Corrosion is a boat owner’s nightmare. It causes expensive damage. It quickly spreads. It’s even irreversible!
Protecting your boat against corrosion is imperative. Without taking the proper preventative measures, you could face a fortune in repair bills. You may even be stuck buying a new boat!
Here at RVs and Boats for Less, we strive to make your life easier. That’s why we created the following guide to preventing corrosion. If you have any questions or want to explore boats for sale, head over to our dealership. We are based in Chubbuck, Idaho, and proudly serve those in Idaho Falls and Pocatello as well.
How Corrosion Works
It’s helpful to start with an understanding of how corrosion works, then dive into the specific maintenance steps. There are different types of corrosion, but the relevant one in this situation is galvanic corrosion.
It begins with two materials that differ in their atomic makeup. Another way to phrase it is that there are two metals of dissimilar electric potential. The materials then encounter an electrolyte pool. A positive and negative charge in the materials then gets activated.
This process creates a sort of battery. One metal becomes the cathode, which is the negatively charged material. The other metal becomes the anode, which is the positively charged material. The cathode then attracts electrons from the anode, which results in it losing particles. The anode then begins to break down and corrosion occurs.
High Risk Galvanic Corrosion Areas
Galvanic corrosion is more likely to happen at certain areas of a boat, such as parts that are steel and bronze or parts that are steel and aluminum. Other common spots include around the propeller or the mast. It’s important to protect your boat from corrosion, especially in the high risk areas.
Standards Of The American Boat And Yacht Council
An organization named the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) has standards you can look to. These standards factor in a boat’s materials and give information about when it’s safe from corrosion. Follow the requirements to prevent corrosion.
Using Sacrificial Anodes
You won’t be able to control whether galvanic corrosion happens. It’s an inevitable chemical process. But you can control where the corrosion takes place.
All you need is a metal known as the sacrificial anode. This metal is able to draw the corrosion to itself. That way, the corrosion won’t be happening at other parts of the boat (such as the hull and propeller).
There are a few different metals used as sacrificial anodes. The most common choice used to be zinc. But it lost popularity due to the fact that it oxidizes in freshwater. More common options today are aluminum and magnesium.
During the selection process, you will want to use a multimeter. This helps you determine the hull’s potential. Use the voltage reading and ABYC standards to know how much you will have to offset.
Keep in mind that corrosion will slowly damage the sacrificial anodes. They will eventually need to be replaced or supplemented with more sacrificial anodes.
We hope you found this guide helpful! For more maintenance advice or to get professional maintenance assistance, visit the experts at RVs and Boats for Less. We offer a parts replacement and service department that can keep your boat running well. We also sell a range of boats. Whatever you need, you can find with us. Our dealership is located in Chubbuck, Idaho. We also serve those in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, Idaho.
