Documenting the long term effect of wet-slipping in salt water

[Damsroy]

So my 2016 AR240 has been wet splipping in Long Island Sound for the entire summer.
I will document year after year the effects of salt water on the boat and the maintenance needed (steering cables, pump housing, etc) along the way.
Boat was purchased before the start of the season in 2019 with 86 hours of fresh water use. Always trailered and stored inside during winter months. Boat has now 135 hours. No issue whatsoever to report this year.
Engines are flushed with Salt Away (I installed TOW valves) after each outing and boat is rinsed the same way. Boat is always covered with deluxe mooring cover.

You can look at the jet pumps below as well as the rudder. Not as pristine (....) as if used in fresh water but not too bad imo.
Boat hull, interior and hardware still look like new.
I don't like bottom paint and you can see the waterline but not having bottom paint was not an option.
Zinc anodes were pretty much 25/30% eaten and had to be replaced after a year.
Engine compartment is still pristine.
I know I might have to replace steering and reverse cables after two or three seasons but so far no issue.

All in all a great season and looking forward to next year!

 

[Liveto99]

Thank you! This will be great. I Would touch up the pumps and such with paint because aluminum is anode used in salt water.
There is high and dry marinas in Long Island, but they may not be close to you.

 

[Cambo]

Great info looks like it’s holding up great I have seen so many more of these boats sitting in Marinas around our Very Long Island.

You can see the water line at the scupper it has been known to break it might be good to replace it with stainless steel. I’m not sure how the sure lander trailers hold up over time but the biggest expense in the past on the 2005 ar230 was the MFI trailer. Between 3 sets of brakes, axles, leaf springs, break actuator, jack stand, wench 2 sets of tires and bunks totaling close to 3k . You could buy all the components for the jet pumps for about the same price probably even less much less if you find a lake boat that sank. If your marina had one of those big fork lifts the trailer could literally live it’s entire life without going in the water . Or at least it would only take the plunge 2 times a year.

I would back out all the bolts on the jet pumps and use antisieze then replace them gearing up for a full swap of parts. To extend the cable life let them sit for a few weeks disconnect them at the pumps clamp a hose on with oil as it sits for winter once a month jump in and turn the wheel and shift the the gates to keep them freely moving and lubed up. Swapping the pumps is super easy compared to wrenching on the rusty trailer bolts.

 

[Cambo]

Oh I just noticed the you haul so you don’t need a tow vehicle either. The trailer has the look of low use with no break dust stain in the rims.

 

[zipper]

Since you moved the boat from fresh water with magnesium anodes, you will need to change the anodes to zinc or aluminum for salt water. I don't know if that is a new anode I see, but it looks too new if it is original to be doing its job correctly. Using the right anodes will help to keep all that aluminum from corroding.

 

[Damsroy]

Thank you all for your comments and recommendations. It is holding pretty well so far but it is only one season....

@Liveto99 The Yamaha dealership that did the bottom paint painted the pumps and the bolts as well but the paint came out when i power washed the hull during the winterizing process. I covered everything with Yam lube for the winter but I'm definitely planning on doing touch ups with bottom paint including the water line. Overall on the bottom the paint hold up pretty well so i don't think i will have the entire bottom bottom painted next year.

@Cambo The marina is located two miles from my house and it is a public marina with really cheap rates for residents. Only problem is that they don't allow air docks or similar hence the bottom paint. My trailer is going in the water twice a year. One time to put the boat in the water and one time to take it out before winterizing ;-) I will follow your advice re: the cables. Should be pretty easy to set up.

@zipper Those are brand new anodes. I put new anodes at the beginning of the season and they were very corroded (at least 25/30%) when I took the boat out of the water at the end of the season. Looks like they are really doing there job correctly in fact!!!

 

[Damsroy]

So here we are: Ready to hit the water for another boating season on the Long Island Sound!!!

Last year was her first season wet slipped in salt water. We put around 50hours on her with no issues.

When I took the boat out at the end of the season there wasn't any growth on the bottom so bottom paint was working well. However there was some corrosion on the aluminum parts at the back of the boat (mounting plates, pumps, intake grates, plates, etc).

Dealership did a great job with bottom paint last year but i doubt they put any sort of self etching primer before applying the paint on the aluminum parts hence the corrosion after one season in the water.

Knowing that this is what I have done this year to get the boat ready for her second season wet-slipped in salt water:

- Oil change and new plugs
- put the boat on stands, slightly sanded the hull and put two coats of Interlux bottomkote NT.
- removed the pumps
- sanded pumps, plates, grates, etc and treated with two coats of zinc green self etching phosphate primer and then 3 coats of Trilux 33

Next report when i take it out of the water at the end of the season!!!

 

[Epsmith19]

Great Job on the pumps, looks great!

 

[Damsroy]

Thank you @Epsmith19

I actually checked the pumps yesterday while we were anchored.

The boat has been in the water for about two months now this year and the paint on the pumps seems to hold up pretty well.

So far far so good and we will see what it looks like at the end of the season.

 

[I_squared_r]

I launch out of Freeport and thanks to your post i'm 100% sure i'm going to wet slip next year. You're not alone - I see a AR192 in a wet slip over at Lido beach.

 

[Damsroy]

There are 4 Yamaha’s I know of that are wet slipped in a 20mile radius around me. All in LI Sound.
And i see them often on the water so it might be working for them too!
For me the convenience of just having to drive a few minutes to the marina, hop on the boat and be out in 2min is priceless. Everybody is different and I respect that. I never enjoyed the trailering and ramp/launching part of the experience.

 

[I_squared_r]

There are 4 Yamaha’s I know of that are wet slipped in a 20mile radius around me. All in LI Sound.
And i see them often on the water so it might be working for them too!
For me the convenience of just having to drive a few minutes to the marina, hop on the boat and be out in 2min is priceless. Everybody is different and I respect that. I never enjoyed the trailering and ramp/launching part of the experience.

It wasn't bad when I could keep my boat in my driveway. Now its at a marina in freeport and I was launching in freeport.. Freeport ramp was a shit show so now I launch at wantagh.. so its becoming less convenient as time goes lol

 

[Diablo243]

@Damsroy wherein the sound are you slipped? We are picking up our boat next week and would love to get to know anyone that is a local owner. I am in the Niantic Bay Area in CT.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Thank you! This will be great. I Would touch up the pumps and such with paint because aluminum is anode used in salt water.
There is high and dry marinas in Long Island, but they may not be close to you.

So my 2016 AR240 has been wet splipping in Long Island Sound for the entire summer.
I will document year after year the effects of salt water on the boat and the maintenance needed (steering cables, pump housing, etc) along the way.
Boat was purchased before the start of the season in 2019 with 86 hours of fresh water use. Always trailered and stored inside during winter months. Boat has now 135 hours. No issue whatsoever to report this year.
Engines are flushed with Salt Away (I installed TOW valves) after each outing and boat is rinsed the same way. Boat is always covered with deluxe mooring cover.

You can look at the jet pumps below as well as the rudder. Not as pristine (....) as if used in fresh water but not too bad imo.
Boat hull, interior and hardware still look like new.
I don't like bottom paint and you can see the waterline but not having bottom paint was not an option.
Zinc anodes were pretty much 25/30% eaten and had to be replaced after a year.
Engine compartment is still pristine.
I know I might have to replace steering and reverse cables after two or three seasons but so far no issue.

All in all a great season and looking forward to next year!

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@Damsroy ......looks like it has done very well. Your anode is Zinc, right? Zinc for salt, Aluminum for brackish and magnesium for fresh. make sure you have the correct anode to prevent galcavic damage.

Thank you! This will be great. I Would touch up the pumps and such with paint because aluminum is anode used in salt water.
There is high and dry marinas in Long Island, but they may not be close to you.

@Liveto99 ....... ZINC is the anode to be used in salt water - Aluminium is for brackish water while Magnesium is for fresh water.

 

[Damsroy]

I'm in fairfield, CT. Went to Port Jefferson today. Pirate's Cove. Crowded but so nice.

For the pumps anodes I have the Yamaha ones (believe it is Zinc) and added home made ones on the right side of the pump that I made from a plate of Zinc I ordered online.

After two months in the water the Yamaha ones have already some wear. The one i made from the plate of Zinc are like new....Not sure what to take from that....

 

[212s]

Corrosion wear is good - it means the anodes are working to protect the rest of the metals on the boat.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Corrosion wear is good - it means the anodes are working to protect the rest of the metals on the boat.

@212s.....exactly. If I see no degradation of the anode that makes me suspicious,. I ask what is less "noble" on the boat than this anode that is being sacrificed and could it be a metal part I can not see? As you said, degradation of an anode means it is working - unless (LOL) - your boat has been parked in the garage. THAT is what is exactly why I am watching my anode carefully. After three weeks in the water there is no sign of galvanic activity. Now my boat is in fresh water, my slip is at least 100 meters from the nearest known electrical source, there are no "visible" signs that any other metal on the boat is degrading and it has only been in the water three weeks.....but - I am watching that anode carefully as I suspect there is either no magnesium in it or not enough IF it is a hybrid/composite of some kind.

 

[212s]

].....exactly. If I see no degradation of the anode that makes me suspicious,

I looked at them closely the day the boat came home with us, and what they look like now after reading your post. We trailer so the only water and corrosion it sees is when we're boating, and there is some surface degradation, nothing dramatic, but there is clearly galvanic activity on the surface. I'll keep an eye on them.

 

[russbly]

So here we are: Ready to hit the water for another boating season on the Long Island Sound!!!

Last year was her first season wet slipped in salt water. We put around 50hours on her with no issues.

When I took the boat out at the end of the season there wasn't any growth on the bottom so bottom paint was working well. However there was some corrosion on the aluminum parts at the back of the boat (mounting plates, pumps, intake grates, plates, etc).

Dealership did a great job with bottom paint last year but i doubt they put any sort of self etching primer before applying the paint on the aluminum parts hence the corrosion after one season in the water.

Knowing that this is what I have done this year to get the boat ready for her second season wet-slipped in salt water:

- Oil change and new plugs
- put the boat on stands, slightly sanded the hull and put two coats of Interlux bottomkote NT.
- removed the pumps
- sanded pumps, plates, grates, etc and treated with two coats of zinc green self etching phosphate primer and then 3 coats of Trilux 33

Next report when i take it out of the water at the end of the season!!!

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This might seem like a silly question but what brand of the zinc green self etching primer did you use?

Thank you,
Russ

 

[Damsroy]

This might seem like a silly question but what brand of the zinc green self etching primer did you use?

Thank you,
Russ

I use Moeller. See bellow.
She is going in the water this weekend for its third season water. Will post an update soon.