On Oct 11, 7:33 am, "Roger Long" wrote:
Sounds like you moved in next to somebody who has an electrical problem on
their boat. Marinas are scary places. Those zinc fish on a wire clipped to
the bonding system of your boat or the motor if you have an outboard are
absolutely essential. Not only do they provide additional protection, you
can tell that there is a problem if they disappear rapidly.

If the boat is back in the water and other boats haven't been hauled yet,
you might get an marine electrician to come out and take a look. First buy
the zinc fish and a digital multimeter. Put the fish in the water with the
meter hooked in between. Record the voltage. Then turn off the breakers
one by one on nearby connected shorepower outlets and see if turning off one
produces a drop in voltage. If so, that's probably the culprit. His props
are probably disappearing as well so he might appreciate knowing.

--
Roger Long

as soon as I saw the damage, I got one of those zinc fish while
waiting for a week to get the boat hauled. I wonder if you can be more
specific. Can I attach the clip to the negative on my battery? some
have said yes and others no. I have an 25 ft four winns IO. With the
fish hanging off the side of the boat, where do I put the two leads
from the digital multimeter? how far from each other ?
thanks Roger as always for your help

On Oct 11, 8:13 am, richard wrote:
On Oct 11, 7:33 am, "Roger Long" wrote:





Sounds like you moved in next to somebody who has an electrical problem on
their boat. Marinas are scary places. Those zinc fish on a wire clipped to
the bonding system of your boat or the motor if you have an outboard are
absolutely essential. Not only do they provide additional protection, you
can tell that there is a problem if they disappear rapidly.

If the boat is back in the water and other boats haven't been hauled yet,
you might get an marine electrician to come out and take a look. First buy
the zinc fish and a digital multimeter. Put the fish in the water with the
meter hooked in between. Record the voltage. Then turn off the breakers
one by one on nearby connected shorepower outlets and see if turning off one
produces a drop in voltage. If so, that's probably the culprit. His props
are probably disappearing as well so he might appreciate knowing.

--
Roger Long

as soon as I saw the damage, I got one of those zinc fish while
waiting for a week to get the boat hauled. I wonder if you can be more
specific. Can I attach the clip to the negative on my battery?

NO. NO..And NO!

If you have a grounding strip attach it to that. If not attach it
directly to the engine, or whatever you are losing metal on.

Best thing to check is do like Roger said and get a meter and measure
for stray AC and/or DC voltage. DC will do far more damage faster.

The best way to do it is to put one lead into the group terminal where
the boat plugs in at each slip, and one lead in the water, get a long
wire so you can walk out around the boats. If you have more than .4
volts DC and 1 volt AC then you have a problem. It sounds like either
you have a short to ground or one of your neighbors has one. If you
find high voltage around another close boat give him a bill for the
haulout and zincs and insist he pulls his boat until he gets the
problem fixed.

Joe


some
have said yes and others no. I have an 25 ft four winns IO. With the
fish hanging off the side of the boat, where do I put the two leads
from the digital multimeter? how far from each other ?
thanks Roger as always for your help- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Oct 11, 9:04 am, Joe wrote:
On Oct 11, 8:13 am, richard wrote:





On Oct 11, 7:33 am, "Roger Long" wrote:

Sounds like you moved in next to somebody who has an electrical problem on
their boat. Marinas are scary places. Those zinc fish on a wire clipped to
the bonding system of your boat or the motor if you have an outboard are
absolutely essential. Not only do they provide additional protection, you
can tell that there is a problem if they disappear rapidly.

If the boat is back in the water and other boats haven't been hauled yet,
you might get an marine electrician to come out and take a look. First buy
the zinc fish and a digital multimeter. Put the fish in the water with the
meter hooked in between. Record the voltage. Then turn off the breakers
one by one on nearby connected shorepower outlets and see if turning off one
produces a drop in voltage. If so, that's probably the culprit. His props
are probably disappearing as well so he might appreciate knowing.

--
Roger Long

as soon as I saw the damage, I got one of those zinc fish while
waiting for a week to get the boat hauled. I wonder if you can be more
specific. Can I attach the clip to the negative on my battery?

NO. NO..And NO!

If you have a grounding strip attach it to that. If not attach it
directly to the engine, or whatever you are losing metal on.

Best thing to check is do like Roger said and get a meter and measure
for stray AC and/or DC voltage. DC will do far more damage faster.

The best way to do it is to put one lead into the group

Opps TYPO put one terminal into the Ground terminal were the boat plus
in..not the "Group".

Joe

terminal where
the boat plugs in at each slip, and one lead in the water, get a long
wire so you can walk out around the boats. If you have more than .4
volts DC and 1 volt AC then you have a problem. It sounds like either
you have a short to ground or one of your neighbors has one. If you
find high voltage around another close boat give him a bill for the
haulout and zincs and insist he pulls his boat until he gets the
problem fixed.

Joe

some



have said yes and others no. I have an 25 ft four winns IO. With the
fish hanging off the side of the boat, where do I put the two leads
from the digital multimeter? how far from each other ?
thanks Roger as always for your help- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Joe, is this wishful thinking, or would one be more likely to get a response
with the backing of the marina ? Just curious.

FWIW, I installed a galvanic isolator, and my zincs do seem to last longer.
To my feeble mind -- electrically speaking -- that is one answer to this
problem, right ?

"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 11, 8:13 am, richard wrote:
On Oct 11, 7:33 am, "Roger Long" wrote:
Snip




give him a bill for the
haulout and zincs

On Oct 11, 7:46 pm, "Garland Gray II" wrote:
Joe, is this wishful thinking, or would one be more likely to get a response
with the backing of the marina ? Just curious.

Sure, I've seen boats so bad the the zincs were boiling.. No marina
want's that kind of problem around. And most people are clueless that
they have a short to ground, or could care less..ignorance is bliss.
Now it may be a different story if it's the marina's stray
voltage...maybe.

FWIW, I installed a galvanic isolator, and my zincs do seem to last longer.
To my feeble mind -- electrically speaking -- that is one answer to this
problem, right ?


Wrong!

First... you want your zincs to waste away, that's what they are for.
You want approx 1% of your metal surface area to be zinced, and you
want 75% of that to waste away about every 4 yrs. Better the zincs
than anything else. If your zincs are always like new.. you are going
to have a serious problem down the road.

Many think galvanic isolators cause many more problems then they
solve. I have a brand spanking new one in a box I'll be happy to sell
you. Haven't had time to put it on e-bay.

Joe

"Joe" wrote in message

oups.com... On Oct 11, 8:13 am, richard wrote:
On Oct 11, 7:33 am, "Roger Long" wrote:
Snip

give him a bill for the



haulout and zincs- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -