New to Florida, New to Salt, love my boat

[HazyMemory]

Hey Guys, I'm new to Florida. I have been a fresh water boater all of my life and moved to Ft Lauderdale recently. I hope you guys can help me. Thank you in advance for your help.

I brought my year 2000 challenger with twin 85 hp jets. I haven't put it in the water yet because I am having trouble finding answers about salt water preparation. I rent a condo with a dock and would like to leave the boat in the water tied to the dock. What issues are there? Will different anodes help? How long can the boat sit in salt water before problems occur. Will monthly dryouts and washdowns of the engines and jet pumps be adequate? What other considerations have I not thought of.
Thanks again,
AL

 

[Spimothy Leary]

hmm, this is a boat question as much as a ski question, so it might need to be moved, mainly because the regulars there are more likely to have hands on experience.

i'll contribute where I can, no experience leaving a boat docked for long periods.

with that said, as it relates to your engines.

go to west marine, buy a thing of Salt away. under 40 i think

use that when you flush after a ride, feel free to use it to rinse the hull, pump, etc with a hose, then rinse with fresh water, it has a switch. that will help protect your engines from the salt damage, and the pump area as well.

consider getting a can or two of fluid film as well, great stuff ! like $12 online $15 locally, (John Deere has it), really great stuff, if i'm docking on salt with two jet engines, i'm going to be spraying it liberally and often.

as far as the hull, others will chime in as to how to avoid algae, barnicles, etc etc, but if I remember what my grandpop's said...
"you wont get no barnacles if you take your dam boat out evr'day like you should"

re: long term storage in the water, I believe there will be solid recommendations as to a balanced approach on how to avoid long term salt damage to the hull and the area's exposed under water, i'd be pretty concerned about the impacts over time in the pump area.

 

[HazyMemory]

Thank you very much. I am also debating on bottom paint. In Michigan, I used antifouling wax, and left it in the water and cleaned it at a sand bar every 2 weeks or so and power washed it at the end of each season. It stayed clean. I am really concerned about the glass in the pump area as you mentioned.

 

[LouDoo]

I'm moving this to the 2-stroke boat section.

Lou

 

[Dr Honda]

Thanks Lou.


Hazy: Welcome.

I gew up in so cal, and played in salt water all the time. I had a couple old skis... and they looked great. Probably better than my fresh water stuff, since they got washed more often.

What was posted above is spot on. Salt-a-way, and anti corrosion spray will keep it looking good.

As far as leaving it in the water... I would put an anti-fouling paint on it. It will help keep muscles, and barnacles off the hull. Also... you may want to add a few anodes around the pump.

 

[Guest_User]

I`m going to vote NO here. Last season I saw what was the remnants of what used to be a late model challenger boat.
The pumps were gone, the impellers were gone, drive shafts etc etc... then they replaced and cleaned up the hull and even painted the bottom paint so far up the side of the hull it looked hideous!!!
and guess what, they did it again over the summer, pumps, impellers, ride plate/heat exchangers, etc etc all shot and that`s how the boat sits now, one big pile of crap...

if you can, put the boat on a lift, try not to leave it in the water, it will get ugly fast.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

I`m going to vote NO here. Last season I saw what was the remnants of what used to be a late model challenger boat.
The pumps were gone, the impellers were gone, drive shafts etc etc... then they replaced and cleaned up the hull and even painted the bottom paint so far up the side of the hull it looked hideous!!!
and guess what, they did it again over the summer, pumps, impellers, ride plate/heat exchangers, etc etc all shot and that`s how the boat sits now, one big pile of crap...

if you can, put the boat on a lift, try not to leave it in the water, it will get ugly fast.

can't argue with you on this subject, my city has 400 miles of brackish canals, and I feel so bad for the poor boats not on a lift, but I will stress, the worst ones are definitely the unused boats, its pretty obvious which ones they are. boat ownership on a docked boat in salt requires constant upkeep. They will deteriorate quickly if left unattended for any length of time.

With that said, my old neighbor has a 26' regal, its been sitting in salt for oh, about 4 years now and it still looks beautiful, top to bottom, but he uses it a minimum of once a week, if not 3 times, and he's always cleaning it.

 

[HazyMemory]

Thanks for all the comments so far. I would love to get a drive on dock or a hoist, but $$ prevents it in the foreseeable future. I left Michigan not only to get away from the cold, but also to get away from the years of sporadic employment.

 

[ocod]

Thanks for all the comments so far. I would love to get a drive on dock or a hoist, but $$ prevents it in the foreseeable future. I left Michigan not only to get away from the cold, but also to get away from the years of sporadic employment.

Hi,

I looked on craigslist and found a few davits for 500-600 bucks or less.
Thing is will condo association let you install it on sea wall??
A drive on is easier but def more $$$

One thing is Seadoo's are not meant to be left in the water.
Water tends to leak into hull through carbon seal and if your bilge stops working, you'll find you boat under water.......

Where bout lauderdale are you?
There is storage at Uhaul or similar places if one is close to you or a ramp.
Doubt condo lets you keep trailer in parking lot??

 

[Dr Honda]

Hi,


One thing is Seadoo's are not meant to be left in the water.
Water tends to leak into hull through carbon seal and if your bilge stops working, you'll find you boat under water.......

That's true for the Rotax boats.

So... before we go down that path... what boat do you have? in the YEAR "2000"... seadoo had an 18' Challenger 1800 that is NOT rated to be left in the water.... and they made the 20' Challenger 2000 with the Mercury sportjet that is rated to be left in the water.


Thanks for putting your boats in the signature line... but a "2000 Challenger" is ambiguous.

 

[Guest_User]

OP says> I brought my year 2000 challenger with twin 85 hp jets.

is that HP rating correct? sounds like a twin engine model...

 

[Dr Honda]

OP says> I brought my year 2000 challenger with twin 85 hp jets.

is that HP rating correct? sounds like a twin engine model...

OK... I'm dumb. (lol)

2000 was an even more messed up year. The 1800 and the 2000 both had Merc engines. BUT... that was the last year of the twin engine 14.5' hull. They basically took the "Speedster", and re-badged it as the small Challenger. It would have had twin 720 engines. But regardless... it's a Rotax boat... and they are NOT rated to be left in the water.

 

[ocod]

Its okay Dr...
You need to pick up a pair of these

:biggrinjester:

 

[HazyMemory]

Hi,

I looked on craigslist and found a few davits for 500-600 bucks or less.
Thing is will condo association let you install it on sea wall??
A drive on is easier but def more $$$

I've thought about davits. I haven't found any as inexpensive as what you've described, and I'd have to figure out a sling scenario. I've also been looking into inflatable docks. They are quite inexpensive.

One thing is Seadoo's are not meant to be left in the water.
Water tends to leak into hull through carbon seal and if your bilge stops working, you'll find you boat under water.......

I was told that when I originally bought the boat. I had new seals installed amongst many other things at that time and planned on leaving it in the water (fresh water) for only a weekend at a time at the most. I ended up leaving tied off the swim platform of the big boat all season. I constantly checked for water and always kept the boat covered.

Where bout lauderdale are you?
There is storage at Uhaul or similar places if one is close to you or a ramp.
Doubt condo lets you keep trailer in parking lot??

I'm actually just North of Lauderdale in Pompano Beach. I thought about storage places and I might end up going that way, but I'd really like to have immediate and unlimited access to using it.

 

[HazyMemory]

OP says> I brought my year 2000 challenger with twin 85 hp jets.

is that HP rating correct? sounds like a twin engine model...

Yea, twin 720s 85hp each. It's not as fast as my buddies speedster, but it's still a 55 mph boat with two people.

 

[HazyMemory]

OK... I'm dumb. (lol)

2000 was an even more messed up year. The 1800 and the 2000 both had Merc engines. BUT... that was the last year of the twin engine 14.5' hull. They basically took the "Speedster", and re-badged it as the small Challenger. It would have had twin 720 engines. But regardless... it's a Rotax boat... and they are NOT rated to be left in the water.

yea, I did a bunch of research at the time about reliability and durability. I had previously had a sport jet 90 and was leary of anything mercury manufactured. I was thinking about the Bayliner jet, but service parts seemed to be scarce. The SeaDoo Rotax seemed and still seems to be the most trouble free. I have had zero problems with this boat after initial refit. OK, well the reverse cable broke and I had to replace that, but nothing else.

 

[Dr Honda]

Yep... absolutely nothing wrong with the Rotax seadoo boats. They have a few minor/known issues... but parts are easy to get, and relatively cheap.

The Merc engines are good too... but they are expensive to work on. Basically... they will run trouble free for 8 to 10 years... then it will cost you $5k. (lol)

I'm not familiar with the bayliner jet... but I know in their smaller boats... it was the 90 and 120 merc sportjet.

 

[HazyMemory]

I'm not familiar with the bayliner jet... but I know in their smaller boats... it was the 90 and 120 merc sportjet.

The meant to say Boston Whaler actually. oops, anyway, they used a Johnson setup. It was a standard johnson powerhead on top of a proprietary jet pump set up. It was only available for a few years. It was a good setup, but if it broke, good luck finding parts. The bayliner used Merc sport jets. Those were actually chrysler marine engine power head left overs that were never meant to be inside of a boat. The fuel systems didn't breathe correctly and the ignitions weren't up to par even a little bit. The only way to get those to run was serious aftermarket modifications. From that pain, I decided I wanted to find the most bulletproof reliable jet boat if I ended up with a jet boat again and I got a seadoo.

 

[Guest_User]

Haze, I`m not trying to bust your bubble, but these 2 stroke jetboats are just as much troublesome as an old 2 stroke jet ski...
I`m a qualified mechanic and these are no less or more reliable than the 2 smoke time bombs...
yes they run well when all is healthy.
But
still prone to cavitation, worn wear ring, pump shaft seal water intrusion, exhaust leaks, carbon seal leaks, fuel gauge/fuel delivery and more especially if the boat has age. Sure can you fix one up and ride around, absolutely, but it is a high maint vessel. Add salt water and you just doubled your preventative maint. A good running outboard/inboard would surpass 2 stroke jet boats any day of the week...
can they break down like anything else, sure. It`s not a matter of if, it`s a matter of when...
The one we bought sat on the trailer for over a year right off the bulkhead, and the salt air killed many parts, did I mention many...lol

in all seriousness, Yamaha makes a more reliable jet boat... better pump, better drive system, better engines, better electronics, you can`t beat the 65U`s 1200cc triples. personally I was eyeballing a yami boat and decided to bail out my " friend" but I got beat badly, I should have bought the twin engine yamaha...

so good luck in your adventure, and enjoy the boat!