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Old 27-05-2015, 12:08   #1
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Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

I need some adult supervision for my first time hauling-out.

I've got an Ericson 34 that I keep in Southeast Alaska. The last time the boat was out of the water was July 2013 during the pre-buy inspection. At that time the surveyor said the bottom paint was in good shape and we replaced the zinc on the shaft.

Questions are:

With the boat in the water, how do I tell if I need to haul-out to re-paint and replace the zincs? We get very little growth here.

No other repairs need to be done below (that I know of!) is there any pressing reason to haul-out?

Thanks in advance!
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Old 27-05-2015, 12:16   #2
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Two years and you haven't checked the zinc anodes? Yikes! You had better get someone to check it or go under yourself to have a look asap. If the zinc is gone, you can end up with some serious corrosion issues with the prop or shaft.
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Old 27-05-2015, 12:21   #3
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Alaska? It stays in water during winter? Pulling every couple of years is cheap preventive maintenance. Zink are inexpensive as well. If no growth and paint not coming off paint should be ok.

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Old 27-05-2015, 12:22   #4
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Unless you see growth of barnacles, grass, or excessive slime, your bottom paint is probably fine.

The zincs are another matter. The only way to tell if they are still good is a visual inspection and I shudder to think of getting into the water in Alaska. If you have an easy, relatively inexpensive way to either pull the boat or at least expose the zincs, that's the way to go.

I recently pulled my boat and not only the zincs were gone but also the prop, 4 through hulls, and the bob stay and Spurs. A couple thousand later I'm now older, wiser, and poorer.


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Old 27-05-2015, 12:33   #5
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

I used to go 2 years in Puget Sound. Mostly just because I didn't want to "let it go". It's not a bottom paint challenging area compared with southern waters. You can get more growth in the Caribe in a month than you would likely get in 20 years in Puget Sound. Zinc's should be replaced though... and your prop inspected for growth.
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Old 27-05-2015, 13:44   #6
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

You should have a local diver that can check your zincs. If no growth, your paint is fine. My boat had sat unused in Nanaimo, BC for 6 years when I bought it. Not much growth, and it came off with pressure washing. Zincs were almost gone.
Depending on where I am spending my time, I have a diver look over the bottom and zincs every year. Usually $50-100.
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Old 27-05-2015, 14:00   #7
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Lucky you Lepke,

Here in SW FL the water temp frequently comes up to 90 deg F and we have to pay divers almost every month to clean our hulls. Also, being on a river the amount of nutrients to feed the critters is amazing. There have been times I dove on my boat and even with a light visibility was only 2-3 inches.

What you describe would be nirvana to us.

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Old 28-05-2015, 08:02   #8
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Can you have too many zincs on a boat?
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Old 28-05-2015, 08:13   #9
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

My limited experience is I have to replace zincs about three times a yr., but I am pretty sure I'm changing earlier than I have to, but I see them as cheap insurance.
As far as too many, assuming a fiberglass sailboat you can protect the prop, shaft and what else with zincs? Only so much room for zincs.

I'm also the guy why hangs one of those useless Guppy zincs in the water. I'm primarily using it as an indicator, too many times I've seen significant damage done to peoples boats because a new boat is in the slip next to them etc., and if they had warning of course they could have prevented that. My theory is watch the Guppy, if it suddenly starts getting eaten up, then I need to look into why.
Guppy is connected to the bonding system in my boat, by itself it wouldn't work of course.
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:04   #10
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Install a galvanic isolater. This beaks the DC loop and let's you keep your AC ground.It effectively isolates you from all other boats plugged into the same dock circuit. I promise you'll see a difference. Avoid over zincing. I'm in SE Fl, and, after one and a half years, I have 90 per cent of my zinc and 90 per cent of my Sea Hawk hard paint. My dive is going down to wipe the slime off right now. .a couple of barnacles on the two blade prop..
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:13   #11
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Here are a couple places I've ordered from, lots of info available from them:
BoatZincs.com (978-841-9978) – The Online Superstore for Zinc Anodes
Harbor Anodes | Harbor Island SupplyHarbor Island Supply
Every boat is different, the waters you are in makes a difference, and you can over zinc a boat, wooden boats in particular. I'd talk to your dock mates and the local boatyard, as they will know the local conditions. The local bottom cleaning service will be very helpful. Dave
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:16   #12
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Quote:
Originally Posted by anacapaisland42 View Post
Can you have too many zincs on a boat?
When it comes to fiberglass boats, you would have to try very hard to put too many anodes on your boat.
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:28   #13
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

On zincs, it really depends on your area and your boat. I get about 3 years out of my zincs in south Mississippi on a fiberglass boat. They are not really even but about halfway gone at that point, but I change them out anyway.

I'm pulling my boat tomorrow, so I'll post a picture of mine when I get a chance.
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:31   #14
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

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On zincs, it really depends on your area and your boat. I get about 3 years out of my zincs in south Mississippi on a fiberglass boat. They are not really even but about halfway gone at that point, but I change them out anyway.
Anodes that last that long are not doing their job. You aren't keeping your boat in fresh or brackish water by any chance are you?
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:54   #15
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Re: Haul-out, bottom paint, and zincs

Quote:
Originally Posted by edokarura View Post
I need some adult supervision for my first time hauling-out.

I've got an Ericson 34 that I keep in Southeast Alaska. The last time the boat was out of the water was July 2013 during the pre-buy inspection. At that time the surveyor said the bottom paint was in good shape and we replaced the zinc on the shaft.

Questions are:

With the boat in the water, how do I tell if I need to haul-out to re-paint and replace the zincs? We get very little growth here.

No other repairs need to be done below (that I know of!) is there any pressing reason to haul-out?

Thanks in advance!
Hi edokarura,

In a way you answered your own question:

Quote:
No other repairs need to be done below (that I know of!) is there any pressing reason to haul-out?
Sometimes there is no other way to know if any repairs are needed short of close inspection... [Camera/diver/haul-out]

We are in Southeast Alaska too, so we are familiar with the historical lack of bottom growth [we always use ablative paint.] Anodes and other maintenance intervals are not overly influenced by our geographic location, however.

In between required insurance survey haul-outs every other year, we use a GoPro camera on a pole to perform cursory underwater inspections- especially of anodes and prop. We can always take a closer look with the camera if we spot something in previous recordings... [We keep the videos/photos for historical and insurance purposes as well...]

There are two main reasons we haul-out: preventative maintenance [typically bottom cleaning/painting and anode inspection/replacement] and inspection for previously unknown issues and/or a survey [needed every two years for many cruising insurance policies...]

A distant third reason for hauling-out is adding/removing/replacing a through-hull fitting, prop and prop shaft related maintenance, etc. A fourth reason is after an underwater 'event' [e.g., hard grounding, collision, allision, etc.]

I should mention our zinc anodes historically last a long time [2+ years] probably because we have a galvanic isolator. [i.e., It helps electrically isolate our boat from other 'hot' boats in marina settings...] That said, we still replace seemingly perfectly good anodes during our insurance survey haul-out every other year... If nothing else this renews their electrical connection to the boat.

May you never find any surprises upon hauling-out ...

Touch bases if you are inclined and in our neighborhood...
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