salt water effect on gelcoat

[kickingbug1]

     i was thinking about sailing off shore in florida in the future and was wondering what the effect on gelcoat salt water would have. i think i would pull the boat out every evening and wash it off or maybe leave it in overnight. can i expect problems?

[kchunk]

ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?!?! Everyone knows saltwater eats gelcoat and softens fiberglass. Duhh...


Nah, just kidding. Your boat will be perfectly safe in saltwater. Actually, I've even read that boats in saltwater tend to blister less below the water line. Seems the salt crystals block the microscopic holes that lead to osmotic blistering. I read that on the internet so it MUST be true 

There are just a couple things that need to be considered when leaving your boat in saltwater for an extended period (by extended period, I mean several weeks or months).

First is marine growth, especially in warm Florida waters. This growth won't necessarily hurt the boat (I've seen some boat bottoms with so much growth that they look like floating reefs), but it will slow your boat...considerably. Also, the longer you let it grow the harder it is to remove. Leaving your boat in the saltwater for a week or two at a time you'll have no problems.

Another thing to consider is corrosion. Most metals don't like slatwater...especially trailers! In fact, if you're trailer sailing quite a bit in Florida and a lot of your trailering is to saltwater, your trailer is far more likely to suffer than your boat. As for your boat, flush the motor and hose off the boat real well. Many, many boat spend their entire lives in slatwater...especially here in FL.

My boat is in a saltwater slip. We moved here there just this past January. One thing I've noticed is the bronze ports and cleats have all greened from the saltwater. This corrosion is meerly cosmetic and is called verdigris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdigris). I haven't decided if I'm going to polish them or not. I kinda like the "salty" look 

As far as maintaining my boat in saltwater goes, I haven't done anything to it yet other than hose it off. It's overdue for a cleaning, but that's only because I've been using it a lot lately. We're taking her back to the Keys in July and I'll probably paint the bottom when we get back.

Where a bouts you looking to do some off shore sailing? If you're coming to the east coast give me a holler.

Here's a picture of our bronze ports. Remember, your ports won't necessarily look like this unless you actually get saltwater up there 

--Greg

[Rick Klages]

What gelcoat?

[kickingbug1]

 thanks for the info---appreciate it

[mrb]

I would recommend a good wax job first, just helps when washing down.  You will feel salt crystals build up on boat as water dries on her.  Just wash down to get rid of them.  Also want to tilt motor out of water when not in use to keep down corrosion.
In strict reply to your question, NO.  Lots of boats stay in salt water for years with no problems. Launch wash trailor if wash down available then have fun. 

Sounds as if you are planning a great summer.
melvin

[Craig Weis]

Effect on gel coat? None. But growth.
Wax her up~growth doesn't like wax.
If your really lucky, the water won't penetrate
the wax barrier to 'see' the gel coat or bottom paint.
I use three coats below the waterline in fresh water.
Wax on, wax on, wax on. I never take it off and
that is over antifouling paint.
skip.

[yknot]

I keep my C16 in a boatyard at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron (Sarasota, FL), and attempt to rinse off my boat (aiming the water stream at all riggings, even at the top of the mast), the trailer as well as the underside of the car & hitch (I'm the dude that tows with the red Toyota Corolla, from previous posts).  I also, of course, flush my outboard as well.

So far, I have not seen any noticeable weathering in a few years.  But, I have never kept the boat in the water for more than one day.

I'd like to hear more, especially from some of you who may have kept your  boat in the sea for weeks, months, etc...

Rob

[dbinvermont]

Rob
Are  you still a member of the Sarasota sailing squadron?
We are thinking of moving to the Sarasota area ("we" being my wife and myself, and our CP19) and I have questions!!
Are you still sailing Sarasota bay?

-Dave

[Harrier]

Rinsing down with fresh water isn't a bad idea, but in all honesty you do it more for cleanliness than corrosion protection.  Salt spray will dry and leave the salt behind and over time things will get dingy.  The stainless on your boat, is for practical purposes very corrosion resistant to the salt environment, its only in areas were the stainless is not exposed to the air that corrosion can persist. 
The biggest source of concern is galvanic corrosion.  Areas where aluminum and stainless are not insulated from each other such as on your mast, the aluminum could begin to corrode.  If your rigging is stock, you should be in good shape.  If you've added things to your mast, make sure they are properly insulated.  Same problem underwater.  If for instance you have any bronze thru-hulls and say a stainless rudder shaft, they could be prone to galvanic corrosion.  In this case you want to use a sacrificial zinc anode. 

Aside from underwater galvanic corrosion, as well as other comments about bottom paint, you don't have much to concern yourself with.

[HideAway]

After living in the Tampa bay area for the last 20 years I can tell you that nothing you do will stop the salt water rust even on galvanized trailers.  After my rusted axle broke on my Sea Pearl trailer the sales rep suggested coating the new axle in wheel bearing grease - it was messy but the axle lasted longer.

HideAway spent all but the last 4 years in a salt water slip without any damage from saltwater, but what grows on the hull during the summer and how fast it gets there is amazing.   We always tipped the motor up out of the water but we didn t flush it after every use.  It wasn t until we put the boat on the trailer that I realized tipping back the hot engine made the water accumulate in bad places plugging some narrow passages.  It took hours of cleaning to set it right.  Now we use salt away and flush every time.   The only time I tip the motor back now is for less drag when sailing.

[Billy]

Interesting.... Good to know

[MacGyver]

We have found that corrosion can also be caused by stray electric current, and so therfore it is always (in our opinion) best to use a zinc anode and to change it accordingly when needed to ensure the issues arent with your hardware that is much more expensive to replace.

Mac

[Pacman]

If you sail in warm salt water for more than a few days it is a good idea to scrub the critters off before they make your hull their new home.  If the hull was waxed recently and you scrub weekly, you should have no problem here.

However if you plan to leave it at a slip, barrier coat is essential to prevent blistering followed by several coats of anti-fouling paint to keep the critters from turning your hull into a science project.

Even with fresh Micron CSC anti fouling paint on my Contessa 26 in Sarasota Bay, I would have to scrub at least every two weeks in the summer.  Less often in the winter when the water can drop below 70 degrees.

Lastly, if you pull your boat out of the water and there is any growth on the hull, scrub it off immediately before it dries.

If you get lazy and let it dry before cleaning, the maring growth will harden until it is like concrete.  Then it is really hard to remove.  (My neighbor left his boat in the water for a few weeks last summer, then pulled it out on his trailer but he waited until the next day to clean it up.  BIG MISTAKE!)