2022 Launching of the WillieC

[WillieC]

Lovely picture, Rob. And thanks for helping Nancy out. It’s just electron (or hole) flow. They don’t care what boat it’s on. Stepping back and looking at the big picture is really helpful. With a little relabeling, and installing a true starting battery she should be in good shape. That installation looks rather tight. Hard to trace for sure.

Lucky monkey. I transposed in just the wrong place. There was/is a thread on boat names here. Anyway, thanks for the info. Some names send me in totally wrong directions.

Forgot to mention (or did I?) I added sound insulation to the lower portion of the engine box. I had patterns already made so cutting and fitting was a breeze, ha. Arrived by ten am day of relaunch. As to efficacy… the Starfleet Commander and I had only one incident of “WHAT??, WHAT??” on the first trip out. I’ll call that massive improvement. Minimum 30db improvement. Right. I do think it helps with lower frequencies, but I am invested in it so I can’t admit otherwise. I just saved 15 large at least. We’re keeping the Green Monster.

[WillieC]

I successfully repaired a small tear in my shiny new sunbrella enclosure today. Also took das Boot to the closest pump out to me. The new MSD equipped porta potty that I pump into the existing black water tank works nicely

Slowed the idle down a bit also today. The old VP is running very nicely. Ready to head out again! Lovely day on the Canal.

[WillieC]

This should be under its own thread, but here goes:

B094FB84-F582-4032-A3EF-73EC017E7F78.jpeg

After one month or so in the water and our extended trip to Chatterbox Falls, here is what a brand new zinc turned into:

7DA8C5E5-9C46-469A-AA9F-BF25A1F5F351.jpeg

Is it just me or ???

Now I did upgrade to deep cycle batts and a Balmar alternator and smart regulator, otherwise electrical system is unchanged.

This is the propeller shaft zinc, between the cutlass and the prop. I never have been impressed with the longevity, but this new zinc looks like it is not really of the same material as last year’s.

Thoughts?

[Ambler27FC]

Wow! I usually replace my zincs every two years. They would probably look like you current zinc after four years. Have replaces batteries, removed smart regulator, and replaced alternator w/o any issues.

If your boat doesn’t have an electrical leaks, did you dock near any suspect boats or on an old pier. Have heard your zincs may have to deal with other folks issues…

[WillieC]

One thing I haven’t done is figure out what a half cell is and where to get one or how to use it. Electrical leaks? There isn’t much on the boat electrical it’s an A25.

As to others’ boats, I have also heard that. We did a bunch of marina hopping in that month but never hooked up to shore power. We don’t have shore power and do just fine. I do have a cord but it sits benignly in the aft cabin. I do also have a tiny inverter that is turned on to run the water pic or make a smoothie maybe twice a day. Then off. I also have a tiny single panel solar unit that we use to offset the draw of the anchor light controlled by a photocell.

Maybe I need to do the half cell routine. Open to suggestions.

Also, of note… the propeller shaft is isolated electrically from the engine via an R&D non metallic shaft saver. The anode wear makes no sense to me. Also the propeller was replaced with brand new from Michigan Wheel maybe 6 years ago. The previous prop dated from the 80s or 90s was turning pink. No pink whatsoever on the new prop. Yet.

Now there is a similar collar zinc on the skeg shaft that supports the rudder inches away from the propeller. It NEVER shows any deterioration unless I drag on the ground when the boat is on the trailer. I keep it for that purpose alone. A bit of a curb feeler if you will. The skeg is also electrically isolated, unless you count the rudder shaft to the tiller to the metallic steering cable to the gear box to the steering wheel… that’s as far as I get with it. Still very curious.

Any suggestions appreciated. This is one I would like to nail down. Thanks!

Also of note. The anode deterioration was present when we bought the boat, prior to ALL the upgrades mentioned above. Everything I noted is new. I don’t get it.

I added radar too this past winter. So how do electrons leak? There isn't a corroded wire or old crusty part or bundles of wire laying in the chemical broth of an abandoned bilge anywhere on the boat. The batteries are new, spotless, fully charged, well maintained, blah, blah, blah. Anyone? None of my through hulls are bonded and pretty much look like the day they were installed...well I do need to replace them just on principle. Oh, the alternator has its own dedicated full size ground wire. The engine ground is landed at a dedicated lug I welded to the starter bracket. Clean as a whistle.

[WillieC]

Reading this guy:
http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/Anodes,% ... rosion.htm

Do I have crappy anodes? Year after year? I don't think the supplier would like that press. Open to who has "good" anodes. I'll not name the supplier just yet. If I have crappy anodes, why would I change to a possibly crappy Magnesium anode? The first picture at least looks like the anode was doing its job. The second picture looks like the anode was made of floor sweepings then dipped in layer of zinc. Allegedly A1800 milspec.

Being this is on the spinning prop shaft, I "should" use a shaft anode. Trouble is I don't have the length for a shaft anode, so I am using a collar type. 800 rpm shouldn't blow the thing up by centrifugal (or is it centripetal) force.

[Ambler27FC]

Hair out of my depth, but by electrical leak I meant a dc positive uncoupled from a negative but still not completely isolated by a dialectic material. I think you could check for this by looking for currents more than mili-amps between thru hulls. If a boat next to you has this problem your sacrificial would work to solve their problem..

I have the same transmission coupling w/o the grounding strap. Using a collar sacrificial on the shaft too. My shaft thru-hull (dissimilar metal contact?) is grounded to a plate sacrificial on the transom, and might be helping. I keep the AC unplugged 95% time - only for the fridge or AC. Let us know if you figure it out!

[dkirsop]

I had the same problem as Willie C. Some areas are just a hot bed of anode activity, such as shallow warm salt water. The solution was to hang a large anode overboard and attach it to the prop shaft with a large gator clamp and #8 wire when docked. Since doing so premature anode loss has stopped. Otherwise the electric potential between the bronze propeller and stainless shaft is too great for a small anode to last very long. Just remember to detach the anode before starting the engine!

[WillieC]

I have tried your suggestion, Mr. K. With a #10 wire.
I’ll try it again with a larger wire. Shallow warm saltwater does describe our home base but not the monthlong trip. I’ll rig up something tomorrow.

Ambler, there are no boats near me. We have a mooring ball. Will keep you posted. I am wondering about the anode on the skeg… could I be overprotected? I never see any loss on that anode. Again, no electrical connection between the two shafts. But close proximity.

[WillieC]

I think Tree just solved my anode issue!!

"The six pot Mercury engine was always planned as competition over the Volvo AD41P. Sadly it wasn’t any competition at all. It’s basically a bloody great anode of an engine."

From the Gateway 24 thread.

[WillieC]

Over-the-side anode re-deployed. I’m sticking with the #10 wire mainly out of laziness. I’d have to rummage around more than I’d like on this lovely August day. I had enough fun resoldering the clamp onto the wire. I checked for continuity at each point of the assembly and ended up shining up the zinc anode a little. It won’t take long out here in the Canal to green up

Only problem is I don’t have much of an option of checking for positive results until I pull the boat in a month or so, though that will show something if mildly successful. I prefer magic and instant results. As if….

Thanks, everyone! I’ll keep you posted!

[Thumper74]

My wore out anode. I’ll need to do all that good stuff, bonding thru hulls, anodes….. and good stuff.

[WillieC]

Nothing touches my through hulls. They all look like new.

[ssrig]

Rick I have similar issues with my prop anode but not the rudder anode, I go through the small donut prop anode in the two months we are on the boat and put a new one on every year, I haven’t tried the wire and anode over the side yet but have all the stuff to do it just don’t but if you find that it works I’ll start to use it, just give us the word!

[WillieC]

I will be going to a shaft brush and transom mounted anode this winter. I still need to come up with the right names, numbers, and/or sizes of components for the job. All I know is I should use #6 copper from brush to lug on the inside of the anode. It is often referred to as the “diver’s dream”.

The advantage I see is that you might have a better chance at seeing when the anode needs replacement (if you can see or reach it under the swim step). Also, the anode is much larger than what you can put on the shaft so it should last longer. The downside is the reliability of the shaft/ brush interface. Another plus over the “over the side at marina” anode system is that it is always functioning. Yet another plus over the shaft donut anode is that you don’t have a rotating deteriorating anode blowing in the wind.

More research for winter project. Thanks to Rob S. for the suggestion.