OK seeing as how 20 people read this and didn''t respond yer gonna have to get my take.  It can be done but your boat will never be the same.  Seeing as how you live close to the beach anyway maybe the boat is kinda rough around the edges anyway.  The big thing is you have to WASH AND RINSE OFF EVERYTHING !!!  As in every nook and cranny or a serious case of the uglies will set in.  Even rinse out the inside of the motor and pump when you get done but make sure you have water running to the pump correctly when you do it.  Honestly the trailer though will never be the same.

In all honesty most people on this site would probably tell you not to do it if you want to keep your boat as nice as the day you bought it.  If it is already kind of crusty, I say why the hell not?  In the words of Teddy Roosevelt "do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

And welcome to the madness we call jet boats !   

Finally, Something I know something about!!!!   Okay, I'll jump in on this deal.

We have ran our boat in the salt every year for that last 8 years or so.  In fact, it's been in freshwater only a handful of times compared to almost exclusively in salt.  The nearest lake that we can try to run is an 1 1/2 hours away whereas the salt is less than a minute.

Up until last year all we ever used was soap and water.  The trailer, chrome wheels are all the original ones we brought home with the boat.  This last year we have used SaltAway and it seems to work really well as well (though much more expensive than soap)

The only areas that I have ever had a problem with relates to the Bassett headers and the starter. We would often get water splashed up on the motor.  The salt water would instantly evaporate away on the headers but leave little salt rings on the chrome.  No amount of polish would remove it.  Those same headers are now on the Sanger with no rust issues.  The starter would get doused with water from everyone swinging and with time would cause problems. At the time these were just cheapo Schucks starters.  I've since switched to Powermaster stuff and no problems period.

If the salt is close, don't hesitate boating there but just plan on cleaning the boat up when you get home.  I've always been anal about not doing anything till theboat is clean and put away.  Have fun



Heres the Sanger in the salt as well. 

The Drag boats run at least three times a year in Chandler here at Firebird Lake in it's salt water. Dunno what they do to clean 'em out or what not, but, apparently, they're much faster in it!

Ray

would he need a sea strainer? just asking.

Sea Strainers are for catching chunks of debris, sorta depends on how dirty the water is, I would recommend a #20 screen on anything that puts water through header cooling orifices...

GT

Finally, Something I know something about!!!!   Okay, I'll jump in on this deal.

We have ran our boat in the salt every year for that last 8 years or so.  In fact, it's been in freshwater only a handful of times compared to almost exclusively in salt.  The nearest lake that we can try to run is an 1 1/2 hours away whereas the salt is less than a minute.

Up until last year all we ever used was soap and water.  The trailer, chrome wheels are all the original ones we brought home with the boat.  This last year we have used SaltAway and it seems to work really well as well (though much more expensive than soap)

The only areas that I have ever had a problem with relates to the Bassett headers and the starter. We would often get water splashed up on the motor.  The salt water would instantly evaporate away on the headers but leave little salt rings on the chrome.  No amount of polish would remove it.  Those same headers are now on the Sanger with no rust issues.  The starter would get doused with water from everyone swinging and with time would cause problems. At the time these were just cheapo Schucks starters.  I've since switched to Powermaster stuff and no problems period.

If the salt is close, don't hesitate boating there but just plan on cleaning the boat up when you get home.  I've always been anal about not doing anything till theboat is clean and put away.  Have fun



Heres the Sanger in the salt as well. 

I have had other boats and ran in salt water but this is my first jet boat. I guess one of my big concerns will be the headers. I plan on going wit Basset OT water injected headers and realize salt is not ideal and if there is anything diffrent I should do to save the headers other then a thorough cleaning and maybe some WD-40

with a heat exchange - you're running closed cooling.  You recirculate water in your block and use an external exchange (the big tube) plumbed with raw water.  This is great for jets which often have trouble reaching operating temp or have pressure issues.  Slap a t-stat and you can run all day at 180 (or whatever you choose). 

Here's a pic as an example: