[speedracergirl8]

Does anyone know how the Elise will hold up to Salt air and Salt spray? Being composite and Aluminium i am hoping pretty well, but is there some parts of the car perhaps i should coat in silicone or other protectants to save from rusting thru?

The reason for this question is that i am in the market for a motoryacht, looking at ranges from 155-217ft Benetti's, Fedships or Exploration type yachts etc... with any of those i could have a cradle made for the car and lifted onto the deck via Davit's attached to the cradle, then to be secured for voyages or possibly driven directly onto the ship via a ramp or fantail garage which usually holds a tender, but if properly modified could just as easily hold a car, that part i am leaving up to the engineers/designers to figure out which way is best for ingress and egress off the yacht. All would be a moot point if the car would be in jeopordy of corosion beyond safety or cosmetic standards. I have seen of course helicopters on pads (which this yacht will also have) but very rarely have a seen a car except for those amphibcars which i know nothing about.

Am i being too grandiose in thinking i can bring my Elise along for the ride around the world?

 

[cerven]

There are so many of us on this forum with experience of Elises on our yachts I don't know who should go first......... who wants to start?

 

[pianomaniac]

Does anyone know how the Elise will hold up to Salt air and Salt spray? Being composite and Aluminium i am hoping pretty well, but is there some parts of the car perhaps i should coat in silicone or other protectants to save from rusting thru?

The reason for this question is that i am in the market for a motoryacht, looking at ranges from 155-217ft Benetti's, Fedships or Exploration type yachts etc... with any of those i could have a cradle made for the car and lifted onto the deck via Davit's attached to the cradle, then to be secured for voyages or possibly driven directly onto the ship via a ramp or fantail garage which usually holds a tender, but if properly modified could just as easily hold a car, that part i am leaving up to the engineers/designers to figure out which way is best for ingress and egress off the yacht. All would be a moot point if the car would be in jeopordy of corosion beyond safety or cosmetic standards. I have seen of course helicopters on pads (which this yacht will also have) but very rarely have a seen a car except for those amphibcars which i know nothing about.

Am i being too grandiose in thinking i can bring my Elise along for the ride around the world?

You're my kind of girl........when should we get married? We'll bring 2 Elise's and maybe one morning we'll find out that there are many smaller Elise's on deck!

or.....am I being too grandiose in my thinking?

 

[J-Son]

so the word Yacht has a silent "C" in it?
i've heard about those words.

 

[zvezdah1]

Piano,
YOu're playing on the wrong team for racergirl8 if you know what I mean
Chris

 

[speedracergirl8]

He is postive on that one i am not a breeder, sorry guys, it is my girl that is buying this yacht for just her and I to live on.

The point of the post was never to incite sarcasms or dates only to find out about salt air and salt spray, and other's on this forum being able to buy a yacht makes no difference as to one's knowledge in metal's and the makeup of what is in the Elise beyond the aluminium and composites that may or may not be affected in such a harsh environment.

 

[xxxotic]

My mother lives across the street from the ocean and her car had the rotors totally rust out from all of the salt spray and the car only had 15,000 miles. Also the hinge latch for the engine is rusted and so are a lot of bolts in the engine compartment. The car is always kept outside since her condo doesnt have a garage.

When I was growing up I lived at a house on the beach for about 4 months of the year. I had to get a new muffler ever 2 years because it would rust out. Now that they make them out of stanless steel on most cars it shouldnt be as bad of a problem.

I have seen small cars on some yachts before, but I think you would want to keep a cover on the car at all times, to keep it protected, since any iron based metal will rust very easily.

 

[Randy Chase]

Why not consider those inflated sealed garage thingies that have controlled ventilation for vehicle storage?

I would be concerned about galvanic corrosion of the steel/aluminum meetings, specially hardware. Fortunately it looks like a lot of it is Stainless Steel which is not too bad.

 

[lateapex]

Ummm, no offense, but why don't you just buy another Elise later on if you have problems with yours? Or keep the one you have right now in storage and get another one just for the boat.

Obviously, cost is not a concern. Just filling up the fuel tanks of, say, a 198' Feadship like the one you want to get, costs about $70,000, let alone the purchase price of say, $30,000,000.

So, don't sweat it.
Relax and have a good time on the boat and don't worry about a little rust here or there on the car.

 

[NtflBlueLiz]

Aluminum and salt water are not a good combination, That is why all boats have a sacrificial zinc installed so it will corrode instead of the aluminum and all other metals on the boat. Lots to read about this on marine sites.

 

[pianomaniac]

He is postive on that one i am not a breeder, sorry guys, it is my girl that is buying this yacht for just her and I to live on.

The point of the post was never to incite sarcasms or dates only to find out about salt air and salt spray, and other's on this forum being able to buy a yacht makes no difference as to one's knowledge in metal's and the makeup of what is in the Elise beyond the aluminium and composites that may or may not be affected in such a harsh environment.

Sorry SpeedRacerGirl8, didn't mean to offend you ......just my edgy sense of humor...nothing more.

Sounds like a question for a metallurgist, not a group of racer dudes.

 

[etypeiii]

Some big yachts have helicopters on board which are made of basically the same materials, not to speak of military ships.

I would think that putting a long-lived wax (perhaps a use for the "5 year" Teflon based products after all) on the bare aluminum would be good, and, if the car were on deck always, making sure it were always covered and not subject to sea spray, would be fine. Any opportunity ashore, spray down the car with fresh water. I don't think the car will decay to uselessness unless it just sits in the open on deck for months at a time.

If those carcoon type things (like Randy suggested) can stand up to ocean use (sun, wind, heat) that would be ideal. May be worth asking the makers of those...




DLY

 

[Thomas Praetzel]

Yeah, I hear you, same problem here. Live just up from Kamaole Beach 1 on Maui, and can't quite figure out how to get my $1,600.00, 21 foot long racing kayak onto the damned car! Not to mention, where do you put the damned paddle? And that aluminum and fiberglass is already rusting, what with all the rain we have had. God I hate that damned car and lifes a bitch.

Ha awi mai imaha okolepuka,
Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel
got mine, ac is already screwed up, flying speaker grills, the usual, thank God for Lucas
Only joking bruddah!

 

[smoseley]

with any of those i could have a cradle made for the car and lifted onto the deck

Why not go one step further and make your cradle an air-tight canister with a fiberglass shell? Think of the canisters used to store liferafts that most sportfishermen have on the bow. Something like that, but an order of magnitude larger!

EDIT: if you want to get an idea of what something like that will cost you, I can refer you to some good fiberglass places in Miami.

 

[Maverick1]

I have a similar problem.......having trouble

.....having trouble finding a way to get the Elise on my Lear jet when I travel the world. Wherever I land, I just want to drive my Elise. (whenever it arrives)
Cheers

 

[ChrisH]

Re: I have a similar problem.......having trouble

.....having trouble finding a way to get the Elise on my Lear jet when I travel the world. Wherever I land, I just want to drive my Elise. (whenever it arrives)
Cheers

Just drive it under the Lear and strap it on.

 

[etypeiii]

I was browsing through the California Car Cover Co. catalog and they sell a "Anti-Rust Car Storage Bag" that has "Zerust" anti-corrosion chemical embedded in the fabric. This looks like it might last longer in harsh tropical sun and wind than the carcoon car capsules I've seen.





DLY

 

[speedracergirl8]

Transio great idea on the hard shell cover, might work better then a inflatable one i would think if the sea's got rolling. I would be interested in finding out more on such a enclosure if you can point me in the right direction.

I have thought of just getting another car , perhaps a Exige while in Europe, with the nature of living on a boat that sounds like more of a pain when we decide to pick up anchor and go someplace else. Then i am stuck with what to do with the car! I am not into Vespa's and such all that much since my late husband was killed on a bike so that is pretty much out for me to. I like to sightsee inland just as much as what is along the coast thus wanting to take such a small fun car along for the ride.

And as far as anything turning into a pile of rust and just replace it i would rather not go that route either, it isn't about how much another one will cost me, it is, to me, about taking care of what i already own. I am not part of the throwaway get a new one mentality of consumerism and niether is my girl, but then again that is probably why she is in the position she is at 35 to be paying cash for such a yacht.

 

[Randy Chase]

I only wish that a sense of frugality is all it would take to afford a yacht at age 35.

Randy "Cheap Bastard" Chase

 

[MattG]

I think the Elise will handle that environment as well (or as poorly) as any other car. I think your biggest areas of concern will be the iron and steel parts - brake rotors, suspension uprights (those are steel these days, right?), maybe the rear subframe depending on how long it's in that environment (it's galvanized steel).

Whatever you do, you *must* not expose your car to salt spray for any extended period of time (if there is exposure, preferably hose it off with fresh water immediately afterward)!!!