Because I’ve never kept a boat in the elements until living here, I’m experiencing a lot of corrosion on components within the hull.
Boats been in the shop for over a week but it seems like I have a punch list of things that need to be repaired every time it goes in.
I’ve owned boats all my adult life growing up in Missouri and fishing there. I’ve also had them in a garage or outbuilding so I’ve not fought moisture. Plus, when you say “dry storage@ on a bass boat it actually is. Dry storage on a bay boat it just means it’s better than a live well.
Anyway, my circuit board For my powerpole has corroded and needed replaced (It hasn’t worked for two months)
My wash down pump corroded and is being replaced (just had it replaced Two years ago) and they tell me that’s about how long they last.
All said and done after all this plus the blowout damage I’m looking at $1700.
Any tips on keeping the hull dry without building a barn for it?
I don’t live where I keep it so I don’t want to leave the latches up.
Salt is your enemy, especially on smaller offshore center consoles that take a lot of spray over the bow and windshield. If you have to pay for every little repair/maintenance issue it gets very frustrating and expensive. If you can do most of it yourself, it is only time consuming. Wash down pumps usually last me about 4 years, spray it down with CRC before installing. Wiring terminal connections and corrosion issues have been my biggest problem. My boat is 7 years old and I just finished replacing all of the jumpers on my switch panel with some very nice prefabbed ones I was able to order online. Make sure there is a bead of silicone under the panel edges where it mounts to the console. Most don’t come the factory with any. Fresh water only boats don’t have near as many issues. Welcome to the club.
Every time you come in after a rinse down spray every thing electrical with some kind of Corrosion prohibiting spray… wd40, pb blaster, the cheap supertec stuff from wally world ect… best I’ve found for battery terminals is a liberal coating of heavy grease, I use this on the golf cart as well.
Use dielectric grease on your connections/spray with electric part lubricant…not WD 40. It will break rubber/electric wire covering down.
You living in salt water now Holmes. You best learn how to fix your own stuff or have a big bank account. Start at the battery and work your way back to all electrical connections/circuit boards. Go through all the electrical connections on your motor with the dielectric grease as well…saves a lot of problems of no start issues.
Thanks to all you guys for your responses. Great info and very much appreciated. I’ll be taking all of those suggestions to heart.
…and I’ll be replacing a lot of stuff myself in the future. I felt like I was simply having a bad run of luck but it sounds like it’s the norm. Thanks for the heads up!
I assume you have a trailer since the boat is in the shop, don’t neglect that, rinse it down after every dip in salt water as soon as you can. Salt away was recommended to me, its rather expensive so I just use vinegar and dawn dishwashing liquid and use a hose sprayer. I use it on the boat as well.
Agree with all the electrical recommendations as well, good power connections make all the difference. Ran a new line to our talon and it made a world of difference, we could use it again without issue.
I power spray the boat and trailer after every use but sometimes it’s a day later.
While the boat and trailer were in the shop I had the jack replaced due to corrosion and rust. I could have just replaced the pin but can use that old jack for a farm trailer.
I like the vinegar idea. I have the capability with my power sprayer to do that.
Also lube up everything that moves regularly. Routine maintenance can get annoying but will save you bank. Or get a simple cheap boat you don’t care about to beat the crap out of
Got me searching the net… WD-40’s web page says ok, many other posters in other forums say yes and no. Kerry Never want to post bad info, so Mdaddy may have a valid point.
Mdaddy, I’m only 53 but been doing this on pretty much everything I own and work on since “borrowing” DAD’S at a young age. Never had a problem with it breaking down rubber. I’ve been told numerous times that it can do so… Just never seen it my self. I like the fact it will disperse water out of connectors. I guess a better measure could be to spray some silicone after the penetrating oil. ??
I learned about the dielectric grease on here back when I was just a reader.
I used Vaseline or grease to coat electrical parts. Air and salt…bad combo. WD40 does the same but I believe, if it takes tar off cars,…it’ll eventually break down the wiring cover over time…especially with enclosed heat in an outboard motor.
WD 40 Will leave a film, Harden up, and almost impossible to get rid of! Just the Salinity of the air near the coast will eat everything you have!!! “Soft” fresh water is the only answer, AND LOTS OF IT!!!