freash water vrs.salt water

[henry and teresa chaney]

were looking for any information on the way freash water or salt water effects the wooden boats we own a 1970 chris craft connie and have it in lake dallas tx but want to move it to the atlantic and are trying to figure out what effects this might have on it:confused:

[Ian McColgin]

Salt water is a bit better as an electrolyte. You should not need to change the plan of zincs but you'll want them all new. Keep an eye on them. Depending on your engin, you may want some protection in the heat exchanger also.

Different bottom paint, of course.

She'll float a tad higher.

Depending on how much metal hardware and decoration you have, the varnish quality, and your windows, you may find yourself putting a little more effort into the hose-down when you get to a dock.

Enjoy &

G'luck

[Tristan]

You can drink fresh water.

[paladin]

fresh water rots wood, salt water pickles it.....old sailing ships had salt shelves between the frames packed with rock salt
Hope ya got room...

[Ian McColgin]

I used to believe in the pickeling effect of salt water, but I've less believe as I get older.

Wood manages to rot in both fresh and salt water from a variety of causes. Both are subject to the same problems of entraped rainwater in carlines, decks, trunks and all. Even on the ocean, rain is not salt.

Below the waterline, you'll find plenty of rotted out frame hood ends in boats that have lived exclusively in salt water and you can find rot free boats in fresh water.

I just like salt water better even if a bit of spray does more harm to my neet scotch.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

As a fresh water boatowner, I have read that mahogany in particular does not last as long in fresh water as it does in salt. I have also heard the same thing posted here... the pickling effect of salt, and hence a reduction in rot. Ian's also right... wooden boats rot.... doesn't matter what the hell you do. Connie's are more prone to rot from the decks down, than the bottom up, altho plank ends top side towards the bow are vulnerable.

[Lew Barrett]

We got our boat 13 years ago. It had lived in salt all it's days, from 1938 until 1993. It surveyed with 6 planks needing replacement, but really, there were hosts of them that showed up in the ensuing few years. It also lived in the same boathouse for all those years, so suffered very little from rain water apart from her forrays out. So much for the preservative effects of salt water. Oh...it needed refastening as well, for the obvious reasons.
When we got her, we moved her to Lake Union. Although our preferred boating is in the Sound and points north (we take her out through the locks) she is now essentially a fresh water boat. Truth is, many Seattle boats split their time between fresh and salt, usually berthing in the fresh water but being "used" in the salt. I "decided" to replace the bulk of the original planks a few years ago, full length garboards, first and second broads, and oh painfully more, and the boat now has a yellow cedar bottom. This is as opposed to the fir bottom she was born with. Anyway, since refastening and replanking, she has been quite stable with no wood loss at all. That's to be expected I guess with all new yellow cedar, but I don't have too much faith in the "pickling effect" anymore. I think it's as much or more up to the species of wood, local conditions, wet/dry cycles and conditions of use as it is to the minerals in the water. That the old tars kept salt in the bilge means less to me when I consider that they used to bleed people to cure them of all manner of diseases. None of this salt versus fresh stuff will be easy to prove or disprove, but there's plenty of rotten wood in both waters. Ian said it first....
Lew

[henry and teresa chaney]

thanks lew i'm not as concused as before, it's not the water type but the care of our home that makes the difference in her staying afloat and in good condition.
henry and teresa:D :)

[Alan D. Hyde]

With salt water the wood will be better off; the engine cooling system, passages, etc., will be much worse off, unless you have keel coolers or some other method of cooling that keeps the seawater out of the engine...

Alan

[Lew Barrett]

Indeed. I'm somewhat less sanguine than Alan (apologies Alan :) about the beneficial effects of salt, but I'd still concede the nod to his (and the general) observation that salt is good for the wood, though I doubt there's much scientific proof to the theory. However, one thing that is critical in salt use (well, why not just say critical in general?) is to be absolutely certain that you've done all you can to zinc and protect her properly (neither too much nor too little) and also that all your electrical equipment and systems are in good working order and properly done up. Here's a case where following ABYC standards makes sense.
There's one thing I think we can all agree on. Larger cruising boats, especially older ones, with their increased electrical capacities and demands, are fertile grounds (a pun) for stray currents and problems. Make sure all your electrical equipment, both AC and DC, is in good order if you are moving to salt. A galvanic isolator is probably good insurance as well.
I'm not the expert (though I can measure for proper zink installation) so find a good specialist locally to do an electrical survey of your boat in the new waters. Well worth the few dollars. The ABYC home page lists local resources. Your friends and colleagues may know others.

ABYC Home:
http://www.abycinc.org/

List of technical papers and standards available from ABYC:
http://www.abycinc.org/standards/toc.cfm

Lew






thanks lew i'm not as concused as before, it's not the water type but the care of our home that makes the difference in her staying afloat and in good condition.
henry and teresa:D :)