New Boat Questions - Salt Water Use

[Bgould]

Hey All. I purchased a 2004 Air Nautique 226 LE last fall. I was only able to take it out once before it had to be put away for the winter. I am planning a trip to Deleware and will be using the boat in salt water. One thing I do not know is if this motor can be used as a closed system and also what is the best way to use the flush out fitting on the back. I did purchase some blue tablets to flush the motor after salt water use and I sprayed everything I could think of with silicone spray. The boat will only be used in the salt water 2 days only and will probably never go back in it again as long as I own it. Any help you guys could give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Bill

[NautiqueJeff]

Judging by the big coolant bottle on top of that engine, it appears you already have closed cooling! That means the only places the salt water will touch are the exhaust manifolds and the heat exchanger, I believe. If I had to guess, based on the closed cooling and the general appearance of your engine compartment, I would say that boat has seen some salt water use already. Closed cooling was NOT a factory option on that motor, so someone would have had to have had it installed by the dealer, and the only reason to do that is if it was going to be used in salt water. The fresh water flush system is another option that is often installed on boats that see salt water, and not usually on boats that do not.

[Bgould]

Wow. Thanks for the info. The dealer that I purchased it from told me it was a 1 owner boat and never in salt water. I wish I new more about boats when I purchased it or I probably wouldnt have purchased this one and would have looked for a different one.

What do I need to do different than a regular open system in order to use this as a closed system. Please excuse my lack of knowledge.
Thanks
Bill

[NautiqueJeff]

You don't have to do anything at all. It will always run as a closed system, but uses the raw water to cool the heat exchanger and the exhaust, so you still need to supply water to it at all times when running the engine. The good news is that if it was used in salt, they took the right steps to protect the engine. It sounds like you have the right things in mind for after you use it in salt, too. I would suggest, even after flushing it, that you drop it in a fresh water lake or river as soon as you can after salt water use and run it for a bit. That should flush out almost all of the salt.

One thing you might want to take a look at is the point where the exhaust elbows connect to the manifolds. There is a gasket there that tends to fail over time, especially if the boat is used in salt. The tell-tale sign is rust stains dripping down from that point. If you see that happening, you should pull the exhaust risers, clean the mating surfaces, and replace the gasket. If it gets too bad, water from the exhaust can end up getting into the wrong parts of the engine and really cause problems. Catching that early and fixing it is inexpensive, and can save some real headaches down the road.

[Bgould]

Cool. Thanks for the info. It was a big help.

[Bgould]

So it isnt like a cars cooling system.

[NautiqueJeff]

Well, yes and no. Yes in that it uses anti-freeze to cool the engine itself. No in that it uses raw water instead of air to cool the coolant. Make sense?

[SkiTower]

And one other thing to keep in mind: If it hasn't already seen salt water, being able to say it hasn't seen salt water is a big selling point. If the tell signs Jeff mentions aren't there, I would think hard about dropping it in "one time". Your boat should survive it fine, but the next buyer will probably expect a price hit or be scared away altogether.