Bass boat in saltwater ok?

[David Jordan]

I have an 18 ft nitro/tracker fiberglass bass boat with a 125 merc. Is it ok/safe to use in saltwater mainly rivers, and bays? I don't plan to venture out into the main ocean or past the break waters.

 

[TritonGlenn]

I wouldn't do it. The worst I'd go into is brackish water, and I clean everything completely afterwards. The switches, electrical connections, (carpet too), etc... were just not designed for it. Unless you really don't care what will happen to your boat later down the line, I'd stay away from saltwater. I know people who have done it - I did it in one of my very first bassboats... and I (and they) paid the price later down the line when problems started showing up.

All the best

Glenn

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Patt Goff says no...that's all the proof I would need

 

[Berry Lindley]

Unless you have a galvanized trailer or are planning to buy a new trailer, I would not do it. Once the cancer starts, ir cannot be stopped. The salt is much worse on painted trailers than the boat... If you can get to a boatyard that will lift and dunk you I'd consider it, but if this is going to be a regular thing you really need a galvanized trailer. And as Glenn suggests, be prepared for a lot of thorough flushing and cleaning EVERY trip AND wiring/cable maintenance later on. It's just a fact of life in saltwater. I'd personally get a CC with a galvanized trailer if you are going to regularly get into bays as they can get rougher than you think in a hurry. Been there and survived to tell.

 

[Troy Murphy]

Dave,

I believe most people wouldn't do it, but let me give you an old salts point of view:

I live on the gulf coast. I fish in Alabama, Mississippi,and Louisiana. I have always used a bass boat as well as most people I know. I now run a Tundra.

I also have a 15' boat I leave in the water (12 miles inland) all year long.

Constant use does have some effects on hardware but not really any more than a bay boat. Make sure you have the proper anodes on the motor and clean the boat well after use.

I use a product called salt terminater to rinse my boats off. It does a fairly good job.



Where I live, we fish for fresh water fish as well as salt water. I have had my Tundra as far as 30 miles offshore and I have caught plenty of bass all from the same boat.



I believe life is to short to let anything limit the things you want to do. Go for it, have fun, just rememeber to do the maintenance.



Troy

 

[Berry Lindley]

I've put in quite a few hours in the Mississippi marshes myself, yes, in in a bass boat. But we had galvanized trailers too. I myself would not do that to a painted trailer, but it is your trailer.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

I second just about everything Troy had to say. I live on one of the rivers just off of the Chesapeake Bay and have put every boat I have ever owned into the water. Some brackish and some salt. When I got the boat home, ramp is just across the street, I would fresh water hose everything down as much as I could. When I thought I had done it enough, I continued for a while longer.. I also did this to the outboard.

For twenty some years of that fishing I had a 1976 Rebel Bass Boat and a painted trailer.

I made an extraordinary point of really washing that down with fresh water. It lasted a number of years but when I went to sell it there was some rust on and in the channels of the trailer. The guy who bought it didn't care so all was well.. The salt water issue wouldn't stop me but I would take great care in cleanng it up..



Uncle Billy

 

[Pat Goff]

No...and why.



Here's the difference between a freshwater and saltwater rigged boat.



Freshwater:

Painted steel trailer. Cancer victim when it is exposed to saltwater, no cure.

Bare copper wiring, simple butt connectors, unsealed switches, all will have degrees of corrosion, no matter how well you thought you washed it.

Carpet...it'll be a gonner.

Plastic windshields, with oxydized aluminum hardware, say goodbye.



I have had more than a few (actually a lot) of guys trying to trade in what should have been decent rigs a year after "one trip" in the brine. Trailers rusted from inside out, nothing electrical works, carpet frayed and gone...



If you're thinking about taking your toy to the coast one time, rent something, if it's going to be an on-going affair, get something built for it.



And...for the Louisiana/Mississippi guys, there's a big difference in your saltwater and other saltwater, yours is much less "salty" compared to South Florida, or South Texas, it does make a big difference.



Or just ignore this, and do what you want.