Just how serious is this?

[SailArkansas]

I needed a blanking plug for my speed transducer and the company I'm ordering from needed a photo to help identify. My Autohelm quit showing my speed a few months ago. I wanted to remove the transducer and check the paddlewheel. My photo wasn't very good becuase of the location of the unit so I had to use macro, stick the camera in the hole and shoot. When I downloaded the photo I saw the rust around the thru-hull what looks to be a flange. I don't have a trailer and I have been trying to locate one for several years to do acomplete inspection and new bottom paint. Is it fairly normal to have some rust in this location or do I have an immediate/dire problem here? I would appreciate any and all input. Thanks

 

[Paul Mermelstein]

If you really haven't hauled that boat in several years as you say, you need to haul that boat ASAP. Not necessarily because of the rust issue on the transducer hole, but because you have no idea what shape your boat is in. And the bottom paint should be renewed every 2 years. Time for some maintenance and before winter is a good time to haul out for the season.

 

[Florida sail]

I agree with Paul. Having the boat hauled out and a good look at all through hulls sounds very appropriate.

Reef early,

>>ron<<

 

[higgs]

I am puzzled by what the rust may be from. Most of these transducer housings are plastic and the through hull should be anon rusting metal - usually bronze. i would want to know what has caused the rust.

 

[SailArkansas]

I am puzzled by what the rust may be from. Most of these transducer housings are plastic and the through hull should be anon rusting metal - usually bronze. i would want to know what has caused the rust.

The rust could be a result of my blowing compressed air into the water lines during winterizing. I disconnect the line from the outflow side of the pump and force air through the lines. Some of the pressurized air goes into the water tank and that forces water out through the output waterline which I disconnect at the tank. The water flows over and around the transducers enroute to the bilge.

That is the only time I can think of when that area is even remotely damp.

I don't want to put the pink stuff in the fresh water tank. I wonder what the recommended procedure for draining the hot water tank is or if its even necessary since the water never freezes around the boat.

 

[higgs]

Your transducers have nothing to do with your waterlines - is that right?

 

[Hermit Scott]

It could be a 304 SS washer under the through hull nut. It looks like the washer is whats rusting. It is hard to tell what is going on, we only have part of a picture of it.
That does not look serious to me at all. It's not leaking is it?

 

[SailArkansas]

It could be a 304 SS washer under the through hull nut. It looks like the washer is whats rusting. It is hard to tell what is going on, we only have part of a picture of it.
That does not look serious to me at all. It's not leaking is it?

The transducers have nothing to do with the water lines.

There are no leaks around the transducers and the surrounding area is bone dry except when I drain the hot water tank during winterizing. I also think it looks like a washer and I know that SS can rust under the right conditions.

Since I am about 7 hours from my boat I try to anticipate problems and perhaps worry more than most. The marina is excellent and I feel they would notify me pretty quickly. I am hooked up to shore power and my bilge pump is direct to the batteries. Batteries are on a 3 stage charger just in case. Still I know I need to pull the boat out due to the bottom paint being 6-7 years old.

Anybody out there got a trailer that would support a 28 weighing 6000 pounds? I would come and get it and pay cash or rent if I could. I figure I would need it for about 2 weeks.

 

[Steve Dion]

Are you sure that this is rust? It looks like it could be mold (pink). I would try using some cleaner and see if that remove the stain.

 

[SailArkansas]

Here is a picture of the depth transducer. Looks like the same thing.

 

[Old Skool Neil]

I needed a blanking plug for my speed transducer and the company I'm ordering from needed a photo to help identify. My Autohelm quit showing my speed a few months ago. I wanted to remove the transducer and check the paddlewheel.

If all you're doing is checking the paddlewheel, why not use a toilet plunger on the outside or tapered plug on the inside? It will do for the short time the transducer will be out.

Be sure to grease the O rings before reinstalling the paddlewheel.

 

[Florida sail]

I wish my bottom paint would last 6-7 years

 

[tedsouter]

Folks, we are lake sailors...

My boat hasn't had a "bottom job" since I bought it 17 years ago. It will get one after the cold temps are over down here in Arkansas. I'm on a lake about 40 miles south of Lake Ouachita. We don't have barnacles here, there is no need for ablative type paints. We don't have haul out facilities and/or capabilities at these marinas. We're lucky if we can scrounge up someone whom will come down and do a half dozen bottom jobs.

I do scrub my bottom regularly, (every three months or so), and once a year don my scuba equipment and clean and inspect my bottom personally. Algae and slime are a problem, but nothing that keeps me up at night. Also, we don't have to "winterize" our boats, our lake will never freeze, the most extreme precaution I've ever done was leave a small auxillary heater set on freeze plugged in. Us lake sailors have it pretty good down here.

Sailarkansas, there some options for you if you are in a hurry, call Chris Rook in Memphis and ask for some direction from him. Also, there is someone in the Jonesboro area that has expressed a desire to bid for bottom jobs and repairs. I'll get his contact info and post it for you.

 

[SailArkansas]

My boat hasn't had a "bottom job" since I bought it 17 years ago. It will get one after the cold temps are over down here in Arkansas. I'm on a lake about 40 miles south of Lake Ouachita. We don't have barnacles here, there is no need for ablative type paints. We don't have haul out facilities and/or capabilities at these marinas. We're lucky if we can scrounge up someone whom will come down and do a half dozen bottom jobs.

I do scrub my bottom regularly, (every three months or so), and once a year don my scuba equipment and clean and inspect my bottom personally. Algae and slime are a problem, but nothing that keeps me up at night. Also, we don't have to "winterize" our boats, our lake will never freeze, the most extreme precaution I've ever done was leave a small auxillary heater set on freeze plugged in. Us lake sailors have it pretty good down here.

Sailarkansas, there some options for you if you are in a hurry, call Chris Rook in Memphis and ask for some direction from him. Also, there is someone in the Jonesboro area that has expressed a desire to bid for bottom jobs and repairs. I'll get his contact info and post it for you.

Wow! Thanks so much. I'm not sure if my 'winterizing' routine would really be considered that up North. I usually change the oil in the diesel, run pink stuff into the fresh water cooling system, blow the water out of the plumbing and clean the bilge. I also use an engine compartment heater and a dehumidifier fan to keep any mold from forming. It takes me a couple of hours and I sleep better when the temp drops below freezing. Every two years I replace the primary diesel filter and change the transmission fluid. I have never figured out how to drain and replace anti-freeze in the diesel but it looks clean in the reservoir. Rather than winterizing I guess I should call it off-season maintenance.

I have had a diver clean and inspect the bottom twice in the last 6 years. The last time he told me the paint was getting pretty thin and that was 2 or 3 years back. Slime is the biggest problem as you can see from the rudder. Yes, the water is that clear. Arkansas lakes are pristine and I am lucky to be on one.

I would definitely be interested in getting a bid on new bottom paint.

BTW...how necessary do you think it is to have a shaft zinc in Arkansas water?

 

[kendall]

Also take pictures with a different camera, some digitals are red biased, and show rust when none is there.

I have pictures of my motorcycle that look like the swing arm is totally covered in rust, There isn't any there, there is a light oil film, a quick wipe with a clean rag and it doesn't look rusty in pics, so assume the oil has refractive characteristics that give a rusty look. (the swingarm pivot always looks rusty in pics, grease is visible to the eye, but it's a blue moly based lube)

Reach in with a rag, and wipe the area, place rag in a glass of water and shake it up, then drop a magnet in it, if it's rust it will be attracted to the magnet and clear the water.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

That looks like it might be some kind of red caulk sort of like the kind you see for fire penetrations. It could be the rust staining on the caulk from iron in the water, like you see in the toilet at your home if you have iron rich water. The first photo looked like some kind of washer that might be rusting but the photo was too sketchy to tell. A SS washer, even if it did have some corrosion, wouldn't look that bad. The second photo seems to make it clearer that it is a type of sealant.

We often get responses from salt water sailors who assume that freshwater sailors have the same issues. The folks on our lake would look at you cross-eyed if you started talking about bottom paint and bottom maintenance with anything other than the annual power wash and slimy grimey application. I just dive and scrub the bottom periodically. The more paint I can scrub off, the better. My yard won't let me scrap or sand or anything other than power wash and they won't do a bottom paint application either.

 

[Hermit Scott]

It looks way to uniform a circle to be sealant. My final guess is, someone installed that transducer and the through hull for it did not come with a washer/backing plate. So the person thought it would be better to use a zinc plated washer than nothing. If it is a washer that rusted on a fresh water lake it may not even have been zinc plated.

sailarkansas-you could pull that paddlewheel and have your wife hold her hand over the hole while you picked crap out of the paddlewheel. The pressure is nothing to contain. I know it seems like it could be a lot, but I have unscrewed ball valves and just put a rubber plug in it and replaced them. It barely leaked a cup of water. If I was doing the task I would stuff a rag in it while I cleaned and lubed the o-rings. It is just not going to leak that much. You could leave it unplugged while you did the task and your bilge pump would wisk it away without even noticing.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

If it's a washer, it doesn't look like metal. It looks like a soft, elastic material with the way it is compressed under the flange. Besides that, the color looks too uniform and too maroon to be rust.

 

[tedsouter]

Sailarkansas: Check your online message box here on HOW, I've left you a several messages with the information you seek.. Good luck, take care & be well!

 

[Hermit Scott]

If it's a washer, it doesn't look like metal. It looks like a soft, elastic material with the way it is compressed under the flange. Besides that, the color looks too uniform and too maroon to be rust.

It does look very maroon. That seems like a terrible idea to put a rubber washer there. Who wants a through hull flexing around?