Appears the galvanic corrosion of a wooden hull comes from the nails, bolts,
screws holding the wood on to the subframe.

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
zincs will help protect submerged wood on a boat. It is
subject to some galvanic corrosion also.

really? wood becomes the anode or the cathode? I guess I have never seen
a
battery with wooden plates before.

On 15 May 2004 03:53:15 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

The best protection for your boat in salt water it to make sure you
have zincs.
There are solutions that you can buy that help dissolve the salt, but
I just wash my boat with some soapy water.

huh? zincs and/or soapy water protect a fiberglass boat from sal****er? Since
when?
So, if you want to be a argumentative troll, and not add a bit of
help to the discussion, buzz off.

hey squathead, buzz off yourself. the advice given by lowball types such as
yourself was specious. the asking the question was a newbie and so might
thinkthe squathead advice was real. It was not and he was best helped by
knowing it was not. take a hike jc haplame.

The best protection for your boat in salt water it to make sure you
have zincs.
There are solutions that you can buy that help dissolve the salt, but
I just wash my boat with some soapy water.

huh? zincs and/or soapy water protect a fiberglass boat from sal****er?
Since
when?
So, if you want to be a argumentative troll, and not add a bit of
help to the discussion, buzz off.

"Puerto Mio" wrote in message
om...
I just bought a Sea Ray 215 and I'm somewhat new to the sal****er.
Other than not putting it in the salty water, what is the best way to
protect my boat after I take it out?

I assume that this is a runabout style boat, in the 21 foot range? Probably
an I/O, and probably does NOT have fresh water cooling. If any of these
assumptions are incorrect then it will change the advice somewhat.

The fiberglass portion of your boat is not going to be significantly
impacted by the fact that you are in salt water. There is stuff that will
want to attach to your hull and start to grow. It will be different stuff
in fresh water but the idea is the same. If the boat is in the water for a
day or two and then is taken out the "stuff" won't get much of a foothold
and it will die once the boat is taken out of the water. If you leave the
boat in the water for a week or so you may get a buildup on the bottom that
will be a bit harder to wash off and you may have to resort to using oxalic
acid or similar cleaner.

The salt water will be a lot more corrosive to the metal parts of your boat.
Again, if you just in for the day, the aluminum parts should do just fine
(the outdrive). The outdrive should have "zincs" mounted on it , maybe
multiple ones. These will deteriorate fairly rapidly. That is okay, that
is what they are supposed to do. Plan on replacing them once they start
looking ragged.

The engine is perhaps the area that you need to pay attention to. Unless
you have a fresh water cooling system (not common on a boat that size, but
usually an option) then you will be circulating salt water through the
engine. The engine, being based on an automotive engine block, wasn't
really designed for this and you can have rust/corrosion problems fairly
early.

The best thing you can do is to flush the engine out with fresh water as
soon as you can after you take the boat out of the water. Some launch ramps
have a "flushing station" where they provide a fresh water hose so you can
take care of it right after you pull out. You will need some sort of
adapter to connect the hose to your engine, usually an "ear muff" type
device that clamps over the water intake on the outdrive. Connect the hose,
turn the water on, start the engine and let it run until it is up to
temperature (to make sure that the thermostat has opened and circulated
fresh water everywhere).

Sometimes the engine itself is equipped with an "anode" (another zinc) as
part of the cooling system. These usually are thin rods that screw down
into the water system at some point. Read your owner's manual on the engine
to see if you have any. If you do have them, be sure to check them once a
year or so to make sure that they haven't been eaten away.

The salt spray will also get onto all parts of the boat, so you would be
wise to wash down the entire boat in fresh water. This will make a
difference years down the road.


Rod

JAXAshby wrote:

really? wood becomes the anode or the cathode? I guess I have never seen a
battery with wooden plates before.

Every time you post you show how much you have never seen and how little
you know about boating subjects. Tell us all about your wooden boat
experience Jax ... oh, judging by your post above I guess you already did.

Rick

Actually, I got the info I needed.

--Keep the boat clean
--Replace the anodes every once in awhile
--Wash the boat after it comes home from the salt

Is squathead a sailing term?

Thanks again for the help.

Puerto Mio wrote:

Is squathead a sailing term?

Yes. It's that thingy in the bathroom up front in the pointy end.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/

Tell us all about your wooden boat
experience Jax

I built a professional Class A/B Racing Runabout the winter I was in eight
grade. Except for the screws, it was all wood.

ricky, you *still* didn't answer my question as to whether the wood is anodic
or cathodic, nor did you tell us where one might see a wooden battery.

do enlighten us with your vast knowledge of uncharted facts.

Is squathead a sailing term?

actually, it is most usually used in reference to powerboters.

JAXAshby wrote:

zincs will help protect submerged wood on a boat. It is
subject to some galvanic corrosion also.


really? wood becomes the anode or the cathode? I guess I have never seen a
battery with wooden plates before.

My understanding is this: Wood is neither the anoode or cathode -- or
rather it is both.

To diverge, brass is a combination of two metals (copper and zinc,
perhaps.) The two metals will corrode each other in salt water. Little
pockets of zinc corrode with little pockets of copper. It
self-destructs. It is not just cannabalistic, but self-dissolving.

Wood has various components as well. It is possible that these
components will self-destruct. The amount would vary with the type of
wood, age, finish, and many other things that I don't understand. If
this explanation is not correct, then the suggestion that wood undergoes
electro-chemical degredation with near-by fittings, fasteners, and
such-like is certainly a possibility. If this were true, it would
certainly

I seem to recall reading this in a sailing magazine in an article about
galvanic corrosion. I may be in error. This discussion is not one that
is important enough to me to research. Do you know of any authoritative
sources that you can reference? I have about 3 feet of old Wooden Boat
magazines that you can have for free (you pay shipping) if you want to
look through them. I am sure that it would be covered there.

Some people seem to consider some of your comments, such as "I have
never seen a battery with wooden plates before." to be unhelpful to the
discussion. It does convey, if nothing else, a certain impatience. For
your own benefit you may choose to change your tone slightly. Even
throwing in a few smilies :-) would change some people's reaction.

Fair winds,

Tom
of the Swee****er Sea