Zincs

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Well, that big hull zinc could safely last a very long time, ...

There are four of those along each side of the hull bottom, as well as propeller and rudder zincs. So far, feel well-protected.

But I always thought the less salt in the water, the less problem with electrolysis.

[jaxfishgyd]

Let's go back to the beginning of this post..

A. my diver ASKED me to provide the zincs
B. The Diver tells me what his prices are and I pay them
C. I just posted where to get zincs a lot cheaper.
D. Someone 3000 miles to the west says I'm ripping my diver off and I'm a POS.......
E. Someone 5000 miles to the east agrees
F. If my diver is happy, and I've done what he asks, who cares what other divers charge or say. It's none of their business.. Put some flowers in your hair and chill out

[cburks]

Ok. I'm new. What are zincs for???

[foggysail]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Your boat lives in Vallejo, yes? It is likely that you should be using aluminum anodes, not zinc. Aluminum anodes are best for brackish environments. If your prop & rudder zinc anodes are lasting several years or more, they are not doing their job. They are supposed to deplete faster than that.

Yes, and aluminum also works well in salt water. The voltage differences between zinc and aluminum is small with zinc at -1.05 and aluminum at -1.1v.

You are fortunate to have so many bottom jobs in your area! Around here you might starve but remember, boating here is seasonal.

Back to anodes--- folks really should consider aluminum for many reasons. two reasons include they are much less expensive and second they have a much high total ampacity/pound. They might also consider actually measuring the effectiveness of their anodes using a half cell. I find most people use far more than needed but that is a different topic.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by cburks

Ok. I'm new. What are zincs for???

Read this:

BoatUS – BoatTech – Sacrificial Zincs by Don Casey

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by jaxfishgyd

D. Someone 3000 miles to the west says I'm ripping my diver off and I'm a POS.......

Nobody said either of things.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Nobody said either of things.

Quite, what we pointed out is that acutally you are getting a good service at that price, but I do wonder if its sustainable to work for that price? Perhaps an 18yr old as a summer job, but a professional diver? probably not with all the costs of being self employed taken into account.

Still if he is happy to dive for that then keep him happy.

Pete

[DivingOtter]

I usually only do commercial ship husbandry and do not stock zincs. I DO however provide them when i know the specifications on the vessel ( most commercial guys usually have a stock pile anyway ). When people tell me my prices are too high and try to haggle I tell them good luck and see ya later or to go have their boat hauled and tell me how much they are charged. Im past trying to justify my prices. If you want the job done right im available, if you want to go cheap and get the scuba bottle guy thats fine too I could care less. Ive run into more than my fair share of people who were paying for services that unknown to them were only cleaned where you could see. Everything else was untouched, zincs completely gone, wheel damage etc etc. Basically people blowing bubbles and taking peoples money.

[DivingOtter]

For me, by the time its said and done im making maybe 22 dollars an hour. Pay my topside tender, fuel and insurance and usually 12 % fee for a marina there isnt much meat on the bone. It also really breaks my heart when people tell me they need to have their boat cleaned to go to Marthas Vineyard for a month long excursion on a 120 ft yacht then claim " they dont have that kind of money" .

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by DivingOtter

...and usually 12 % fee for a marina...

You pay the marina for the privilege of providing their tenants with a service? Jeezus, that's sounds like a racket. 'Course it is New Jersey, after all.

[DivingOtter]

Yep .. Oh well.. " OUR customer doesnt want to have their boat hauled, so pay " us " 12% for taking money out of " our " pocket. I actually had one marina in Atlantic City that told me to eff myself off that they have a travelift and never use divers call me because guess what? their travelift broke. I asked if they remembered telling me to go screw myself and they said well youve gotta understand its taking our business. Since im the only commercial guy in the area that does jobs that small and has insurance they were forced to call me. I very politely said its kind of a drive so it will be 600 dollars for the wheel change plus 75 dollar fee for travel which I expected the marina to pay. When they told me they would only give me 400 total I said Im sorry, im not interested. They let a local scuba diver come in to change the wheel who lost the keyway AND the wheel to the vessel. My prices are what they are because like I said above, you get what you pay for. Now the marina had to pay for a new wheel because the diver they hired couldnt locate it because the visibility was too poor. I let them know thats why you tie the wheel off to port and starboard and that my 675 dollars was alot cheaper than a new wheel. They asked if I was available to come find the wheel, I said no, sorry im busy. lesson learned? most likely not.

[fstbttms]

If I had to go through all of that and only bring home $22/hour to boot, I'd find something else to do.

[DivingOtter]

Its the fun jobs like salvage, welding and subsea burning that keep me going my friend. Some days cookies, some days crumbs. Thats why I hate getting calls for ship work outside of commercial vessels.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by jaxfishgyd

Dispite "common misconception".. us powerboaters do not like to throw money away any more than sailors.....
A diver will spend an ave of 30 mins cleaning my hull and walk away with $72-100 cash (depending on what marina I'm at) You figure he does 5-6 boats a day (his numbers, not mine) and now he's making $400-600 a day, tax free.
I will gladly buy the zincs and have them onboard...... he makes more than enough already

From this post we should learn that : Unlike other small businesses, hull divers : have no overheads (insurance, healthcare costs, social security taxes, equipment purchase and maintenance, fuel, etc etc) and don't pay any taxes. Or are you wrong?

[DivingOtter]

Mark, that which you quoted is what I hear nonstop. I have learned to face the fact that most people want everything for nothing until they are on the other end of it. I usually throw a comment in like this and yes this is true. Me: What do you do for a living? Customer:Surgeon.. Why? Me: So do your customers tell you when they want a boob job your crazy for charging your price? Customer:No because I do a good job and they dont want screwed up boobs ( laughing ). Me: Well, I do a good job so your boat doesnt get screwed up, yet your telling me im crazy when it comes to my prices..