Aluminum and Salt water

[Doubletake]

I have been debating with myself on taking my sled into the saltwater. Could any of you more experienced gentlemen shed some light for me on the pro's and con's of whether I should or not, and if I do is there tips on helping to protect the boat from the salt?

Thanks for any input.

Doubletake

[Pete]

The most important thing is to clean your boat with fresh water after you get out of the salt. Almost anything you do will be purely cosmetic since it isn't feasible to apply a treatment which will get inside the chines or bilge, so washing is probably the most important thing you can do.

As for cosmetic treatments, there are several things you could do before you hit the salt, depending on the age and condition of your boat. If your boat is pretty new, you can do what some manufacturers do -- clean the metal with a solvent such as acetone or MEK then put on an aluminum treatment such as SharkHyde. This is a time consuming, toxic process. Some guys will put a coating of car wax or floor wax on their boat. This does a pretty good job of protecting the metal from discoloration, but again, it's time consuming and temporary. A third option is to put a coat of 10W40 on the bare metal. This will work reasonably well if you do it before each time out. It's pretty quick, but it will collect dirt and grime, so you'll have to clean it off each time you come out of the water.

I'm sure there are other methods, too. Hopefully someone will share them.

[Deleted User]

I also suggest backing your boat into some fresh water such as at Lytle Lake or Sollie bridge afterward to run your 2 motors for a minute or so to clean out the saltwater. Otherwise it sits there corroding inside until you use them again.

[Fishen Fool]

I'd worry more about your trailer than your boat unless its galvinized. The brake lines on my sled trailer rotted away in less than 6 months.

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tight lines------<*))>>< fishen fool

[Hammer Bob]

The oxidized layer of aluminum on the outer surfaces of your boat will be a very good protection against the salt water. However, it is not impervious to damage and prolonged exposure. A freshwater wash will keep the corresion monsters at bay. If left to dry the salt deposits are (and here is a neat word) deliquescent (they sop up water from the air) and will cause severe spot corrosion. The oxidized layer is not as bright as your original finish but it is very durable. I would not suggest the solvent washes as stated in the other posts they are quite toxic and should not be attempted. Flush your motors and you shouldn't have any problems. do you have a sacrificial anode (or is that cathode?) installed? This is a must...and also cheap!!

A fresh water dunk is also good not so much for the boat but for your trailer. Rock the trailer back and forth that nasty salt likes to lurk in the leaf springs.

[This message has been edited by Hammer Bob (edited 09-19-2000).]

[boater]

i use saltaway on my sled after i use it in salt water, first i run the engines in fresh water, then when i get home i rinse the boat off with fresh water and then mix a bucket of soap and water and add about a half cup of saltaway in the bucket, i wash the boat, rinse it then i hook up the hose adapter that comes with the saltaway kit and spray the whole boat down and leave it on it, the stuff works good, never see any white stuff form anywhere on the boat and it still looks new, i also hose the trailer down with it too...

[Jeffhead]

I agree with all that has been written here about the fresh water washdowns and the flushing of your motors after you are done in the saltchuck. I use my sled in Puget Sound all of the time. The one thing that has not been mentioned thogh is to make sure that you have zincs (sacrificial anodes) installed on the sled. They will take the electrolysis that happens naturaly when you put disemilar metals into a mineral rich environment like salt water and not allow the aluminum to be damaged as much. I know that you have bought downriggers (if I remember right) and the installation of the zincs will help set up the right electrical field around your boat to attract more salmon (see scottyusa.com for more info on that). The one thing to pay close attention to is the replacable shoe in your jet pump assembly. I have had to replace mine one time due to the electrolysis eating at it.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

[Fish4Fun]

Doubletake,
I fish salt water off and on all year with my sled. Like the other guy's have said you have to flush the motors and get it washed with soap and water when you get home. What I do is stop in at Lake Washington and run the inboard and the kicker, it doesn't matter if it is midnight I always do it. Then when I get off work the next day I get it washed up. My Duckworth was 5 years old when I traded it for the inboard and it looked as good as a new sled from doing this. Also, when at the lake I pull in and out a few times with the trailer to flush the salt off of it. You didn't say if you had an inboard but if you do and don't have the shields welded over the front of the exhaust ports be careful how hard you back the trailer into the water when doing this as water can be forced up through the manifolds and into the cylinders.

hope this helps, this is my routine after salt.

Fish4Fun

[Steelheader69]

I'll agree with all the posts above. I take my sled out in Puget Sound and when I'm done I flush out the pump and make sure I wash down the trailer, outside of boat, and INSIDE of boat with freshwater. You can use the lake scenerio to flush, but what I did was get one of the large oversized rubbermaids. I have a cooler it sits on and the pump sits in it perfectly and is deep enough to submerge whole pump unit. I fill it with freshwater and let the motor run. I haven't had a problem at all and keeps running great....

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You haven't lived til you've rowed a cataraft. Friends don't let friends run Outcasts.

[Doubletake]

Thanks for all the help guys. It is nice to be able to tap all the experience on the BB's. Take care and good fishing.

Doubletake