Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

Years ago I had a friend drop a fish shaped zinc overboard every time he
came back to his slip. It was supported on a line for the weight, and a
wire from the zinc to....actually I don't remember what it was to, but I
think it was the green wire grounding system on the boat.

If I adopt a similar plan, attaching a wire to the zinc that did not get
mounted and attaching the other end to engine block or shaft, will this
suffice sufficiently until my next haul out? which will not be until
2006 probably....

I am concerned as the boat had been in since August 2002, and the zinc
on it was almost completely gone. The boat spends May thru October on a
mooring then November through the end of April at the dock for the winter.

Thanks,

Jonathan
--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 08:17:40 -0400, Jonathan
wrote:
Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

=========================================

A diver (find someone who cleans bottoms) should be able to install a
new zinc in no time at all.

We have a diver check our zincs and bottom every 90 days. We are in a "hot"
marina with a lot of stink potters around which means the zincs can be AWOL
in short time. A diver, $50 and a zinc or tow and you'll be fine.


"Jonathan" wrote in message
...
Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

Years ago I had a friend drop a fish shaped zinc overboard every time he
came back to his slip. It was supported on a line for the weight, and a
wire from the zinc to....actually I don't remember what it was to, but I
think it was the green wire grounding system on the boat.

If I adopt a similar plan, attaching a wire to the zinc that did not get
mounted and attaching the other end to engine block or shaft, will this
suffice sufficiently until my next haul out? which will not be until
2006 probably....

I am concerned as the boat had been in since August 2002, and the zinc
on it was almost completely gone. The boat spends May thru October on a
mooring then November through the end of April at the dock for the winter.

Thanks,

Jonathan
--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

I wouldn't have the discipline to make the over-the-side zinc a good solution.

It's probably a practical job for a diver or even a DIY snorkel job. A weight
belt is a big help.
Failing that, if you have 3' of tide, careening at a wharf or even a mudbank
will do the trick.

If the zinc was nearly gone at last haulout, i'd escalate either the size of
the zinc or the frequency of haulout.

The A35 is a good old boat. I owned one for 25 years.

Jim

Jonathan wrote:

Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

Years ago I had a friend drop a fish shaped zinc overboard every time he
came back to his slip. It was supported on a line for the weight, and a
wire from the zinc to....actually I don't remember what it was to, but I
think it was the green wire grounding system on the boat.

If I adopt a similar plan, attaching a wire to the zinc that did not get
mounted and attaching the other end to engine block or shaft, will this
suffice sufficiently until my next haul out? which will not be until
2006 probably....

I am concerned as the boat had been in since August 2002, and the zinc
on it was almost completely gone. The boat spends May thru October on a
mooring then November through the end of April at the dock for the winter.

Thanks,

Jonathan
--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 08:17:40 -0400, Jonathan wrote:

Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

Years ago I had a friend drop a fish shaped zinc overboard every time he
came back to his slip. It was supported on a line for the weight, and a
wire from the zinc to....actually I don't remember what it was to, but I
think it was the green wire grounding system on the boat.

If I adopt a similar plan, attaching a wire to the zinc that did not get
mounted and attaching the other end to engine block or shaft, will this
suffice sufficiently until my next haul out? which will not be until
2006 probably....



I believe that the effectiveness of a zinc diminishes somewhat as distance
from the protected metal increases. So you probably want to hang the zinc
pretty close to the prop. I'd use galvanized steel wire to suspend the
zinc. Above the water line, you can switch to copper wire, but make sure
you have a good connection at the junction. Don't let the junction get
wet, and inspect it periodically. Either way, inside the boat, connect the
wire directly to your prop shaft if you can, or some part of the
transmission which is electrically connected to the prop shaft if you
can't. Again, make sure you have a good connection, and try to keep it
dry.

Of course, if your prop is a different metal than your shaft, this may not
be a great idea, either, because it will guarantee that you have current
flowing through the prop/shaft junction. Even so, I think the zinc will
protect the prop. And really, it's no different than mounting the zinc
directly on the prop shaft anyway.

I am concerned as the boat had been in since August 2002, and the zinc
on it was almost completely gone. The boat spends May thru October on a
mooring then November through the end of April at the dock for the
winter.

Thanks,

Jonathan

As others have suggested, your best bet is definitely to get a diver to
install the zinc. I have installed shaft zincs under water before,
although I did it in nice clean, warm, clear water. ;-)

As a side note, theoretically, you can pretty much neutralize your slip by
running a heavy gauge wire around the sides of it, and running a short
pigtail into the water at all four corners. The pigtail should be
galvanized steel wire connected to a reasonable sized zinc at the end. The
pigtail should be long enough that it either almost touches bottom, or is
much deeper than the draft of your boat. This will short circuit any
electric field which might otherwise try to exist in the water near your
slip. You can tell which way the fields go, if they are DC fields, by
seeing which zincs wear out faster.

Note that I've never tried this, but I would like to. If I ever have a
boat again I probably will, just for kicks. I'll still put a zinc on the
prop shaft, though.

--Mac

"Mac" wrote in message
news

I believe that the effectiveness of a zinc diminishes somewhat as distance
from the protected metal increases. So you probably want to hang the zinc
pretty close to the prop. I'd use galvanized steel wire to suspend the
zinc.

Uhm, what do you think would happen to the zinc coating on the gavanized
wire?

Meindert

Several comments here.
I don't recall him saying he had it on his prop?
Might be on his skeg?
Might just be on his trim tabs?
Regardless, it's foolish to not get it on real quick.
Good point Meindert but cray fishermen here in Ozzieland use galv wire to
tie anodes on the pots which are made out of steel & stainless mesh.
Everybit comes out sparkling until the anode is gone.
BruceM


"Meindert Sprang" wrote in message
...
"Mac" wrote in message
news

I believe that the effectiveness of a zinc diminishes somewhat as
distance
from the protected metal increases. So you probably want to hang the
zinc
pretty close to the prop. I'd use galvanized steel wire to suspend the
zinc.

Uhm, what do you think would happen to the zinc coating on the gavanized
wire?

Meindert

Risk analysis ..... what can go wrong, what are the consequences. Then
what are the costs?

Given that we are talking about a boat where the potential for things to go
wrong is .... words fail me, and the consequences of and cost of
rectifying them when they do is .... again words fail me ..... I'd have the
fish-on-a-wire there right now, and be looking for the diver to put on the
real zinc as well.

David
( who was bitten by electrolysis recently and is going to buy a reference
electrode so he can check the level of protection the zinc every few months
.... when he gets around to it. Do as I say, not do as I do? )





"Jonathan" wrote in message
...
Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

Years ago I had a friend drop a fish shaped zinc overboard every time he
came back to his slip. It was supported on a line for the weight, and a
wire from the zinc to....actually I don't remember what it was to, but I
think it was the green wire grounding system on the boat.

If I adopt a similar plan, attaching a wire to the zinc that did not get
mounted and attaching the other end to engine block or shaft, will this
suffice sufficiently until my next haul out? which will not be until 2006
probably....

I am concerned as the boat had been in since August 2002, and the zinc on
it was almost completely gone. The boat spends May thru October on a
mooring then November through the end of April at the dock for the winter.

Thanks,

Jonathan
--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

Hi,

As a diver who replaces zincs and cleans bottoms among other jobs I will
tell you to get someone to dive your boat and put the zincs on the shaft and
any other places that are at risk. Too often I see boats that have not been
protected and it gets rather costly to repair the damage.

Diving in warm clear water must be nice, I haven't done it in years.

Brian

Do you have a galvanic isolator in your electrical system? After I installed
one, the zincs on my saildrives were eroded much less. So much less that I
no longer use guppies.

"Bilbo Baggins" Bilbo wrote in message
...
We have a diver check our zincs and bottom every 90 days. We are in a
"hot"
marina with a lot of stink potters around which means the zincs can be
AWOL
in short time. A diver, $50 and a zinc or tow and you'll be fine.


"Jonathan" wrote in message
...
Because of a miscommunication with the yard, my Alberg 35 was relaunched
after a haulout for bottom painting without replacing the zinc. I had
taken the old one off (not much left).

Years ago I had a friend drop a fish shaped zinc overboard every time he
came back to his slip. It was supported on a line for the weight, and a
wire from the zinc to....actually I don't remember what it was to, but I
think it was the green wire grounding system on the boat.

If I adopt a similar plan, attaching a wire to the zinc that did not get
mounted and attaching the other end to engine block or shaft, will this
suffice sufficiently until my next haul out? which will not be until
2006 probably....

I am concerned as the boat had been in since August 2002, and the zinc
on it was almost completely gone. The boat spends May thru October on a
mooring then November through the end of April at the dock for the
winter.

Thanks,

Jonathan
--
I am building a Dudley Dix, Argie 10, for my daughter. Check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr