salt content

[gettinthere]

We're new to salt water cruising.
We got blasted pretty good off the panhandle Florida, 20 to 30k winds, confused 8' seas, plenty of spray.
We also got a fair amount of wind driven spray sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Palm Beach with 4' seas and 18k winds.
The salt crust on the boat seemed SIGNIFICANTLY heavier from the Ft. Laud run than the Panhandle run. Is the salinity that much higher? Something else?
Both times the boat started out clean & waxed.

[David M]

The salinity of the oceans does not vary by a whole lot. It is around 35 parts per thousand by weight, but can be less by a part or maybe even two in some places.

What you may have been noticing is an increased evaporation rate with changes in the relative humidity. The dryer the air, the quicker salt water is going to evaporate leaving salt and other mineral deposits behind.

[Hudson Force]

I would discount any explanation by salinity differences. I think the difference in deposition of the salt varies with the fresh rinse of new spray compared to the evaporation rate. You can actually decrease the salt by rinsing with salt water as long as you flush steady for a while and leave yourself with just one final layer of salt deposit after the last rinse. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[Amapola]

The higher wind, the more salt crust.

[hummingway]

The more a body of water is sailed by experienced sailors the more adherence the salt has to the boats surface hence the saying "old salt". The "old salt: is most commonly found lying around the deck of a boat.

Sorry, thought the thread needed some "spicing up".

[delmarrey]

Actually the warmer the water the more the PPMs. The colder climates have a constant supply of fresh water to dilute.

Link>> File:WOA05 sea-surf SAL AYool.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Actually the warmer the water the more the PPMs. The colder climates have a constant supply of fresh water to dilute.

Link>> File:WOA05 sea-surf SAL AYool.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i was gonna say that the water in southern climes seems to leave more salt on th boat.. but thought maybe it was my misperception!