Transitioning from a fresh water location to salt water

[Lance Jones]

Ok, we are in a long count-down mode to moving from Beautiful Lake Lanier to my hometown area of Ft. Walton Beach/Destin. What are the items I really need to be ready for by the time we get to salt water? I know I'll be happy when I can check the bilge to see if we have any leaks. Right now i cant tell the difference between lake water and rain water....

[karista]

A few years ago we sailed the boat from Lake Ontario to her new home in the St. Petersburg Fl.
The only difference that I found, was the Zinc wears off quickly and needs replacement every 6 months or so. I also used VC17 Bottom paint on Lake Ontario, this paint will not do the job in Salt Water, the preferred paint here is Petitt Trinidad or a top ablative paint. Most sailors have a monthly diver service to keep the hull and prop clean from barnacles, but other than these items I have not experienced any noticeable difference.
On Lake Ontario the boat was hauled and launched annually and often the yard Bubbas caused damage, then add on the the exposure to exteme cold temperatures, snow, ice and winter blizzards. Here in Florida it gets hauled out every 3 years for new bottom paint, thus much less wear and tear than up north!

[Ron Hill]

Lance : Heed what Bernd has posted.  
We had a slip up the Potomac in fresh water and every spring & fall we sailed the salt water Chesapeake Bay.

1. You will have to hose off all of the stainless when you return to the slip or watch the rust spots form.
2. I believe that the UV is a little more damaging because the boat is always exposed (no haul out and cover up for months)
3. Can't say enough about the barnacle/oyster problem on the prop/shaft.  I've tried about everything and NOTHING works!! (25 years trying, paint won't stick!!)
4. You'll also get growth on the bottom paint as the boat sits.
5. Watch out that the boat does not stay closed up too long or the mold will start to form.

Other than that you'll be in the "sunshine" State!!

[chuck53]

As far as bottom paint goes, there are a number of good brands that will serve you well but they won't do much on running gear.
I'm on a number of boating forums and many people (especially in the south where barnacles are a major problem) swear by Prop Speed.  It really does the job but I also understand it is expensive and labor intensive to use.
A couple of years ago, I was introduced to Pettit Zinc Coat.  Cheap, easy to use and I was very pleasantly surprised as to its effectiveness.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Lets not turn Lances question  -  into the way to keep nasties off the running gear.

Maybe Chuck can start a new post on the topic.  
Then all can respond on Prop Speed/Hawk Speed/Zinc/Epoxy/Copper etc coatings.  NONE of which work very well!!!!!

I can't tell you how many coatings I've tried over the 25 seasons (Chesapeake Bay & Potomac & Flordia), 4 of which were with the Pettit Zn.  It seems that silicon bronze makes it hard for anything to stick to it.  I've even used the $35/pint Pettit primer and the sticking has always been the problem. They all work for only about 1/2 of a season!! 

My thoughts

[chuck53]

Guys : Lets not turn Lances question  -  into the way to keep nasties off the running gear.

Maybe Chuck can start a new post on the topic. 
Then all can respond on Prop Speed/Hawk Speed/Zinc/Epoxy/Copper etc coatings.  NONE of which work!!!!!

Hold on...the OP asked about moving his boat to salt water and asked for advice.  You say nothing works.  I'm saying the Pettit product does a good job, not a great job, but far better than regular bottom paint.  i've also read numerous boating forum posts that say the Prop Speed does a very good job although I have no personal experience. 
Sorry to hear nothing works for you, but seems there are a lot of happy customers who beg to differ.
Keeping nasties off the running gear is a major element of moving a boat from fresh to salt water....the whole point of this thread.

[r_bond]

Lance, looks like you're getting some great ideas on moving to the coast, so let me just extend an invitation to join up with the Gulf Coast Catalina Cruising group when you get down here.  Here's a link to our website:  http://gulfcoastcatalinacruisers.com/  We have a great time and try to get together several times a year for cruises and raft-ups.  Also, here's my email:  r_bond@bellsouth.net  Please give me a shout when y'all get down.  Any idea yet on where will you be keeping your boat?

[Lance Jones]

Mr. Bond.... James?
Is that Fleet 8? I've tried repeatedly to contact through the fleet website. We're excited to be coming home. I was born and raised at Eglin and then Niceville. We still have some property out on Santa Rosa Island.

At present, we're looking at Shalimar Yacht Basin. We were really interested in Bluewater Bay; but, they weren't too welcoming of live aboards. Our only major concern is Destin Bridge. Its height is 50' at MHT. I'm happy to sail west to P'cola access to the Gulf; but, would like a Destin route more....

[karista]

For what ever its worth, Ron is corect that none of the various products work down here on running gear, I tried most of them, none worked, my neighbor applied PropSpeed to his running gear at great expense, he could have hired a dive service for 2 years for what he paid for the PropSpeed application, but he still needed a dive service. My advice is, to hire a good dive service to clean your bottom monthly during the summer months and every other month during the cold season. I pay about $1.20/ft and the bottom and running gear is always clean.

[John Sheehan]

Lance,

Welcome back to Florida.  One of the concerns in the Ft Walton / Destin area is the bridges.  The Brooks Bridge at Ft. Walton is 48' and the Destin bridge is not even 48'.  Rusty and I both have our masts cut down to fit under the bridges.  There are 50' bridges at Navarre and the Dupont bridge east of Panama City.  There are some marinas in Pensacola that allow live a boards.

Fleet 8 has kind of morphed into the Gulf Coast Catalina Cruisers.  There is a link to me at the website and you are welcome to get with Rusty or me anytime for more specific local information.

John

[r_bond]

Hi Lance,

I see you've "met" John...great...now you've got a couple of contacts.  Yeah...we love Bluewater Bay...it's a beautiful location!  I'm surprised they didn't want a liveaboard.  Darn!  You might want to also check the next bayou over from BWB...Boggy Bayou.  We were sailing up in there earlier in the summer and saw several marinas.  There's a really big one up at the very north end - seems like it was Lighthouse Marina or something like that.  I have a buddy that lived aboard his boat in Shalimar.  Let me know if you'd like me to check with him on his feedback/impressions.

Rusty

P.S. John's right about our short bridges...they are a pain.  You can get under the Brooks Bridge in Ft. Walton at dead low tide - one of our other GCCC group - Bob Fleege - does it all the time and he has a 1992 C34 w/ a regular height mast.  We have REALLY enjoyed having a little bit shorter stick on Trinity, as we now can make it under any of the local bridges...even Destin.

[Lance Jones]

Thanks all. To the GCCA, I was born and raised at Eglin and grew up in Niceville. I AM A BOGGY BOY! BWB marina winks at  no live aboards. Their marina just isn't really set up for it. Not really interested in cuting  mast length. Thanks for the idea though. May relocate antennas and other things to lower locations where possible.

This winter will be getting the boat ready for move. Summer will be testing improvements made over winter. Arrival at FWB area should be Sept/Oct. Don't know if I have much to offer for the club but, Kitty and I can't wait to get home. NHS '77. I sailed my first sailboat, a Sunfish, from Mobile to Niceville (Rocky Bayou) by myself when I was a junior at NHS.