Buying a boat used in salt water?

I’m from a great lakes state and am looking at a Triumph that has some limited salt water use. People from my region have generally recommended that I stay clear of salt water boats. What do you owners on the coasts think?

The boat has been bottom painted. It has a Yamaha four stroke 115. Its at a marina so I am not able to talk to the owners to know how well they took care of it.

[OspreyVic]

Lou, I have a 2005 Triumph 210CC with a Yamaha 150 4 stroke. We have the Gulf of Mexico (salt water) as our boating location. We have made it a practice to flush the motor with Salt-Away after every use.

In my opinion, if the motor has been properly flushed after being used in salt water, you should not have any problems. Used boats that are used in the coastal states of this great country are sold every day. If everyone was told never to buy a salt water boat, then these boats would never get sold. I may be wrong, but it would be my guess that there are more boats used in salt water than fresh water.

Good luck on getting your new boat.

[JimW]

Lou,
I agree with what Ospreyvic said. I live and play on the Chesapeake Bay. Also, be sure to take it out for a trial run before buying it.

[Bart]

I use my boat 80/20 fresh to salt water. I flush thoroughly each time its used in salt water. I think if you see signs of a well maintained boat in other areas, you can draw a line as to whether the motor was properly cared for. Be thorough.

[MolarBoater]

Take the engine cover off and look for signs of corrosion, rust, oil leakage and salt accumulation.

Then check the zincs on the motor and mounting bracket. If they look like swiss cheese...they have done their job but should be replaced.

Look closely at the foot. If paint is rubbed off, which is very common, see if the bare metal is corroding then check the part of the foot which rubs up against the prop. Is the paint buckling or flaking. Might just need a little TLC and a spray of marine engine paint.

Now alot of what you will find can be normal corrosive effects of the boat being in water whether salt or fresh. If you dock your boat in a marina, you can get corrosion from other boats and shoreline power leaks. I would check the bronze thru hull water pick up for the livewell and make sure it is not corroded, it will be tarnished, don't worry.

As long as the oil has been changed at recc times and everything else is acceptable, sea trial.
All boats and motors are going to have some wear, don't expect a showroom display.

I guess, unless you change the motor oil and foot oil yourself and inspect the color of it, that would be the final ok. There are no guarantee's. Make sure you contact Triumph with the hull HIN # to make sure the lifetime warranty is transferable and if there are costs involved.

How old is the boat/motor?

There are printable checklists available on BoatUS and other websites. There may be one on this site too!

Good Luck, Molar

The boat I'm looking at is a 2004 FS. Thanks much for the advice.

Are the radio/stereos easily damaged by the salt? The stereo on this boat has been removed.

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[MolarBoater]

Any stereo in an open boat is going to have issues. I use a "waterproof" Poly Planar which has a replacement policy by the factory. $110 gets you a new "refurbished" one when ever is needed.

[Putershark]

Fresh Water? Is that not the stuff you get in those little plastic bottles? I don't think my boat would fit inside one