My 1981 C-30 has been closed up for a couple of months at it's dock and, when I opened it yesterday, I discovered that virtually every piece of interior brass, stainless steel and plated fixtures (faucets, etc.) was coated with corrosion/oxidation. I don't mean spots here and there, I mean coated. The boat is in freshwater in Stockton, CA and I've owned it for close to 15 years and have never had this problem before despite long periods of disuse.
Even the stainless steel oven racks in my propane stove were coated with fine "rust" as were the sinks and nuts on the deck hardware mounting bolts protruding from the overhead. Items stored in drawers and cabinets seem to be OK. The sinks looked like they'd been sprayed with a rusty powder and the faucet spouts and handles were pitted after I cleaned them.
The only thing I can think of that might have caused this is that my solar powered vent had stuck and wasn't operating when I checked it. I have canvas covering the companionway hatch so there wouldn't have been much air circulation. There was no apparent odor nor was there any sign of mildew. Stockton is in the San Joaquin Valley and we have very dry summers and haven't had any significant rain so far this fall.
A friend theorized that my batteries may have been leaking and creating a corrosive environment but my batteries (on a multi-stage charger) don't show any signs of leakage or corrosion. In fact, a brass lamp stored on the shelf above the batteries showed no sign of corrosion.
I cleaned the sinks, faucets and stove with Bar Keepers Friend today and brought any easily removable parts home for cleaning.
What do you suggest for cleaning the bolt-heads, chainplates, etc. and what do you think might be causing this?
Until I can get a new solar vent, I rigged up a computer fan under the existing one to provide circulation.
Even the stainless steel oven racks in my propane stove were coated with fine "rust" as were the sinks and nuts on the deck hardware mounting bolts protruding from the overhead. Items stored in drawers and cabinets seem to be OK. The sinks looked like they'd been sprayed with a rusty powder and the faucet spouts and handles were pitted after I cleaned them.
The only thing I can think of that might have caused this is that my solar powered vent had stuck and wasn't operating when I checked it. I have canvas covering the companionway hatch so there wouldn't have been much air circulation. There was no apparent odor nor was there any sign of mildew. Stockton is in the San Joaquin Valley and we have very dry summers and haven't had any significant rain so far this fall.
A friend theorized that my batteries may have been leaking and creating a corrosive environment but my batteries (on a multi-stage charger) don't show any signs of leakage or corrosion. In fact, a brass lamp stored on the shelf above the batteries showed no sign of corrosion.
I cleaned the sinks, faucets and stove with Bar Keepers Friend today and brought any easily removable parts home for cleaning.
What do you suggest for cleaning the bolt-heads, chainplates, etc. and what do you think might be causing this?
Until I can get a new solar vent, I rigged up a computer fan under the existing one to provide circulation.
