Nelson, With that size boat I have to ask if you plan to leave it in the water or take it out after each trip. Leaving it in the salt water opens up a whole new set of issues you need to deal with.
I have boated in salt/brackish water all my life, always storing the boat on the trailer between uses. The salt does awful to anything metal in the boat, and your best defense is to clean and flush everything as soon as you can after each use - especially raw aluminum. My jet has held up well with flushing. I don't have an aluminum intake on my boat engine but have seen others use them without too much issue. Eventually the salt corrosion will get to everything, but that is the price you pay for enjoying your hobby and passion.
Leaving the boat in the water will cause you to figure out how to deal with electrolysis. This is a situation where electrical currents flow through the salt water and errode your nice metal parts. I have seen huge holes eaten into 1.5 insh stainless prop shafts in a mater of weeks. Even if your boat is perfect, a fault or issue with the wiring in another persons boat or dock wiring can cause the currents and damage your boat as well. The outdrive manufacturers have learning how to protect thier drives for years(decades). Jet drive manufactureres have not even thought about how to fight this problem. Proper bonding and use of anodes (often called 'zincs') helps but is more complicated than that.
I hope you are going to trailer the boat so you won't have to deal with the electrolysis problems. Remeber to clean and wax all the hardware and hull frequently and flush hull, engine and drive as soon as you are done boating each time.
Good luck
Doug
