Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

What's up guys. We are thinking of taking our tritoon with us to Panama City this July. (bay/back water use) Would a couple of days of salt water use hurt it on the long run, if it were rinsed/flushed good after each use ? What would you recommend to do ? What about "Salt Away" or something similar ? Do they work ?


Thanks !!

Don't suspect it hurt anything especially if your flushing it out. maybe put a protector on the logs. I will try mine out in salt water this june in Grand Isle,La. Normally its in Lake Salvador where i guess its brackish water , mostly fresh but lately ive caught red fish , sheephead. when i was a kid that was unheard of

I use mine in salt water almost everytime. Just make sure to flush the motor and rinse out the boat. If you have a trailer make sure you rinse it out good especially the springs because they will rust out quick since the springs cannot be galvanized.

Short term it won't hurt anything, just run the motor on muffs after each use. Long term you'll want to paint the log with anti-fouling paint such as Trilux 33. I am in the Upper Chesapeake Bay which tends to be fresher in the spring, saltier as the summer goes on.

Thanks for the info so far !

So, really no need for salt away or such for the short term use ? I plan on keeping this thing for a long time, and would like to keep it looking as good as I can, for as long as I can.

I remember reading something a while back about the properties of aluminum. As I recall when aluminum rusts it creates aluminum oxide which is actually stronger than aluminum it just looks like hell.. Any metalergists out there that can confirm

Woody wrote:Thanks for the info so far !

So, really no need for salt away or such for the short term use ? I plan on keeping this thing for a long time, and would like to keep it looking as good as I can, for as long as I can.

Nope...just a good flush and you'll be fine.

slingshot wrote:I remember reading something a while back about the properties of aluminum. As I recall when aluminum rusts it creates aluminum oxide which is actually stronger than aluminum it just looks like hell.. Any metalergists out there that can confirm

Don't know, but my Starcraft is 42 years old this year and was used in the bay it's entire life. Other than corrosion holes caused by the former owner using brass and steel hardware, the hull is in fantastic shape.

I wouldn't worry at all about the salt water,I,ve ran my boats in salt water for the last 15 years,Just clean it , after running it in the salt water.Enjoy yourselfs on your get away.

Thanks everyone !

A little something about Aluminum Oxide I found on the internet so it must be true:

Aluminum corrodes but it does not rust. Rust refers only to iron and steel corrosion.

Aluminum is actually very prone to corrosion. However, aluminum corrosion is aluminum oxide, a very hard material that actually protects the aluminum from further corrosion. Aluminum oxide corrosion also looks a lot more like aluminum, so it isn't as easy to notice as rusted iron.