My Supra in Saltwater?

[buddyhaws]

I recently moved from AZ to SoCal and quickly found that there is no where to ride unless I bite the bullet and put it in Saltwater. Some say no big deal others say no way. I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it to see what the consequences are in $'s. Thanks!

[wotan2525]

I'm in the no-way camp. It will kill your resale. If you do decide that you have to do it... make sure you invest in a closed-loop cooling system and all of the proper anodes to keep your metal from going to hell.

[moombamania]

wouldn't worry bout re-sale (unless you are selling)..... Moomba's are a wet boat. Electrical is going to be a major along with already addressed closed cooling needs.

running offshore performance, it's 2-3 hour flush and clean up as you don't want to leave ANY evidence of salt sitting on your equipment.

Bottom line, not fun! But if this is your only option it's better then not wakeboarding :)

[DAFF]

Invest in some Fliud Film and spray anything which can get rusty. I use it on all my wiring for my snow plows and salters. Wash everything when finished and invest in a galvanized trailer.

[cadunkle]

Don't worry about it, if salt is what you have local with places to ride then it is what it is. It's just a boat. If you want it to stay nice you'll have a couple extra hours of cleanup time at the end of the day, good time to wind down with a couple beers. Flush the engine on the hose, hose/wipe down the entire boat, especially any metal parts. Make sure the bilge is clean and dry or at least has has a quick rinse and wipe with fresh water, etc.

Make sure you hose down the trailer real good. It won't last in salt no matter what you do, but you can prolong it. Repack your wheel bearings more often too. Be sure to hose out your brakes real good. As DAFF said, might be work getting a galvanized or aluminum trailer. Then you can sell your steel trailer now while it's still worth something.

A closed cooling system will help and they're relatively cheap. I don't think they make a huge difference since you'd be flushing after every trip, but it's cheap insurance to be sure your block and heads will be reusable when rebuild time comes. You will go through manifolds and risers a lot faster. They're wear items anyhow due to always being hot and wet, but you could be looking at replacing them every few years.

Personally I ride a brackish river but I'm usually well north of the salt water line, so salt content is minimal. I still flush after after trip and hose everything down real good. It would be fun to go to the shore now and again and ride there, but I avoid it because of the longer cleanup and hassle. I certainly wouldn't make a habit of it since I have fresh water closer to home.

[buddyhaws]

Thanks for the info guys! It sounds like its duable but there are consequences. I just need to figure out how much I'm willing to do in order to be able to ride. Is metal the only thing to worry about? I'm also concerned about the carpet and upolstery. My back lockers usually get pretty wet because of the ballast. Rinsing them would be pretty tough. And then there is the issue of getting it dry after the rinse.

[Okie Boarder]

You might hop on wakeboarder.com and chat with dalderman too. He lives in Carlsbad and rides the lagoon in his Nautique. Not sure if it is closed loop cooling or not. Also, there are some smaller lakes around that you could consider depending on how much you want to drive.

[conbrio90]

I have a 1990 Conbrio and I have it in Brackish water at least once a week. My buddy has a 1999 Air Nautique and he is usually anchored right next to me. As long as you make sure and flush the motor very good when you get home and rinse/wipe everything off, and go to wal-mart and buy a few cans of Corrosion-X and spray the motor and any other metal parts you can think of you will be fine. In my case, the closest decent lake is about 2 hours away and I can't afford to do that every weekend, and as long as the weather permits I will be in my boat at LEAST once a week year round. The way I see it is, I pay for that boat so me, and my family and friends can enjoy it so that's exactly what I'm going to do. Like I said as long as you take the time to do a proper clean up the boat will last.