HOW TO FIGHT CORROSION ABOARD YOUR BOAT
by Ron Ballanti
If you use your boat
in saltwater, there’s one problem you can count on – corrosion.
The corrosive effects of salt water and sea air can pit and destroy your
on-deck hardware, turn moving parts into stationary ones, and wreak havoc
on your wiring and marine electronics.
This doesn’t
mean, however, that boaters are powerless against the effects of corrosion.
The key is vigilance. You need to develop a regular routine of maintenance
and preventative measures and stick to them over the long run.
The most basic step
is to thoroughly wash your boat after every trip. Simply spraying your
boat down with fresh water is not enough. You need to sponge off everything
with a mild soap – dishwashing liquid or Simple Green are good –
and then rinse well. Don’t spray water directly onto exposed electronics
like fishfinders and nav aids. Wipe these off with a clean, slightly damp
cloth and treat them with a corrosion inhibitor (we’ll discuss
these later).
Corrosion will attack
any metal – even stainless. When it does, it’s like a cancer.
Left untreated, it will spread to other places and cause serious damage.
So it’s important to treat or remove minor corrosion problems while
they are still small.
If possible, replace
any heavily corroded hardware such as cleats or hinges. Pay close attention
to the mounting screw on railings, grab rails, hatches and any deck hardware.
If you see rusty stains on these, it’s a sign that salt water has
seeped between the screw and fiberglass or wood and hidden corrosion may
be forming under the deck, bulkhead or gunwale.
When you replace any
hardware, it’s important to properly seal the bolts or screws with
marine bedding compound to prevent this problem from recurring.
Scratches in stainless
or aluminum railings can allow corrosion to get a foothold, so it’s
important to treat these right away (a tip – don’t clean rails
and T-tops with steel wool; it causes small scratches which can rust over
time). If you do see a scratch in stainless, smooth it out with fine grit
(#600) sandpaper and buff it out with metal polish.
If there are scratches
on your outboard motor or outdrive, immediately touch these up with paint
from the manufacturer. In addition, check the sacrificial zinc anodes.
These anodes (which should be bonded to the engine by contact or bonding
wires) are made of zinc and “sacrifice themselves to the effects
of galvanic corrosion, thus protecting the lower unit or outdrive. As
they do their job, they rot away, so it’s important to check them
frequently. If they are more than 50 percent gone, replace them with new
ones.
Proper grounding of
your electronics systems can also prevent galvanic corrosion. Don’t
attempt to take a short cut by running a ground wire to a through-hull
fitting. Mount a grounding shoe. Even the smallest amount of stray voltage
through the ground wire can cause rapid galvanic corrosion. I learned
this from experience. Fortunately, the price of the lesson was only a
dead bait pump. It could have been much worse.
Another potential
corrosion trouble spot is wherever two dissimilar metals meet. For example,
corrosion will form where stainless screws are set in aluminum. Treating
both metals with a product called Tef-Gel will keep this from happening.
It’s also very
important to check all wiring periodically for any nicks in the insulation.
Replace any damaged section immediately. Pell back the insulation until
you’re sure you’ve found all the corrosion (you may need
to replace an entire wire). Using marine-wire-grade wire of the same gauge,
repair or replace the damaged section. Use marine connectors and coat
all connections with liquid electrical tape for extra protection.
Fortunately, several
advanced products have recently been developed to help boaters treat and
prevent corrosion. They work very well, and should be applied regularly
to just about any surface – T-tops, hardware, engines, electronics,
wiring – you name it. Some of the most popular are Corrosion-X and
Boeshield T-9. Boeshield T-9, which was developed by the Boeing Aircraft
Corporation to protect jet aircraft, works in an unusual way. It leaves
an invisible, durable wax coating to prevent rust from forming. Boeshield
also offers a phosphoric acid-based corrosion “pre-treatment”,
called Rust Free, which can safely remove surface rust and rust stains
from all metals, fiberglass and fabrics.
You can never completely
eliminate corrosion on your boat. However, if you regularly inspect your
vessel (above decks and below) and take the proper maintenance steps,
you can keep corrosion under control. It may be hard work, but doing so
will help protect your investment and ensure trouble-free days on the
water for you and your boat.
About the Author:
Ron Ballanti is a veteran outdoor writer, boater and angler. He also owns
and operates Strike Zone Communications, a marine public relations and
marketing agency based in Northridge, California (Phone: (818) 349-4608.
Fax: (818) 709-5524. e-mail: strikezne@earthlink.net).
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