Saltwater use

[JamesE]

I just bought a Martinique that I will use mostly in salt water. (I don't have a choice there are no lakes near by). I will be trailering the boat and washing and flushing it after each use. A few questions. I am going to install a flush pro because I will be flushing it so often. I plan to run the boat out of a bucket rather than directly from the hose because I don't want to damage seals. But I was just on skidim and there it said that in order to suck antifreeze from a bucket you must tape off the intake so it is air tight. Do you really have to do this? If so I might just get the plunger type flusher. Are either of the two types of flushers better? Since the boat is designed for fresh water do I have to add zinc anodes? If so, where? Also is there anything else I have to do to make the boat salt water ready? Thanks for your help, James.

[882001]

RE: Saltwater use

i run mine off the hose. a flush pro uses the water pressure to open the spring.

[TRBenj]

Re: Saltwater use

I plan to run the boat out of a bucket rather than directly from the hose because I don't want to damage seals.

Huh?

No need to tape up the intake grate. I suspect SkiDIM recommends that when winterizing to avoid dripping antifreeze onto the ground (which would be minimal anyways).

You can either go with a Flush Pro or put a simple T in the water line. $15 in parts from Home Depot. No problems running it directly off the hose.

[dwsa]

RE: Re: Saltwater use

What seals do you think you would damage? If using a bucket you will need a bloody big one! Just get the hose, I've been skiing in salt water 21 years, use a hose and a Flush-pro, it's the best. Flush until you cant taste the salt coming out the exhaust. (at least 10 buckets). Cheers Greg

[dwsa]

RE: Re: Saltwater use

P.S. I have never used zinc anodes, only seen them on outboards. Expect to change your exhaust manifolds and risers every 5 years. Otherwise nothiing else to do for saltwater use. Wash everything well after use.

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: Re: Saltwater use

Otherwise nothiing else to do for saltwater use. Wash everything well after use.

What about installing a closed cooling system? That would restrict the salt to the exhaust manifolds and keep it out of the block/heads/intake.

[JamesE]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Saltwater use

Thanks for the replies. Sorry about not being clear enough but when I said to run it out of a bucket I meant a bucket with a hose constantly filling it up at the same time. This way the engine sucks the water in at it's own pace rather than being forced in, but maybe that's not necessary. I figure skidim suggested to tape off the intake just to ensure that it sucks water from the bucket and not air from the intake which isn't in the water. But I think I will just run it directly from the hose to avoid that problem. Also I thought about adding a closed cooling system but the engine already has 900 hours so by the time the salt would cause a problem I will need to replace the engine and at that point I will add a freshwater cooling system. James

[TRBenj]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Saltwater use

I meant a bucket with a hose constantly filling it up at the same time. This way the engine sucks the water in at it's own pace rather than being forced in, but maybe that's not necessary.

Nope, not necessary. The RWP will suck in water a lot faster than you can supply it with a hose- so you wont be "forcing" it in. Its not a problem to supply less water than it wants, as the hose will give it plenty to lubricate the impeller and keep the engine cool (and flush out the salt).

[JamesE]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Saltwater use

Thanks, about how many minutes do you think I should flush it for in order to ensure I get all the salt out?