To keep my flow of questions going, here is my latest question of the day for you experienced guys! I keep my boat (catalina 22) in my backyard, so it's out of the water most of the time unless I'm sailing of course. I launch in fresh water (just down the hill from my house in Renton, WA). I'd really like to sail the boat out into Puget Sound eventually for some overnight trips to Blake Island (or wherever the wind may push me!). I don't have a Zinc plate on my keel (yet) and I have a very nice condition Honda 8HP motor (That does have a zinc thing bolted on the motor). Should that be enough zinc for an occasional trip to the nasty salt water? When sailing, the motor will be pulled out of the water, and only the metal keel will be down there. I'd then return to the fresh water on the way home, so when I get it out, it should be well rinsed, including the motor. I do have some rust on the trailing edge of the keel (that I can't reach when on the trailer). I'd like to sail for a couple seasons before I drop the keel and refinish it. That just looks like a major pain in the a**! Tom Catalina 22 noob.
Salt water sailing - how much before trouble?
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salty
I dry-sailed a C-22 for three years before I got a slip. The boat itself is not problem, but the TRAILER will give you fits. Launching in fresh water might not be so bad, tho.
I dry-sailed a C-22 for three years before I got a slip. The boat itself is not problem, but the TRAILER will give you fits. Launching in fresh water might not be so bad, tho.
Larry is right ...
The boat is not the problem, it's the trailer! I've used our ski boat in salt water on numerous occasions with no ill effects (as long as it is rinsed off thoroughly). Well, my starter did rust-up and need to be lubed one time when I didn't use the boat for about a month after pulling it out of salt water. I doubt you need to have a zinc unless you are dropping it in for long periods. Everything on the trailer will be trouble if you don't go to a lot of effort to maintain it after using it in salt water. I had my wheels lock up from corrosion one time when I was in a hurry to pull the boat out on a Sunday afternoon after dropping the boat in on Saturday morning. It is best if you can thoroughly rinse off your trailer with fresh water immediately after dropping the boat in the water. When your brakes and all the moving parts are heated from trailering your boat to the launch, they are much more susceptible to corrosion. It helps if you can let it cool down, but on a hot summer day, that is impossible. It's not very likely that you will be able to flush your trailer with fresh water immediately, so most boaters learn to live with high maintenance issues and cost when trailering to salt water destinations on a regular basis.
The boat is not the problem, it's the trailer! I've used our ski boat in salt water on numerous occasions with no ill effects (as long as it is rinsed off thoroughly). Well, my starter did rust-up and need to be lubed one time when I didn't use the boat for about a month after pulling it out of salt water. I doubt you need to have a zinc unless you are dropping it in for long periods. Everything on the trailer will be trouble if you don't go to a lot of effort to maintain it after using it in salt water. I had my wheels lock up from corrosion one time when I was in a hurry to pull the boat out on a Sunday afternoon after dropping the boat in on Saturday morning. It is best if you can thoroughly rinse off your trailer with fresh water immediately after dropping the boat in the water. When your brakes and all the moving parts are heated from trailering your boat to the launch, they are much more susceptible to corrosion. It helps if you can let it cool down, but on a hot summer day, that is impossible. It's not very likely that you will be able to flush your trailer with fresh water immediately, so most boaters learn to live with high maintenance issues and cost when trailering to salt water destinations on a regular basis.
Would putting a bloc of zinc on the trailer help..
to slow down the rust? I spent a lot of time stripping, priming, painting and replacing eroded parts of my trailer and the rust is coming back. I rinse thoroughly every time I use the boat. Wouldn't the trailer have to be in the water all of the time for the zinc to be effective? I am willing to try anything not to have to scrape that trailer again. Frank
to slow down the rust? I spent a lot of time stripping, priming, painting and replacing eroded parts of my trailer and the rust is coming back. I rinse thoroughly every time I use the boat. Wouldn't the trailer have to be in the water all of the time for the zinc to be effective? I am willing to try anything not to have to scrape that trailer again. Frank
It wouldn't help at all...
The zinc is not there to prevent rust, it's there for galvanic erosion. The electrical currents attack the zinc before it attacks the stainless and the bronze. What you are doing is correct, a thorough rinse is probably the best that you can do, short of replacing the trailer with an aluminum trailer. But that is a whole other topic. Good luck. ross_in_tampa 1979 Oday 25 "Lola" on a trailer
The zinc is not there to prevent rust, it's there for galvanic erosion. The electrical currents attack the zinc before it attacks the stainless and the bronze. What you are doing is correct, a thorough rinse is probably the best that you can do, short of replacing the trailer with an aluminum trailer. But that is a whole other topic. Good luck. ross_in_tampa 1979 Oday 25 "Lola" on a trailer
A zinc will help....
A zinc will help, but not sure how much. In order to have rust, you must have an electrolyte ( water, salt water being better as an electrolyte and worse for you), oxygen and 2 dissimilar metals. The electrolyte provides an electrical path that is needed for corrosion. The metal higher up on the galvanic scale acts like a cathode and the one lower down is the anode ( zinc is a great anode for most metals). This means that, in effect, you have actually created a battery with a real measurable current. Anyway, the zinc anode gives itself up as the electrons move over to the cathode ( your keel or O/B Motor). Under ideal conditions, your zinc will corrode away, and your trailer will remain in tact. When you trailer is out of the water and dry, there is still moisture and dew in the air to continue with this process. The metal that will suffer the anodic reaction will be the zinc and it will corrode as it takes oxygen from the air. If we were looking at the same steel, as in a trailer, consider that the steel is probably not of the same consistancy throughout and therein lies the problem. All this B.S. aside, I think a good part of your problem is the paint you are using. You will need a really clean surface to add the primer to. It will probably have to be sand blasted. The idea behind the paint is to exclude oxygen from the equation. If you are painting over rust, there will not be a good bond between the paint and the trailer. The paint will fail at these points and you are back to square one. I'm recovering from surgery and under some great pain pills, so that may explain why i may not be making sense. Hope this helped a little bit. Tony B
A zinc will help, but not sure how much. In order to have rust, you must have an electrolyte ( water, salt water being better as an electrolyte and worse for you), oxygen and 2 dissimilar metals. The electrolyte provides an electrical path that is needed for corrosion. The metal higher up on the galvanic scale acts like a cathode and the one lower down is the anode ( zinc is a great anode for most metals). This means that, in effect, you have actually created a battery with a real measurable current. Anyway, the zinc anode gives itself up as the electrons move over to the cathode ( your keel or O/B Motor). Under ideal conditions, your zinc will corrode away, and your trailer will remain in tact. When you trailer is out of the water and dry, there is still moisture and dew in the air to continue with this process. The metal that will suffer the anodic reaction will be the zinc and it will corrode as it takes oxygen from the air. If we were looking at the same steel, as in a trailer, consider that the steel is probably not of the same consistancy throughout and therein lies the problem. All this B.S. aside, I think a good part of your problem is the paint you are using. You will need a really clean surface to add the primer to. It will probably have to be sand blasted. The idea behind the paint is to exclude oxygen from the equation. If you are painting over rust, there will not be a good bond between the paint and the trailer. The paint will fail at these points and you are back to square one. I'm recovering from surgery and under some great pain pills, so that may explain why i may not be making sense. Hope this helped a little bit. Tony B
Trailer
Ok. I see that the trailer will be a problem. I'm launching from a fresh water lake, sail to the other end, go through a canal to another lake, then out the locks to the salt water. Trailer stays back in the parking lot of the fresh water lake. Just curious how screwed up things could get from a weekend in salt water, followed by a good rising trip through fresh back home to the trailer. T.
Ok. I see that the trailer will be a problem. I'm launching from a fresh water lake, sail to the other end, go through a canal to another lake, then out the locks to the salt water. Trailer stays back in the parking lot of the fresh water lake. Just curious how screwed up things could get from a weekend in salt water, followed by a good rising trip through fresh back home to the trailer. T.
You Should be just fine
A zinc on the drop keel will help it some. Keep in mind that most boats that sit in salt water all of the time with steel keels still last a very very long time. When i had my Mac 25, theonly thing that rotted away was the crank and its cable to crank up the keel.
A zinc on the drop keel will help it some. Keep in mind that most boats that sit in salt water all of the time with steel keels still last a very very long time. When i had my Mac 25, theonly thing that rotted away was the crank and its cable to crank up the keel.
teqwilym....
I think you're giving too much worry to this issue. Since you haul your boat out of the water so much you can keep an eye on it quite easily. The zinc on your ob will be enough to protect that metal from the electrolysis you may encounter over a couple days in the salt. Go have fun...
I think you're giving too much worry to this issue. Since you haul your boat out of the water so much you can keep an eye on it quite easily. The zinc on your ob will be enough to protect that metal from the electrolysis you may encounter over a couple days in the salt. Go have fun...
trailer
My 18.5 came with a painted trailer. It lasted 2 years. I replaced it with a galvanized trailer. It lasted about 14 years. I am on trailer number 3 now. Using only in salt water.
My 18.5 came with a painted trailer. It lasted 2 years. I replaced it with a galvanized trailer. It lasted about 14 years. I am on trailer number 3 now. Using only in salt water.
Wash Down!
I guess that the best way to treat your trailer would be sure that you wash/rinse it down after each use. The water in the tongue is especially susceptible to corrosion so be sure, if possible, to wash down the innards of the trailer framing when you do wash down.
I guess that the best way to treat your trailer would be sure that you wash/rinse it down after each use. The water in the tongue is especially susceptible to corrosion so be sure, if possible, to wash down the innards of the trailer framing when you do wash down.
If you launch and retrieve in fresh water
It doesn't matter to the trailer if the boat goes in to salt water. If you rinse the trailer well after immersion in salt water (if you do an occaisional salt trip) it will be OK for quite a while. Rinse the inside of the tongue as well as you can. The boat and motor are made for salt water use. The keel is big enough so it won't get much smaller. A good barrier coat (usually epoxy) is the key to low keel maintainance. The zinc on the motor is small, so keep an eye on it and replace as necessary. If you can keep the motor all the way out of the water when the boat is at anchor or at the dock, not even the tip of the bottom of the motor touching the water, that will help the motor a lot.
It doesn't matter to the trailer if the boat goes in to salt water. If you rinse the trailer well after immersion in salt water (if you do an occaisional salt trip) it will be OK for quite a while. Rinse the inside of the tongue as well as you can. The boat and motor are made for salt water use. The keel is big enough so it won't get much smaller. A good barrier coat (usually epoxy) is the key to low keel maintainance. The zinc on the motor is small, so keep an eye on it and replace as necessary. If you can keep the motor all the way out of the water when the boat is at anchor or at the dock, not even the tip of the bottom of the motor touching the water, that will help the motor a lot.
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