Where's My Zinc ?

[Capt Phil]

lowride14, what is the hull material? the reason I ask is that if it is wood and the sacrificial zincs have not been changed out for some time, there might be some hull integrity issues. What can happen is if through hulls are not properly bonded to the zincs, the electrolysis can affect the lignen in the wood adjacent to the through hulls and weaken the surrounding structure. Don't mean to alarm you, but it is worth keeping in mind on your next haulout. Not difficult to fix yourself but you would need to remove the through hull, replace the affect planking, sistering up between existing ribs and re-install the through hull. Don't believe it is a problem with GRP material. you will find these forums a wealth of info on practically everything marine related. Don't be afraid to ask... cheers, Capt Phil

[lowride14]

I'm loving these forums captphil!! Well my hull is wood, and it is due to be hauled out and painted and some minor repairs done. one of which is i need to change the threw hull fittings because they are all gate valves, and one of them I'm pretty sure has corroded threw the stem because it just turns and turns and turns, no stops. luckily it moored in vancouver and it only sees a few really cold nights a year. I have an electric radiator running between the motors on low to prevent any further damage.

[Capt Phil]

While she is hauled out, I would change out all gate valve through hulls as they all will fail eventually in a salt water environment. Check the wooden backing plate under the valve mounting flange with an ice pick to determine integrity. If the new mounting holes don't match up with the old, drill out the old to a SLIGHTLY larger diameter and fill and glue with dowels of same wood then mount new through hull. A quick coat of 2 part penetrating epoxy over the backing block inside the hull before mounting the new valve will add to integrity. Be careful of electric heaters in gas powered enclosed engine compartments, even at low setting. An electric light bulb of mid wattage could do the job in Vancouver... cheers, Capt Phil

[lowride14]

Yeah my heater is between the motors but i also have the floor panel between the motors off so the heat can rise into the rest of the boat. not ideal but being as i'm 90% sure my thruhull valve is shot, and open i just wanted to be on the safe side.

a few weeks ago all the waterlines to each slip froze and destroyed the pvc pipes and they were all turned on a little bit.