. There have been several incidents near me in Florida this year of rookies taking fully loaded 19-21ft boats into the Gulf and it ending not well.

 

[anmut]

Wash the trailer down - also 'sup from Stevens Point!

 

[robbo3]

Wash the trailer down - also 'sup from Stevens Point!

Wow - really close, I’m in Rosholt

 

[captainhook]

Fluid Film the hell out of everything metal that isn’t stainless or galvanized. It is a lifesaver and now available at Advance Auto. Stock up when they have their 25% off sales.

 

[Elliott]

I have only boated in salt water for 2.5+ years, and my boat is stored in a dry stack.

I wash and flush my boat. The forklift puts it on one of the wash racks, and they all have water and power. I do not know if I would trust others to flush the engine, since the simple mistake of leaving the water on (engine off) can severely damage it. Also, I would think that the marina crew would not be thrilled to flush with an anti-salt solution, and they would have to remember.

I flush my boat with West Marine's version of Salt Away (it's cheaper and the same thing). I also spray down the hull and cockpit with it too; I use a garden spray on the end of the hose. I had not had any problems with corrosion inside or out.

You do not need to rinse the engine bay, but you should spray it and all electrical items (including the main panel) with a rust inhibitor at least once a year. I use Corrosion-X.

Get a chart plotter.

Make sure your insurance policy is updated to reflect your new location/storage, and make sure you have towing coverage or a separate membership to cover you out to how ever far you might go.

 

[anmut]

Fluid Film the hell out of everything metal that isn’t stainless or galvanized. It is a lifesaver and now available at Advance Auto. Stock up when they have their 25% off sales.

Another vote for Fluid Film, that stuff is amazing.

 

[Damsroy]

Is Fluid Film similar or a replacement for CRC 6-56 aerosol?

 

[captainhook]

Is Fluid Film similar or a replacement for CRC 6-56 aerosol?

Similar but much thicker and lasts significantly longer. I used 656 for years and had to spray everything each time. With Fluid Film it can last months for things like hose clamps in the engine bay that don’t get wet often.