I would like some opionions on this subject.

I was wondering what would be the effect of saltwater on my bass boat and trailer? I have been doing alot of bay fishing lately by wading and kayak but have found some areas I would like to get to by boat. But until I convince my wife that I need 2 boats, (one bass boat and one bay boat) I would consider puting my bass boat in the bay. Would this be a disaster?

Obviously I would rinse and wash my trailer and boat immediately after my saltwater useage.

Thanks

It could be a disater. My advice would be to get a lake and bay. You won't lose much speed and it will tolerate the salt water.
I sold my bass boat because I like a my bay boat better. I dont have to worry about carpet, I like the way it rides and drive better.
Its all personal preference.
If you much put your bass boat in salt, Make sure as son as you are done to throughly rinse anything metal with fresh water. YOu trailer bearings will take a beating. Wash everyting thoroughly!

You can write off any carpeting you might have within a year or so, you can probably start to expect electrical corrosion with in 24 months or so.

Depending on the trailer, AL tailers will corrode and look bad but not really fall apart, most steel parts will have rust including lug nuts. Expect every 12 to 24 months to replace the lights.

Most of the rest of the boat will hold up OK, not a lot of real differences between saltwater and freshwater boats with the exception of electrical and trailers.

Hell to pay, of all the problems indicated the worst will be to your wiring, electronics, electrical system, salt will eat your wiring, ruin you connectors etc. I kept my boat in dry storage for ocean fishing, had to work on the boat every other week to check wiring connections, there was always a problem. Fresh water boat wiring will not hold up to saltwater without plenty of regular maintenance. You need zinx coated wire to withstand the salt water intrusion otherwise you will be working on your boat more than fishing. Better option buy a saltwater boat you canb use in Fresh. Have seen a guy fishing behind my home using his saltwater Tracker (flats and bay type) in our freshwater lake. Works fine and catches fish, different wiring, different trolling motor, no carpet and better trailer.

glad to see y'all take about the carpet in the boat. it will ruin it. some people don't know what they're talking about and tried to argue with me a while back. u might want to read this also.


bass boats in saltwater.

You can have one boat and fish both salt and fresh waters....but the boat needs to be a saltwater outfitted boat. I still have my center console small Mako that has fished mostly salt but also a lot of fresh water for 30 years and the boat is still sea worthy...you will not be able to say that about a bass boat after just a short period of time in the salt.

Ok,
I'll make this blunt and simple....

I've seen way too many "one" trip bass boats get brought in by guys wanting to trade them in.

Painted trailer will die a horrible cancer death, don't care what you do to it, it's going to be a goner.

All that bare stranded copper wiring with the un-sealed connectors will also die, and quick. In places you won't and can't get to, bilge and aerator pumps, under the dash, behind the panels, it's going to happen, takes about six months for failures to appear.

Find a new trolling motor, yours will be toast.

Really, the carpet is the least of your concerns...

Rent something, hire a guide, talk a buddy into using his, whatever it costs will be cheaper than ruining your freshwater equipment over.

Me and Pat disagree on this one. IMHO, there are some problems with putting a bass boat in salt water but nothing like the doom sayers preach here.

If you rinse trailer after you leave the coast it will not "die a horrible cancer death" no matter what Pat says.

Basically, if your wiring was done correctly you will not have any problems with it. No boat, fresh water or not should have "bare stranded copper wiring with the un-sealed connectors".

Your trolling motor will be fine.

Just rinse everything and flush your motor.

I disagree about the trolling motor.
The are certain parts made of more corrosion resistant metal in a saltwater series motor. I had an old foot control off of my bass boat on my CC first. It last about 12 trip and died on me. The new motor is 2 years old now and has been through dozens and dozens of trips. It is fine.
Don't under estimate the power of the salt. It will take advantage.

What should be and what is are generally two different things. If you trust that your boat wiring is Ancor wiring, crimped and expoxy heat shrink wrapped at every junction, and that the interfaces between wiring harnesses are not basic Molex design where the back of the pins are exposed to elements, then you probably aren't fishing from any bass boat I have ever been in.

Saltwater rig: Tinned wire, sealed heat shrink connectors, coated and sealed fuses, stainless blocks and switches.

I've never yet seen a bass boat (Except a Storm flats/bass) built that way.

Freshwater: Plain stranded copper wire, PVC insulation. Unsealed butt connectors. Exposed switches, fuses, nothing sealed. I've yet to see ANY bass boat built different.

I have seen quite a few people come in to trade up their current rigs on something new, you go to inspect their trade...and it's like looking at a cancer ward. "one trip" is the usual response, but never the less, the trailer and boat are ruined.

The real question is, why take the chance? You have too many options available then to take your equipment and expose it to abuse it just wasn't built for.

I can sum it up in a nut shell, you take her home after a day out in the bay, some where North of I-10, You will look back to see how your boat is towing, because it feels a little light on the bumper, and Your mind starts to crash, because your trailer has rusted out from under your rig, and the bottom of your bass boat is about a 1/2 inch from becoming a flat bottom, all doing 80 mph, and your thought is, you let your insurance laps, bad day on the water.

Really!!!???

All I have to say about this thread is simple...

Those of you using your freshwater rigs in saltwater post pictures of you boats after 2 years of use... Put your boat and trailer where your mouth is. Then let the newbie decide just what it is that he wants to do with his boat.

My guess is half of the people saying that it's not a problem have never had their boats on anything more salty that Lake Texoma.

--------

I have a galvenized trailer that was in immaculant condition when I bought it, not a sign of rust anywhere. Just 3 days in Galveston, launching daily. Then returning to Dallas and taking it straight to Lewisville and submerging/rinsing it as well as numerous rinses at the coast and home, and I still have rust showing up around the lugnuts and on the break cylinders...

Nothing that's bad of course, and nothing to stop me from future coastal trips.

For what it's worth, Galvenized trailers are what is recommended for coastal boats.

I sold my Ranger and bought a Hewes. It works great in both fresh and salt. I found a used (2005) 18 footer that runs like a dream. This boat is a "sit down" bay boat but can be driven standing if need be. I loved my Ranger, but living with in 20 miles of the bay made it manditory that I find a boat that can do both. I don't need the pole platform, but my buddy like to stand up there and fish....



At the lake:


On the bay:

Or:

I grew up around the coast; Port Isabel, Matagorda, and LaMarque. I fished all over the coast in all sorts of boats. My last bass boat was in the mid-80s when I fished a 17ft. Ranger. At that time I was living in Austin and I mostly fished fresh water but I took the boat to the coast 3-4 times a year. I never had any major problems with it. I don't have any pictures.

My current boat is a 20 ft. Sea Arch aluminum and it fishes both fresh and salt water.

I think the issue may be with how you like to keep your boat. My boat is a fishing boat and a little surface rust or fish guts does not bother me at all. I keep it under shelter to keep the sun off it. I flush the motor religiously when I leave the coast. I keep good anodes and do all my own wiring.

But if you garage your boat, if you have ever waxed your boat, if you have ever wiped the water off the outside of your boat after loading it to prevent calcium spots, then maybe you should not put your bass boat in salt water.

To each his own.

I like that hewes, especially the fishing plaform off the back. Is that stock or aftermarket?

I will tear your boat up no matter how well you clean it if you continue to use a bass boat in salt water. You will even notice the effects after the first time if you look for them. DONT DO IT!!!!

This is a topic that we have gone through many times on the TFF. There are always a few that will tell you that it is fine as long as you clean it good. No offense to these guys but dont listen to them. They have either never done it or they just havent started to see the damage they are doing to their boats ye, believe me, they will!

I watched my dad ruin his awesome skeeter bass boat by doing this back in the 90s. We lived in Dallas area when I was ages 3-7, so we had a bass boat. When we moved back to Padre Island he thought that he could use it in salt, didnt know any better. He cleaned it real good, but it eventually dystroyed the boat and it needed huge amounts of work. The saltwater tears up everything after time and eats up freshwater stuff quick no matter how well you clean. I go through at least one curado a year, even though I take apart,clean, and oil after every trip.

Your best bet is to buy yourself a versatile boat that is designed for the salt, but has bass boat characteristics. They make them!. You can also see Roland Martin bass fishing on TV in what he calls his redfish boat. It is a bay boat, with good bassing profile. Plus, you can do alot of things in bay boats that bass boats wont do. For example, they go much shallower!! A good high end versatile bay boat is made by skeeter. The bass tracker coastal edition is a great budget boat as well. Im thinking of getting one myself. Tax, title, license, trolling motor, outboard, and trailor all for 16,000 total.

Bottom line, DONT RISK IT. Boats are too expensive to ruin.

A friend of mine lives on South Padre Island, I asked him the same question about bringing my boat down there. He really discouraged me from doing it.

The pole platform comes standard on the 16 ft and 18 ft I think. Since I didn't buy mine new I really don't know. Check out Hewes and see. They have a forum much like this one full of information and boats for sale. I just got lucky and found mine in my own back yard.