Brackish vs Saltwater Moorage

[Mark Laurnen]

Hello. I want to tap the extensive pool of your accumulated knowledge and experience. Is there any appreciable advantage to selecting brackish water over salt water for long term moorage? Any distinct disadvantage? I was wondering about overgrowth and electrolysis among other things. Thank you all for your advice and opinions.

 

[DavidM]

When we kept our boat on a mooring in the Connecticut River off of Essex which was fresh water most of the time, our engine and hull zincs lasted 2-3 times longer. That is an indication of lower salinity resulting in less corrosion.

But if you keep up with zinc change outs, the real difference in hull metal (rudder, shaft and thruhull) and engine corrosion is probably meaningless.

David

 

[O C Diver]

Typically brackish water has a slower hull fouling rate for the same water temperature. Brackish is a very broad term and the lower the salinity the better it is. Do your own research, but zinc isn't optimal for brackish water, aluminum anodes are preferred. I moor in Chesapeake Bay in the summer and Caloosahatchee river during the winter. Both are brackish and work better with aluminum anodes. Aluminum also works fine in saltwater and far better than zinc in freshwater, but do your own research.

Ted

 

[Dougcole]

We moved about 10 miles upriver from Stuart up into the Lost River off of the North Fork about 3 years ago, our fouling is maybe a third of what it was downriver.


On the other hand, being up a narrow river means lots of big trees, and they drop a ton of crap, leaves, sticks, dirt, etc. all over the boat all of the time. The mildew issue is worse up there as well, again, it's all the vegetation.


Everything in life is a trade off, right?

 

[Mark Laurnen]

Thank you very much for your thoughts ... very helpful. I suspected a probable slower fouling rate, but knew nothing of the aluminum sacrificial anodes. I’m considering Port of Everett, WA so the term brackish might be a bit of a leap as it is a saltwater marina at the outflow of a sizable river. Thank you all again for your time.

 

[RonR]

Port of Everett is considered Brackish.
Bottom paint last me about 4 years. Zinks last about 6-8 months but we’re also out playing a lot. Relatively an easy place on boats. Little to no growth on the hull, very minor on the uncoated shafts/rudders/props. Ex for the dam seagulls and little barking dogs it’s a great place.

 

[ghost]

I was in POE for over a decade. Back in covered moorage, away from the channel, I could easily go 7 years on bottom paint with only occasional scrubs on the running gear. In the new marina with more current flow, maybe 4 years. The closer you are to shore, it’s mostly fresh water floating on the top. POE is one of the lowest fouling areas I’ve been in.

 

[Mark Laurnen]

Great to know. I’m dry in Anacortes now, but thinking about switching to wet for more convenient access year around. Anacortes, La Connor, PE all under consideration ... PE definitely sounds like potential for less frequent cleanings. I believe the wait list is approximately 18 months at present. Thank you for the guidance.

 

[Bacchus]

Hello. I want to tap the extensive pool of your accumulated knowledge and experience. Is there any appreciable advantage to selecting brackish water over salt water for long term moorage? Any distinct disadvantage? I was wondering about overgrowth and electrolysis among other things. Thank you all for your advice and opinions.

Agree that brackish should be better but would add if you are in a location that experiences a change from slat/brackish to brackish / fresh you should see even less accumulation.
No direct experience only reading that that was the reason for US Navy mothballing a fleet of ships around the mid-Hudson. Tides impact the Hudson up to the Federal lock at Troy (Albany area). Apparently the reversing tides and change in salinity is the ideal situation to minimize growth.