Can fresh water boats be used on the ocean?

I am curious as to whether the same boat could be used on both the ocean and lakes.|||A boat intended for salt water can be used in fresh water, but its load capacity is reduced because fresh water is less dense than salt water (so, for a given load, the boat floats lower). Generally, craft intended for fresh water should not be used in salt water because metal parts that are not intended for exposure to salt spray will corrode.|||yes i do it all the time with my pontoon boat and my bass boat the only difference is the outboard and trowling motor the salt water grade use stainless for alot more parts due to corrosion from salt but it will not harm the fresh water grade i would just take it by the car wash and spray it off after leaving the wateralso wont hurt to run a lil fresh water thru the engine to flush it out but most of that is plastic so it wont really make a difference