Purchasing a Tracker used in salt water?

[euroshowoff]

Looking at a 2013 Tracker Pro 165 w/40hp Mercury. The boat has been used in combination fresh and salt water. Original owner says he flushes the motor, and washes the boat after each use. Boat looks to be in great shape from the pictures and i plan on driving over an hour to have a look tomorrow. Is there anything I should look for when purchasing a boat that was used in salt water? I only plan to fish fresh water in the future and this will be my second tracker.

[fishnkamp]

First look at the lower unit on the engine. There is a sacrificial anode mounted on it. If it is corroded badly then he did not flush it very often.  They are easy to replace it is just an indicator to me. Look closely at the trailer. If it is not galvanized but instead is a painted box style trailer be careful to look under it for rusted spring hangers, rusted axle. look down the inside of the box frame see if it is showing bad signs of rust there.  Check in the battery compartment to see if there are signs of corrosion to the wiring etc. I run a Lowe bass boat here in Maryland and it is tough to keep up with what salt can do. On the other hand we run lots of boats here on the Potomac and the Upper Bay. If the boat and trailer look okay, ask to dun it. If all works good go for it. 

[euroshowoff]

Thanks. I had no idea about the 'anode' i'll be sure to google what it looks like this evening. The tracker i'm looking at is 5 mins from the water in Lunsby MD. 

[fishnkamp]

Wow I am in Middle River so we fish some of the same water.  Have you ever chased stripers with  bass gear?  You would be welcome to run up my way and chase some on my boat this fall. We catch them on traps mostly

BY the way the annode is just above the anti cav plate (just above the prop on the lower unit. In the picture it is the grey rectangular object.  It usually gets pretty wet when you flush the engine with ear muffs and a garden hose.

 

 

 

[euroshowoff]

Traps for stripers? Never heard of that sounds pretty cool. 

Im in centra VA and mostly fish local lakes and the Potomac river. 

[fishnkamp]

All summer the stripers are out oyster bars or in deep water and require big boats trolling with spreader boards and big parachute rigs. But in September the bay starts cooling off and the creeks are warmer due to the shallower water heating up during the day.  At this time large schools of menhaden or bunker enter these waters and all of them are about 3 to 4 inches long and we can cast rattle traps, xcaliburs, red eye shads etc. and some topwaters like spooks. Also all of the other fish tart to turn on this food source so we catch some big yellow perch and big catfish. To date my biggest cat was a 18 pound blue cat that almost spooled me. You are both welcome to come join me sometime. This action can last till December 15 when the season closes.