www.iFourWinns.com

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2008- ... -101963700

That looks like a great price on a salty!

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2011 SL242 5.7 VP GXi - 320 HP Dual Prop

Prior to buying my current boat, I always said no.. But then, trying to find boats we wanted, getting into the size we wanted, narrowed down the field considerably.. I'd say now, that I'm still on the fence, but I'm pretty happy with what I got (minus the little hiccup when we got her home which really had little to do with being in salt). I'd say that if you do go the salt water boat route, just make sure you find one that is VERY well taken care of, and has been maintained to the highest degree..

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2004 Four Winns 328 Vista
1997 Larson Cabrio 290 - sold
1988 Rinker Fiesta Vee 248 - sold

Thats all I ever had! "Is there any other way to go?" said Captain Ahab

I will say NO to a salt water boat. No matter what the price as long as I live and boat in a freshwater area. Plenty of freshwater boats to pick from in these parts. Too many area's that can get corrosion (wiring, deck fasteners, engine mount brackets,generator parts and fittings etc.) in a salty boat that will have corrosion that can't always be spotted on a survey. Those areas could eventually lead to costly repairs and unexpected breakdowns. Not worth the cost savings and potential headaches to justify it in my opinion.

You will hear soon from several who have bought a salty boat and "Love it"/ "No issues " and will say they are happy they made the decision. Good for them, at least for now......

my 2 cents

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2005 H200

Aren't most 458's Salty's? I mean I know there are a few lakes that are "great" in size, but a freshwater 458 would seem hard to find. (Definitely won't find one in my state)

Great looking boat. I can only dream about it.

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

They sure are sweet looking boats .

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2005 H200

You do know that freshwater rots wood much faster than salt, the bacteria that rots wood can't live in salt water. So what would you rather do, replace manifolds, risers (salt) or a transom (fresh if you've a small water leak back there) .

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

You should come to Boston then, the boat on one side of me is 15yrs old and the one behind me 27yrs old and....... The point is you need to take care of anything you own. For give me too, you lake boaters have mostly open systems. Were air and lake water (that water has air in it) can eat at your block. What is rust but oxidation. Wear a closed system is like your car, no air entering the system at any time.

Mine is 25 years old, original engine and drive. The deck rotted because it was not always covered by the pre owners. Due to salt use I replace the manifolds every 5 years. I also replace the wheel cylinders in the trailer brakes every 4 seasons. I have not had to replace other drive parts because of corrosion. If I replace the engine it will have closed cooling. Many boats in our harbor are over 10 years old, some older than 20, as much as 40. It is an interesting mix of I/Os, OBs and straight inboard on the bigger boats.
When you say a salt boat, there is a big difference between a salt boat that was moored in salt and one that was a trailer boat. Trailer salt boats will not have near the amount of possible corrosion as boats moored in salt. And its not just the corrosion, its the marine growth that gets into all the inaccessible areas on I/Os. But despite that I have been able to make it last a long time. The biggest problem that my boat had was the rotted deck and stringers and that was all due to fresh water (rain water) damage.

If you're looking at a salt boat you want to carefully check the drive for corrosion and as part of the survey MAKE THEM REMOVE THE DRIVE. Because, if it was not removed regularly, you can have a bad time getting it off (happens in fresh too) but more often in salt. Water in the bellows causes damage faster in salt. I remove the drive each year and it just comes right off. Volvos in particular that don't use a gasket between the drive and the pivot housing can get corroded on if not removed and the mating surfaces greased. My Cobra uses a gasket that you coat with gasket sealer there so it has never gotten stuck on. This year I had to split the upper and lower gear housings apart and that was not easy, there was salt build up holding an o-ring that held the housings together. The way I got it apart was to put a long piece of all thread in the hole that the trim ram rod goes in and 2 bolts in the lower drive mount holes that the studs slide into. I put a small scissor jack under each side of the trim ram bosses and a jack under the two bolts on the front. Just jacked them evenly and it popped the upper unit off easily.

The other things to check are the entire exhaust system and the condition of all the metal in the engine compartment. If the wiring was not of high quality, you may have to replace battery cables, I did. The drive (bellows, gimble, ujoints) and the exhaust system are the main things affected by salt.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I really don't understand so many people's paranoia with salt water boats?!
Just about every boat down here is a 'salty'!

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2011 Four Winns H180 SS.
Aussie built Mustang 2800.
SOLD - 1997 Four Winns Horizon RS

I'm biased of course, as mine is a salt water boat (soon to start it's 9th 6 month season), but some observations about my 2004 boat..

Neutrasalt seems to have precluded any corrosion issues with the exhaust compoments.

VPs active corrosion protection system in addition to regular anode replacement seems to have help avoid outdrive corrosion. ( anodes last at least 2 x 6 month seasons).

Closed cooling seems to have protected the engine and allows proper operating temperatures and reduced wear ( rather than those lower than optimum temperatures that raw water cooled engines = fresh water boats have )

No corrosion of hull hardware apart from the 4 mild steel bolts holding the swim platform to the transom ( how stupid is that, they used stainless nuts on the inside of the transom !)

Some corrosion of the hubs of the stainless props ( minor crevice corrosion, stilll using the original props !).

Some corrosion of the "E" clips retaining the trim cylinder rods to the shafts ( 2 replaced in 8 years, about £3.00 each here; probably about $2.00 each or less in the USA !)

Some corrrosion on the diecast metal bits of the zips on the bimini; why on earth they didn't use 100% plastic zips eludes me !

Horrific corrosion on some electrical connectors at the starter; a real mix of every common metal (like they'd done it deliberately!), plus humidity from rainwater ingress; nothing to do with salt !

Bottom paint/ antifouling; an ongoing battle since they became environmentally friendly ( i.e. useless !). Plus that unmistakeable aroma from the inner recesses of the transom shield of dying sea creatures when the boat is in our drive after 6 monthe is salt water. ( still, a reminder of the seaside !)

I'm biased of course, as mine is a salt water boat (soon to start it's 9th 6 month season), but some observations about my 2004 boat..

Neutrasalt seems to have precluded any corrosion issues with the exhaust compoments.

VPs active corrosion protection system in addition to regular anode replacement seems to have help avoid outdrive corrosion. ( anodes last at least 2 x 6 month seasons).

Closed cooling seems to have protected the engine and allows proper operating temperatures and reduced wear ( rather than those lower than optimum temperatures that raw water cooled engines = fresh water boats have )

No corrosion of hull hardware apart from the 4 mild steel bolts holding the swim platform to the transom ( how stupid is that, they used stainless nuts on the inside of the transom !)

Some corrosion of the hubs of the stainless props ( minor crevice corrosion, stilll using the original props !).

Some corrosion of the "E" clips retaining the trim cylinder rods to the shafts ( 2 replaced in 8 years, about £3.00 each here; probably about $2.00 each or less in the USA !)

Some corrrosion on the diecast metal bits of the zips on the bimini; why on earth they didn't use 100% plastic zips eludes me !

Horrific corrosion on some electrical connectors at the starter; a real mix of every common metal (like they'd done it deliberately!), plus humidity from rainwater ingress; nothing to do with salt !

Bottom paint/ antifouling; an ongoing battle since they became environmentally friendly ( i.e. useless !). Plus that unmistakeable aroma from the inner recesses of the transom shield of dying/ rotting sea creatures when the boat is in our drive after 6 monthe is salt water. ( still, a reminder of the seaside !)

Well, I somehow posted this twice to really get the message across ! Sorry !

Yes Graham, that smell, and the creepy noises that the half dead barnacles make...yuk....
This year I pulled my boat out right before Hurricane Sandy barreled through NY and blew the nasties off with the pressure washer. After the storm came and went, there was so much clean up do to around here that besides winterizing I didn't get to do much boat stuff till the winter thaw we had (followed by a 28" blizzard in Feb).

Like I said before, plain old rainwater, does more damage to the wood structure of boats than salt water every could. And, what gets damaged by salt, you can unbolt and replace. What gets rotted by freshwater, involves difficult 'glass work. Been there done that.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

+1

Here too. As other have said, its all about maintenance and not getting lazy about it. I think salt water maintenance takes a little more effort, but not much more. Maintenance is maintenance and part of boating.

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC