First Boat Purchase Questions + Outfitting for Saltwater

[JN94]

Just put a deposit down on my first boat, it's a 2017 Tracker 175 TXW. I live in Tennessee but inshore fish the SC coast ~50 days per year. What are some upgrades I should look to make to allow this boat to pull double duty? I've read a few different past posts about this on this site and some others. Seems like the biggest ones are:

 

- trolling motor built for saltwater use (if anyone has a specific recommendation here, please let me know)

- swapping carpet for seadek or similar material (carpet won't hold up well in salt?)

- galvanized trailer

 

I understand I'll have to maintain the boat to a much higher degree than I would if I were fishing just freshwater which isn't an issue. Any other things I should look at adding or be aware of? Any input would be appreciated

[TOXIC]

You’ve hit the most important.  What you can’t really control is the salt action on all of your electrical connections. As I understand it, most saltwater boats are wired differently.  Also make sure you flush your motor. 

[casts_by_fly]

Dielectric grease on every electrical connection that is exposed to air. 

[Captain Phil]

I have been fighting that battle for a long time. Growing up in Florida, you want to fish bass and coastal salt water.   The difference is in the hardware and wiring.  You don't want carpet in a salt water boat either.  Salt water fishing boats are made for a much tougher environment than bass boats.  In salt water, less is better.  Everything rusts and corrodes, seemingly as you watch.  You can minimize this with maintenance as long as you are persistent.  An aluminum or galvanized trailer is a must.  Coat everything in WD40.  Put heavy wax on the motor and anything painted.  Wash everything thoroughly when you get back.  Even then, you will have issues.  In the 70s, I ordered a fancy custom Ranger bass boat for fresh and salt water use.  Salt water destroyed it in no time.  The best dual purpose boat I ever owned was a Lowe Roughneck. I fished both fresh and salt water out of it for ten years.  I had some wiring issues from time to time which I had to fix.  I ran a Motorguide Great White trolling motor and it worked fine. Stay away from expensive anything unless you want to buy it over and over again.

[JN94]

35 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

I have been fighting that battle for a long time. Growing up in Florida, you want to fish bass and coastal salt water.   The difference is in the hardware and wiring.  You don't want carpet in a salt water boat either.  Salt water fishing boats are made for a much tougher environment than bass boats.  In salt water, less is better.  Everything rusts and corrodes, seemingly as you watch.  You can minimize this with maintenance as long as you are persistent.  An aluminum or galvanized trailer is a must.  Coat everything in WD40.  Put heavy wax on the motor and anything painted.  Wash everything thoroughly when you get back.  Even then, you will have issues.  In the 70s, I ordered a fancy custom Ranger bass boat for fresh and salt water use.  Salt water destroyed it in no time.  The best dual purpose boat I ever owned was a Lowe Roughneck. I fished both fresh and salt water out of it for ten years.  I had some wiring issues from time to time which I had to fix.  I ran a Motorguide Great White trolling motor and it worked fine. Stay away from expensive anything unless you want to buy it over and over again.

Dang, well that makes me feel not too optimistic about my chances of making this thing last ??

[JN94]

https://www.boatsafe.com/aluminum-boats-in-saltwater/

 

This article discusses using a protective paint coating and sacrificial anodes. I'm assuming the coating is pretty simple and I could find someone to do it easily. I'm not familiar with anodes. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Kirtley Howe]

And...the Great White series of saltwater trolling motors seems to be discontinued. Motorguide lists only one available saltwater trolling motor. 

[Kirtley Howe]

Sacrificial anodes come stock on every outboard or inboard motor that I have ever seen. They are usually made from a zinc compound, and are located on the anti-cavitation  plate, just above and directly behind the propeller. In freshwater they will last just about forever, but in salt or brackish water they corrode away fairly quickly and must be replaced when they show obvious degradation. They are inexpensive and easy to change. They are available at most marine shops (or can be ordered), and often from the motor manufacturer. They, as the name implies, sacrifice themselves to corrosion so other items on the motor don't corrode as quickly. DO NOT paint, wax, or coat the sacrificial anode with any product, or you will decrease its' effectiveness. A sacrificial anode is absolutely necessary when running a motor in saltwater, unless you want your lower unit to basically corrode away.

[JN94]

27 minutes ago, Kirtley Howe said:

Sacrificial anodes come stock on every outboard or inboard motor that I have ever seen. They are usually made from a zinc compound, and are located on the anti-cavitation  plate, just above and directly behind the propeller. In freshwater they will last just about forever, but in salt or brackish water they corrode away fairly quickly and must be replaced when they show obvious degradation. They are inexpensive and easy to change. They are available at most marine shops (or can be ordered), and often from the motor manufacturer. They, as the name implies, sacrifice themselves to corrosion so other items on the motor don't corrode as quickly. DO NOT paint, wax, or coat the sacrificial anode with any product, or you will decrease its' effectiveness. A sacrificial anode is absolutely necessary when running a motor in saltwater, unless you want your lower unit to basically corrode away.

Ok awesome. Thanks for the info! That is great to know

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, JNorman said:

Dang, well that makes me feel not too optimistic about my chances of making this thing last ??

 

Other than buying two boats, the best thing you can do is wash your boat, trailer and motor thoroughly before you store it.  Flush your motor with clean fresh water.  Second is coat everything with an oil based coating. Finally, make sure everything stays working especially the electrical connections and wiring.  

[airshot]

Or...stay away from salt water like I do, so much less work in fresh water only!!

[Dwight Hottle]

It also helps to have a saltwater approved motor.

[Ski]

Just my two cents, but think about buying a boat designed for salt water that you can also use in freshwater, like a flats boat or skiff. There are many that will work for you that are already rigged for the harsh environment of salt and work nicely on lakes and rivers.. Something like the picture as there are hundreds of makes and models.

[Susky River Rat]

I don’t know if seadek is worth it when the deck is plywood. My 2019 tracker 160 has a plywood deck. I think yours would as well.  The biggest thing you can do is wash wash wash and flush the motor. If you could find an aluminum trailer to fit the boat that would be best. Once Galvanized coating is off at a spot is useless. Which it’s very thin unless it’s a hot dip.

 

It also depends on how long yoj plan to keep the boat. if it’s just a for now boat I’d do basic stuff. If it’s a forever boat do everything you can to make it as salt water friendly as possible.

 

 

[Captain Phil]

Here is what I would do.   Warning, you may not like my solution.   Find a 10 year or older aluminum boat that needs some work.  Buy it cheap as all you will use is the hull.  Make sure you can handle the repairs yourself. Want you want is an old Tracker, Lowe, Starcraft or similar.   Gut it and build it to your own specs. Put in new wiring and buy a new outboard motor.  Don't worry about scratches and the like as the first time you hit a sand or oyster bar you will have plenty.  Go fishing!  

[Catt]

53.8 miles from my front door to the boat launch in Cameron, Louisiana & the Gulf of Mexico. Everything down here is either brackish or saltwater. 

 

I'm running a Alweld 1652VJT with no carpet.

A freshwaterTohatsu 40 hp hangs off the back. 

My trolling motor is a Minn Kota Ripe Tide 55#.

Trailer is galvanized 

 

The only thing I did was to environmentally seal every electrical connection in the boat & on the trailer. 

 

FYI: WD40 is useless for preventing corrosion, not its intended purpose. 

 

Preform your routine maintenance, you'll be fine!

 

I also fish with my bass tackle

[JN94]

5 hours ago, Ski said:

Just my two cents, but think about buying a boat designed for salt water that you can also use in freshwater, like a flats boat or skiff. There are many that will work for you that are already rigged for the harsh environment of salt and work nicely on lakes and rivers.. Something like the picture as there are hundreds of makes and models.

This was actually my initial approach, the issue was there weren't many for sale near me since I live in middle TN

9 hours ago, airshot said:

Or...stay away from salt water like I do, so much less work in fresh water only!!

No sir. Redfish are too much fun!

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Here is what I would do.   Warning, you may not like my solution.   Find a 10 year or older aluminum boat that needs some work.  Buy it cheap as all you will use is the hull.  Make sure you can handle the repairs yourself. Want you want is an old Tracker, Lowe, Starcraft or similar.   Gut it and build it to your own specs. Put in new wiring and buy a new outboard motor.  Don't worry about scratches and the like as the first time you hit a sand or oyster bar you will have plenty.  Go fishing!  

Maybe down the line. I've already bought this boat. It was pretty cheap so it can be somewhat experimental. Just going to do my best to outfit it to withstand the elements and maintain it and see what happens. I will learn something either way

1 hour ago, Catt said:

53.8 miles from my front door to the boat launch in Cameron, Louisiana & the Gulf of Mexico. Everything down here is either brackish or saltwater. 

 

I'm running a Alweld 1652VJT with no carpet.

A freshwaterTohatsu 40 hp hangs off the back. 

My trolling motor is a Minn Kota Ripe Tide 55#.

Trailer is galvanized 

 

The only thing I did was to environmentally seal every electrical connection in the boat & on the trailer. 

 

FYI: WD40 is useless for preventing corrosion, not its intended purpose. 

 

Preform your routine maintenance, you'll be fine!

 

I also fish with my bass tackle

Great reply, I appreciate the info! What exactly did you do to environmentally seal your connections?

[Catt]

27 minutes ago, JNorman said:

What exactly did you do to environmentally seal your connections?

 

22 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Dielectric grease on every electrical connection that is exposed to air. 

 

Plus there isn't a single splice in my wiring.

 

 

[12poundbass]

I’m not educated on saltwater at all but obviously salt is very corrosive having seen what it does to everything here in Michigan. Here’s my two cents, the experienced members are saying galvanized trailers, saltwater trolling motor, get rid of the carpet, and recommend getting a saltwater motor. A tracker 175 TXW has none of this. It sounds like you’d be better off looking for something else or you could easily have a giant money pit and/or nightmare on your hands. 

[JN94]

12 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I’m not educated on saltwater at all but obviously salt is very corrosive having seen what it does to everything here in Michigan. Here’s my two cents, the experienced members are saying galvanized trailers, saltwater trolling motor, get rid of the carpet, and recommend getting a saltwater motor. A tracker 175 TXW has none of this. It sounds like you’d be better off looking for something else or you could easily have a giant money pit and/or nightmare on your hands. 

I bought the boat cheaply with the intent to change all these things. I'll be in it for less if I do the work myself versus buying something with all of these upgrades already. The outboard is rated for saltwater as far as I can tell

[Catt]

2 hours ago, JNorman said:

The outboard is rated for saltwater as far as I can tell

 

Not necessary for your intended purpose. 50 days out of 365 ain't enough to get excited over. 

 

Any of y'all know the difference between a "Saltwater" outboard &  "freshwater" outboard?

[TOXIC]

14 minutes ago, Catt said:

Any of y'all know the difference between a "Saltwater" outboard &  "freshwater" outboard?

Yeah, the cowling on the motor.??

[WRB]

Every fastener in a fresh water boat will corrode in salt water.

This means every fastener, nut, bolt, screw, washer must be changed to 316 Stainless Steel, 304 SST is OK.

Sealing or coating only works if no moisture get in, 5% salt salt water corrodes dissimilar metals. Aluminum is sacrificial and needs to have fresh air to keep it dry or coated with alodine primer under the paint.

Better off buying a boat and trailer made for salt water then trying to convert a fresh water boat imo.

3M 5200 is a good sealant for fasteners. Dialectic grease for electrical terminal connections. All the electrical terminals, switches need to be protected and dry.

Lots of maintenance with salt water boats.

Tom

[Catt]

Ain't nuthin in that boat or on that trailer corroded, boat is painted, trailer galvanized, all wiring is ran direct & sealed, fasteners are stainless steel. 

 

If I were going to run a boat in saltwater only & left it moored in saltwater I would get excited. 

 

Routine maintenance after every trip is mandatory regardless of water salinity.

 

[rboat]

I personally would stay away from saltwater if possible after seeing the inside of some engines. Even if you flush it religiously, when it comes time for taking stuff apart for maintenance there is a really good chance of breaking bolts, water covers, exhaust covers, head bolts, lower unit, etc. Don't ask me how I know this. It sounds like you are committed, so like others have said, due the extra flushing and maintenance every time and you can make it work.

Let us know your progress, upgrades and how everything goes. 

I wish you the best, and tight lines!