[krazzz]

I am also a believer in oil analysis however most of the ones I have used are detailed enough to distinguish between saltwater or coolant intrusion. The company I use most often is Blackstone Labs. After checking all of the basics on your engine I would look at sending your oil somewhere else for a more detailed analysis. I do agree that it is almost certainly coolant though. If it were saltwater you would see mostly sodium but not much potassium. How are your phosphorus and boron numbers? These are also indicators of coolant leaks. There are a couple other elements too but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

 

[krazzz]

Frequent oil changes will certainly help. I think the rate at which the damage will occur is greatly overstated. I had an old Honda in college that had a bad head gasket. It was a $500 car with 280K miles on it. I made the decision that it wasn't worth the time or expense to fix it and I was just going to drive it until it died. I filled the coolant up once a week and changed the oil when it got too milky (my standards were very low.) I expected the car to make it a couple months or so. I ended up driving it 2 years and another 50K miles. Got a real job and got tired of the car so I sold it for what I paid for it. It still ran like a top and I wouldn't have hesitated to drive it across the country. A year later I was still seeing it around town. My leak was significantly worse than yours and my maintenance was significantly worse than yours. I think you will be fine. Quit worrying and go out and enjoy your boat.

 

[krazzz]

Your leak sounds to me to be very minor. If you aren't noticing a drop in coolant levels, the oil level isn't increasing, and the oil isn't turning milky you have a VERY minor leak. I think this thread might be turning a molehill into a mountain. I am not saying to ignore this forever but I don't think it is an emergency that needs to be dealt with immediately. It can wait until your dockage situation improves.