The mystery of the Marine Environment

chucklesR · #1 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

Can one of you guru's tell me the difference between my house and all the non-marine environment stuff within that is feet from the water, and stuff in my boat, which is mostly fixed for the marine environment and feet from the water.

I live on the Chesapeake bay, prevailing wind is off the water, i.e., I, and my Sony TV etc. live in the same air as my boat does. I seldom take water over the bow and it never gets below decks. I don't blue water sail, the boat lives where I do.

Why all the preaching about marinizing? I've never lost a camera to salt air corrosion, my ipod does just fine year after year .I've seen outboard motors made for fresh water environments hold up better than some models of salt water motors with a simple fresh water flush after use.

Recent threads about portable gen's like the Honda not being made for the corrosive salt air just get in my craw. Besides the fact that I can buy and toss four of them for the cost on one 300 pound gorilla - does anyone really believe that a Honda generator that is taken to the boat on the occasional weekend for air conditioning is really going to corrode to a useless fireball causing lump of rust in one season? Facts and real useage indicate otherwise.

Done ranting, ignore this thread or not...

I33 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

Thanks for cutting thru the hype Chuck. You are entirely correct. What is the value in paying 8 times the price for an item when it will only last twice as long? Especially for creature-feature type stuff? Now I don't skimp on the stuff that keeps me upright and afloat, but a maranized cd player? No thanks! A 38-dollar unit from Wally World works fine and I throw it away when it corrodes.

chucklesR · #3 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

Safety gear is one thing. I'd not go with Walmart on that - I'm addressing (like I33 above) the things I'd term consumer electronics and general household items.

Valiente · #4 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

Stuff like that can be "marinized" by anyone who has ever soldered a wire. Conformal sprays, a dab of lithium grease here and there and strategically rotated sachets of dessicant are vastly cheaper than the "marinized" version of things.

But if you don't want to do those things, feel free to buy your TV at West Marine. China thanks you for your patronage, regardless.

sailingdog · #5 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

Well, part of the issue for you Chuckles, is that the Chesapeake isn't all that salty...it's really nearly fresh brackish water, at least up where you are, more than it is salt water. The salt really is not much of a factor there.

So, your experiences may not have any relationship to the reality of those living and sailing on the ocean or one of the salt water bays. You're comparing apples to oranges. According to the graphic above, the part of the Chesapeake you're on is 5-10 ppt salt. The Atlantic Ocean is 33-37 ppt salt or three to almost eight times as salty. That's a big difference.

chucklesR · #6 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

SD,
My iPod's and camera's all have months of blue water experience and are years old and salt free.

Folks living on the beach in any coastal town suffer the same salt air as that boat in the mooring field. I don't notice Best Buy in Florida selling special versions.

That's my point.

btrayfors · #7 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

I certainly agree that many consumer electronics items stand up very well in a "marine environment". As Chuckles points out, for non-safety items you can get away with items which are a lot less expensive than their "marine" counterparts. Some things are ridiculously cheap...almost throwaway.

That said, to paraphrase a famous ex-President, "it depends on what the definition of [a marine environment] is".

The Chesapeake Bay IMHO is not a marine environment in the same sense as, say, the Caribbean or even South Florida are. First, the Bay isn't very salty. It's fed by numerous fresh water tributaries and is only brackish. No where near the salt density as many ocean environments, even those 50 miles to the East on the Atlantic Coast. Next, it isn't hot and humid all year round. There are terribly hot days during the summer, of course, but not 365 days a year.

My boat was in the Eastern Caribbean for 11 years, and has been in the Chesapeake area for most of six years, when it wasn't in Maine or Florida. I've noticed a difference in the maintenance requirements here vs. warmer and saltier climes.

I've also lived in tropical climates and have maintained electronic equipment there (in SE Asia, South Asia, and Africa). IMHO, if you take care of your equipment....keep it clean, covered when possible, and out of the tropical salt air....it will last a very long time even in those hostile environments.

Bill

Freesail99 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

I think there is a real difference between what is inside the boat vs. what is out side on the boat, in the elements.

Catalina274me · #9 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

Your home is also a drier environment usually. Heat etc...
But I have to say my Pioneer stereo has been on my boat for 7 years now without skipping a BEAT, and it is not "Marinized". But cockpit speakers should be of the outdoor type.

cardiacpaul · #10 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008

God love ya chuck.