[briansnat]

I hit the Shrewsbury for crabs often and tried fluke and stripers there too. I've done great with the crabs (except for last year), but not so good with the fish (only caught some small fluke and snapper blues). Though a friend just contacted me and wants to go out for stripers because he hears they are hitting. I think I'll take him up on that and hit the Shrews soon. I like the Shrewsbury because it's relatively close to home and it has a free ramp (I'm a bit of a cheapskate). I can also reach the Navesink and even the bay in under an hour from the launch.

Anyway I don't think there should be any issues with putting your boat in saltwater as long as you flush the engine thoroughly and hose down the boat and trailer when you get home. I often use the saltwater trips as an excuse to hit Monksville or Pompton (the closest lakes to me that allow motors) the next evening to give everything an even more thorough rinse, though it's really unnecessary. My boat is fully carpeted as well and the salt has not impacted it. I let it dry and vacuum. The previous owner told me that he took his kids crabbing and fishing on the bays in it for for many years and was only selling it because they were grown up and on their own. The motor is a 1992 Yamaha and the boat itself is much older, but everything still works fine despite years of saltwater use.