Lund boat in saltwater?

[WyoChris]

I've recently moved down to Ft Bragg, NC. I brought my Lund boat..... an Aluminum Mr Pike with a 115 hp Yamaha. The Yamaha is the standard outboard, not any type of "saltwater" engine. I read through the manuel and haven't found anything mentioned saltwater capability.

I have been thinking about taking it on some of the coastal channels/bays. As long as I flush the engine with freshwater at the boat launch, will it have any negative effects on the engine? Also, will the saltwater have any effects on the aluminum hull or trailer?

Thanks

Chris

[Scott M]

I'd call one of the marinas or outboard service stations. All I know is when I talked to some of the fishing charter captains about wear and tear from saltwater, they say its a never ending battle with corrosion, even on stuff that's built for saltwater. I know that's not much help, but give somebody a call.

Thanks for serving our country.

[Shawn Kellett]

Make sure you have all your electrical grounded correctly and you have anode's on your engine (most have them). I have a friend in Cali who runs a Lund in the salt and that's been his biggest problem.

Also make sure you wash it after every trip; all of it. One other thing that just came to mind: what kind of trailer are you running? If you're running steel you'd probably be better off either getting a new trailer (because yours is going to rust away anyway) or sell the rig and get a saltwater set-up.

[Valv]

When I used to haul boats to the ocean sites the marinas did not want to do anything with steel trailers. They were actually giving it away for free. Looks like they don't last more than few months due to salt corrosion. Be sure you check yours well too.

[lutzy]

My brother bought a boat from Florida last year. It was only about 10 years old and everything in it was trashed from the salt water and salt air. ALL the wiring, the lower unit, the transducer, everything the mechanic looked at was basically destroyed. He even took the depth finder apart and that was all corroded inside. The prob isn’t just the salt water but the salt air gets at everything even when the boat isn’t in the water. Be very careful with it.