Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi. I have spent most of my life in fresh water. Now we have moved to Southern Delaware and I will be plying the Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay.

I am storing my pontoon boat at a local marina for the winter and they told me they need to paint the pontoons with anti-fouling paint before launching it in the spring.

Yikes! I had no idea. And now I am wondering: What else don't I know, that I need to?

I have no intention of taking my little toon boat out into the open ocean so let's not talk about that.

Is it important to raise my outboard out of the water when not in use? The motor lift mechanism doesn't get the prop out of the water. Should I be concerned about that?

Thanks!

I've never kept my boat in salt water, but I've spent enough time on the bay at friends to know that salt water is a totally different animal than fresh. You'll not only want to make sure your boat and motor are completely out of the water when in your slip, but you'll also want to flush your engine every time you come back in. Leaving salt water in the engine is a recipe for quick corrosion. You'll also want to rinse down the entire boat to get the salt water residue off. Even the salt air will cause corrosion on fittings, etc. much more quickly than if you were moored in a fresh water area.

Yes, there's more (and different) maintenance requirements for salt water boats, but once you get a routine down, it's no big deal. Enjoy exploring new waters!

Will the boat be in a slip or on a rack?

You'll also need an anode or two.

The boat will be in a slip, without a lift. I don't think we can arrange a lift. So it will be sitting in the salt water 24x7 from spring to fall.

How bad is that?

I have read a little about anodes and I will definitely install some. I will figure out how to flush the motor after each outing, if that's possible with the boat still in the water. Would I just connect a hose to the water intake? I assume the intake will be out of the water with the motor lifted as high as it will go (but I know the prop is still in the water).

Now I am getting really nervous about all of this. I wonder if I should plan on trailering my boat and putting it in the water every time we want to use it.

I know it seems quite daunting, but I think you can be fine with a few thoughts. Here are a couple of items you might want to consider:

There is a product called SaltAway. It will flush and clean all the saltwater out of your motor when flushing. I would think that your water intake would be out of the water when trimmed all the way up. Don't know your motor type, but some have water connection up higher on the head that accept a hose fitting; some are intake slots at the bottom of the shaft where you would attach muffs.

You will know how often you expect to use your boat. In the off-season with no usage, you should trailer it, thoroughly clean and winterize it, and park it covered.

During the season, if you use it pretty regularly, flushing after each use and hosing it down (inside and out) should help it stay pretty clean. Flush the motor with SaltAway and we also rinse the whole boat with SaltAway. No salt residue. A cover that's fairly easy on and off will help make a big difference. One worry in Florida is the formation of barnacles and oysters - BAD! The tale is that if you take the boat out and run it pretty good at least once per week (or less), most of the small life wanting to build on your toons and such will wash away. Might be a consideration there, too. I have no experience with anti-foul paint, so I'm no help there. Sorry.

There is a spray can product called Fluid Film. We spray a light coating on the whole motor head itself (in the cowl). It keeps moisture off the engine. My wife's jetski motor is covered with it, too, and has never had any sign of corrosion.

If you're going to miss being on the boat for a few weeks or more, you'll need to carefully watch for any sign of corrosion to determine if it needs to come out more often. (Screw heads, rope clips, cleats, etc) Get in the habit right away to replace any metal pieces as they wear out with stainless steel. (Don't run out and buy them now - just hang on. You'll get your chance!)

And MattGent is dead right - you must have saltwater anodes! Glad you're planning for those.

It does sound scary - but it's not if you plan wisely. Some other guys here will have more and better advice than I.

Easy answer? Get a slip with a lift!



-Paul

Easy answer? Get a slip with a lift!

Not so easy. First, slips in this area are very hard to come by. Second, my daughter uses a wheelchair, and the number of available slips that are accessible via wheelchair with a dock that is the same height as our pontoon deck is ... exactly 1 as far as I can tell.

I *really* appreciate your advice. Our boat is being transported from our old home - it should be here any day - and the first thing I will check is the intakes to see if they will be out of the water when the motor is lifted.

Thank you!

I pulled out my engine manual and it has a flush port just for this purpose. It has a connector that's compatible with a standard hose bib. Nice.

Local water conditions can vary widely so what you need depends on salinity and the area’s biology.

I have a large aluminum anode and it is oxidizing much faster than I expected. But I have no bottom paint and only get minor soft growth that is easily brushed off at the sandbar. My dock is brackish enough for no hard growth, about 2 miles from an inlet.

My dock is brackish enough for no hard growth, about 2 miles from an inlet.

I will be in very similar conditions: an inland bay, fed by a river, a couple miles from an inlet. So yeah the salinity should be less than the ocean.

Thanks, this is positive news.

My boat is salt water use 90% of the time, but I trailer. No bottom paint, just a good rinse.
I would never leave a boat in a salt or brackish slip without bottom paint! NEVER!
As mentioned above, if you are not using it for a long time, haul it out.
I have taken mine to the keys for two weeks with zero growth....used almost every day.
Five days over in Clearwater Fl, using every day had horrible growth****
I think that might have been due to electrical current in the marina, never had that before, but took a ton of scrubbing to get off.
Always trim motor up and out of the water.
In warm weather, bring a brush and lightly scrub toons when your in the water...That really helps.

If possible, I would get an aluminum trailer (if you dont already have one) and pull the boat out when you won't be using it for a few weeks. Many marinas have places to park boats on trailers (for a fee) and if not, there are usually places like that close to the marina. Pull it out, flush the motor and wash it down.

If you are lucky, you will probably use the boat 20 weeks a year. For my piece of mind, I would want it sitting on a trailer (and not in salt/brackish water) for the other 32 weeks a year.

leecallen wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 12, 2021 10:11 am

Hi. I have spent most of my life in fresh water. Now we have moved to Southern Delaware and I will be plying the Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay.

I am storing my pontoon boat at a local marina for the winter and they told me they need to paint the pontoons with anti-fouling paint before launching it in the spring.

Yikes! I had no idea. And now I am wondering: What else don't I know, that I need to?

I have no intention of taking my little toon boat out into the open ocean so let's not talk about that.

Is it important to raise my outboard out of the water when not in use? The motor lift mechanism doesn't get the prop out of the water. Should I be concerned about that?

Thanks!

Thousands of people keep their boats in saltwater slips, including me for the last 11 years. Seems to be a way of life around where I boat. Your mechanic is correct, paint the pontoons with anti fouling paint, probably have touch it up every couple of years.

Tilt the motor out of the water as far as you can, don't worry too much about the prop in the water.

Best advice I can give you is to use at least half inch, good quality dock lines.

omar174 wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 14, 2021 12:04 pm

leecallen wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 12, 2021 10:11 am

Hi. I have spent most of my life in fresh water. Now we have moved to Southern Delaware and I will be plying the Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay.

I am storing my pontoon boat at a local marina for the winter and they told me they need to paint the pontoons with anti-fouling paint before launching it in the spring.

Yikes! I had no idea. And now I am wondering: What else don't I know, that I need to?

I have no intention of taking my little toon boat out into the open ocean so let's not talk about that.

Is it important to raise my outboard out of the water when not in use? The motor lift mechanism doesn't get the prop out of the water. Should I be concerned about that?

Thanks!

Thousands of people keep their boats in saltwater slips, including me for the last 11 years. Seems to be a way of life around where I boat. Your mechanic is correct, paint the pontoons with anti fouling paint, probably have touch it up every couple of years.

Tilt the motor out of the water as far as you can, don't worry too much about the prop in the water.

Best advice I can give you is to use at least half inch, good quality dock lines.

Maybe it’s because I live in Florida on the water, but I wouldn’t own a boat that isn’t set up so the lower unit is entirely out of the water at full tilt.

Basically there is only 2 things saltwater will not screw up

1-The Fish

2-SALTWATER.


Yes I were leaving in saltwater I would have toons painted no doubt

Been boating/fishing saltwater all my life , it is brutal over time.

Good idea is to spray all electrical connections and inside with a product like Boeshield and it not a bad idea to spray inside of engine compartment at as well

I take my CC to coast several times a year and just flush it after I am done for the week with Saltaway. I see boats run all time down there that are never flushed and last for years.

My motor gets flushed every time I come back up the river from the gulf; by the river.
My motor does bring the lower unit out of the water at full tilt; @ 3/8” with a full gas tank. It’s usually a bit higher, but it does get out of the water.
Also; be sure that you’re using the proper anodes for salt water.