Anodes

[tomandsophie]

We'll be taking Tarifa down to Bristol next week to take her out of the water at Underfall Historic Boatyard to do the blacking. (Just as an aside, when I phoned the boatyard when trying to find a place on the West K&A to take our 57x10'6 boat out of the water [a very difficult thing to find] I asked if the slipway was big enough and was asked "is it smaller than 120' x 40' and less than 300 tonnes?" He he he).

Anyway, I think we might need some new anodes. Do I just buy them and find somebody to weld them on for me?

I was wondering about getting 4 anode-size steel plates welded on, and welding two bolts onto these plates so that in future I can simply bolt my own anodes on rather than having to pay somebody else to do it. Is that a silly idea? Is it an expensive job?

[ditchcrawler]

We'll be taking Tarifa down to Bristol next week to take her out of the water at Underfall Historic Boatyard to do the blacking. (Just as an aside, when I phoned the boatyard when trying to find a place on the West K&A to take our 57x10'6 boat out of the water [a very difficult thing to find] I asked if the slipway was big enough and was asked "is it smaller than 120' x 40' and less than 300 tonnes?" He he he).

Anyway, I think we might need some new anodes. Do I just buy them and find somebody to weld them on for me?

I was wondering about getting 4 anode-size steel plates welded on, and welding two bolts onto these plates so that in future I can simply bolt my own anodes on rather than having to pay somebody else to do it. Is that a silly idea? Is it an expensive job?

It is normal to weld the new anodes on and leave the old ones as well as while there is metal on them they should keep working. I think you will get a better connection to the hull welding direct, you could get corrosion on the joint with bolts, You will probably find that some at the boatyard will be able to weld them on for you, how long have the old ones been in use?

[kingfisher]

We'll be taking Tarifa down to Bristol next week to take her out of the water at Underfall Historic Boatyard to do the blacking. (Just as an aside, when I phoned the boatyard when trying to find a place on the West K&A to take our 57x10'6 boat out of the water [a very difficult thing to find] I asked if the slipway was big enough and was asked "is it smaller than 120' x 40' and less than 300 tonnes?" He he he).

Anyway, I think we might need some new anodes. Do I just buy them and find somebody to weld them on for me?

I was wondering about getting 4 anode-size steel plates welded on, and welding two bolts onto these plates so that in future I can simply bolt my own anodes on rather than having to pay somebody else to do it. Is that a silly idea? Is it an expensive job?

most docks will have someone available to weld them on and can usually supply them at a good price as they buy them in bulk

if your going down the bolt on method remember to make a template as it will make the job nice and easy in the future but......

the weld on method means that if your annodes still have a little bit of life left but may need replacing in the next year or so you can keep them on and weld the new ones on near them and let the old ones wear out (does that make sense i think paint fumes may of got to me !)

john

 

i must learn to type faster

[Smelly]

Out of interest how old were the anodes. I looked at ours while we were out over the weekend and wondered whether to have some new ones but not having expected it the bank manager's wincing face was enough to put me off. Ours, I believe, were 4 Kg ones when new.

 

I'll be keeping a close eye on ours, which are only three years and 5 months old as they seemed quite tired.

[RobinJ]

Anyway, I think we might need some new anodes. Do I just buy them and find somebody to weld them on for me?

I was wondering about getting 4 anode-size steel plates welded on, and welding two bolts onto these plates so that in future I can simply bolt my own anodes on rather than having to pay somebody else to do it. Is that a silly idea? Is it an expensive job?

I was lucky (or not) that she came with bolt on anodes! I am reassured that every time I replace them the water tank is not going to be damaged (paint falling off inside), but you do need to make sure there is good contact and unfortunately they don't come pre-drilled! Of course at the swim this is not an issue.

I do have a question though, if you continually weld anodes on, what effect does this have on the steel around the anodes? Does it harden, soften, lower conductivity or nothing at all?

[tomandsophie]

Thanks for the replies. To answer your question - our anodes have been on there since we launched in August 2005. They look pretty good, about half gone I guess, but I'd rather play it safe and get some new ones while she's out the water. I reckon I'll go down the weld-on route as I can see the advantage of keeping the old ones on too.

I think I'll be blacking the water tank while the boat's out the water (shudder) so I guess it would be best to weld on the new anodes first as I wonder if the heat of welding might affect the water tank blacking.

[Timleech]

Thanks for the replies. To answer your question - our anodes have been on there since we launched in August 2005. They look pretty good, about half gone I guess, but I'd rather play it safe and get some new ones while she's out the water. I reckon I'll go down the weld-on route as I can see the advantage of keeping the old ones on too.

I think I'll be blacking the water tank while the boat's out the water (shudder) so I guess it would be best to weld on the new anodes first as I wonder if the heat of welding might affect the water tank blacking.

 

If your water level in the tank is above the level of the welding, and if the welder 'goes gently', your paint should be OK.

 

Tim