Prepping a new ski for salt water

[S Padre]

Anyone ever prep a new ski for salt water? Would love to get a list going...

Things I have thought of:
Anti-seize for any bolts going into aluminum and exposed to salt water. ex venturi bolts, etc (just snapped the head off a 2015 Spark (86 hrs) venturi bolt trying to do preventative leak test on the pump. ugh, that'll teach me!)

add grease to the drive shaft under the PTO seal boot. (just replaced the shaft/PTO seal/etc etc on a 2015 GTI 130 with 290 hrs)

take off intake grate/pump and grease the shaft

perhaps my situation is an extreme as we run them in a hyper-saline estuary. I am going to start leak testing my pumps every 100 hrs. Just had a pump seize on spark the same spark (86 hrs)

any other salt water prep or extra maintenance ideas would be great!!!

 

[mkov608]

It's not the preflight that matters as much as it is the postflight. For example, any grease you apply to the driveshaft will be gone in seconds once you hit the water, and attempting to remove all the bolts and nuts to apply anti-seize is not practical.

I ride in the ocean frequently. I toughly rinse the ski, and apply lots of XPS lube on all metal parts inside and outside of the hull. If you could see the inside of my hulls you would think they are fresh water skis. You may want to consider another body of water.

 

[mikidymac]

I use SaltAway wash down and flush after every salt ride.

 

[S Padre]

Not suggesting all bolts mk, just those in the back directly exposed to salt water... Not more than a handful really.

Yes I up-root my family and hit up another body of water. However the intent of this thread is dealing with what I have, if possible.

One additional issue I suspect is that the skis are on floating docks, and thus inches from the cancer-juice. Have been thinking about a wand to get under the intake grate and properly rinse the shaft from the bottom.

Salt away is a good idea for sure! I have seen the dry-stack storage guys using it on boats before they go in the shed.

 

[jknightg]

I am also a salty and agree that the post flight is what matters. Personally I wouldn't leave my ski on a floating doc as you can't get underneath. I pull mine on the trailer after every ride to wash and rinse it thoroughly
A salt neutraliser is super important. Remember to do inside the ski too and leave it so that air can circulate through the ski with the drain plug removed
Finally and most importantly, remember that with care these things last and enjoy yourself!
Happy riding [emoji106]

 

[Hawk388]

I ride in brackish water and saltwater only. After each time out, I use SaltAway inside and out and also, through the exhaust flush. I then rinse out the inside very well and wash the outside. I then allow it to air dry with a simple boxfan blowing down into the inside. Finally, I will spray CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor on all outside metal pieces and the whole inside. So far, all of my hardware still looks brand new. I have 36 hours on the ski and this is my second season. Every 10 hours I'm doing all pivot point lubes and such.

 

[S Padre]

Yah trailers would be ideal, just not practical for me. Gunna see if I can fashion a wand of some kind to rinse the bottoms.

 

[jknightg]

Assuming that it is a 4 tech, it is the heat exchanger to watch at the rear on the hull

 

[S Padre]

Assuming that it is a 4 tech, it is the heat exchanger to watch at the rear on the hull

ok great advise, what should I be looking for exactly please?

 

[jknightg]

The heat exchanger is effectively a radiator that passes the heat from your engine to the water that you're riding on
It's a black flat plate underneath the jet pump made from alloy and painted
If you don't get the salt off then it's likely to corrode especially sat on a floating dock

 

[snikwad003]

On the spark the heat exchanger is the metal plate on the bottom of the hull on the right side

 

[scortpower]

I only ever ride in salt water. All I do after a ride is wash the complete ski and trailer, rinse it right down with water, I then spray inside with water and get all the salt off the engine. after that I cover the whole engine in gt85 spray. Having gt85 spray helps stop the salt sticking to the engine.

 

[nickss]

I bought one that is used to clean gutters. It will extend to about 6 feet and has adjustable nozzle. Found it on Amazon.