My drives are in rough condition. What would you do?

[twentiesforever]

Hello all,

I have a 2014 SX240 that spends June into September in Lake Champlain. This is now season 6. So Collectively, it's been a total of 24 months or so floating. These is the condition of my drives and I'm a bit worried. Coating is coming off whatever had that black coating (powder coat?) and the other parts have a white powder that I think just needs a better scrubbing than powerwashing is doing. The zincs perhaps need changing now and a different type for freshwater. Is this going to cause any more issues? Do i need a rebuild and powder coat? Cost or effort involved? Im the type to keep things in good condition and rather be proactive but I may have slacked here due to inexperience.

Video of the problem.

 

[anmut]

Hello all,

I have a 2014 SX240 that spends June into September in Lake Champlain. This is now season 6. So Collectively, it's been a total of 24 months or so floating. These is the condition of my drives and I'm a bit worried. Coating is coming off whatever had that black coating (powder coat?) and the other parts have a white powder that I think just needs a better scrubbing than powerwashing is doing. The zincs perhaps need changing now and a different type for freshwater. Is this going to cause any more issues? Do i need a rebuild and powder coat? Cost or effort involved? Im the type to keep things in good condition and rather be proactive but I may have slacked here due to inexperience.

Video of the problem.

I would remove, sand, and paint them. You could have someone powdercoat for not a lot of money.

 

[twentiesforever]

I would remove, sand, and paint them. You could have someone powdercoat for not a lot of money.

How involved is it to remove? Hours? Risk of damaging something? And what is the risk if I did nothing? Is my issue common? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Scottintexas]

I'm also a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it",

I don't know what the long term effects of leaving it like that,

I do know pulling the jet nozzles is easy,
I tried to remove my grate/ride plate and ended up stripping a screw head,
that and pulling the plate that rests against the transom that the nozzle screws to could prove to try your patience, the nuts are not easy to get to and depending on the sealant could take patience to get off (although a member posted about removing one a few months ago with little problem)

we also had a salt water boater post pictures of his nozzles that he sanded and had powder coated, they looked very nice,


.

 

[tdonoughue]

I will throw my vote basically with @Scottintexas . If you are not having performance issues, I think this is mostly cosmetic. So, if you are the type who will want to pull off the grates and things and have them stripped and powder coated so they will look nice (and there is value to that), go ahead and do that. However, if you are just looking to make sure that your boat will continue to run, I don't think the chipping powder coat will affect much. It will get worse and worse, of course.

Same for the pumps. Looks like you have some growths on there or something, but nothing fatal. You can pull it (very easy--look in the FAQ), blast it, clean it, paint it, powder coat it, etc. It will look nice. But it won't work any better or worse.

As to the zincs, yours look fine. If you want to replace them, freshwater use would call for magnesium ones (rather than zinc), optimally. But then you will have almost no protection in salt water, should you dip in that someday. I found this: https://www.boatzincs.com/pdfs/Chart B.pdf

Hope that helps.

 

[twentiesforever]

@tdonoughue @Scottintexas im going to go with your recommendation and keep everything as is. My only concern is anytime in the future something catastrophic happens bc I didn't do the work now. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Canuckjetboater]

@tdonoughue @Scottintexas im going to go with your recommendation and keep everything as is. My only concern is anytime in the future something catastrophic happens bc I didn't do the work now. Thanks for the advice!

@twentiesforever ......from what I see it looks like galvanic corrosion, a natural phenomenon. I change my "zincs" which should be MAGNESIUM for fresh water every year. If you slip near slips with power the galvanic corrosion nis greatly sped-up. As a minimum I would (carefully) take a brass wire brush (hand or drill) to those areas and then spray with a marine epoxy paint. There are much more robust ways to proceed with special primers etc. that can easily be "googled" but as a bare (pun intended) I'd strip down the metals, tape-off the surrounding gel coat and paint the metal. Nothing good will come from leaving it like that.

 

[zipper]

@twentiesforever Which marina do you slip at? We are at Burlington Harbor Marina, in front of the coast guard station. I know there have been recent changes/upgrades to "the ferry dock" marina. New docks/power pedestals new GFI system. New mag zincs will help, but I would try to put a barrier coat of epoxy or powder coat over all that exposed aluminum if you continue to slip. Don't know if you slip in Burlington or Mallett's Bay based on the member map, I believe Burlington based on previous posts. If you are trailering, I'd say leave it as is. We both know that Burlington basically dumps its sewage, during a storm in the lake. Pollution can cause the corrosion to be worse.
In the video, the zebra mussels will come off with Starbrite instant hull cleaner, a stiff brush and a screwdriver to dig them out of the nooks. The pumps will clean up. But the chipping ride plates do not look to have any anode protection on them. In the pics. below are the ride plates on my 07 with anodes installed.


About the different causes of corrosion.

Electrolysis, Stray Current, Galvanic Corrosion on boats explained

Pictures taken today

 

[tdonoughue]

@zipper , is the ride plate anode the little cap looking thing in the top picture? I thought on mine that the anodes on the pump covered the ride plate? But now I am going to have to look for that. Or is it somewhere else?

But more fundamentally: is this (and what you have on your pumps above) galvanic corrosion? Perhaps all of the pictures I have seen are more severe? I would have thought if that were the issue that his anodes would be 1/2 eaten or so (and they look pristine).

 

[zipper]

@zipper , is the ride plate anode the little cap looking thing in the top picture? I thought on mine that the anodes on the pump covered the ride plate? But now I am going to have to look for that. Or is it somewhere else?

But more fundamentally: is this (and what you have on your pumps above) galvanic corrosion? Perhaps all of the pictures I have seen are more severe? I would have thought if that were the issue that his anodes would be 1/2 eaten or so (and they look pristine).

Yes, those are labeled (CMR+) anodes, both sides. blow up the picture, you will see it. I too have anodes on the pumps.

The white film build up, mixed in with dead zebra mussles is most likely light corrosion. But this rubs right off with your fingers and leaves a non pitted surface behind. I will do a before and after picture later today to show what I mean. That is what my pumps have looked like after I pull the boat out of the lake for the last 5 seasons, May to October. Only the zebra mussels have gotten worse.

In @twentiesforever video, the build up on the pumps looks normal after a season or two on a slip in this Lake. If you look down the nozzle at the cone, it has the same build up and I do not believe it is made from aluminum, though I could be mistaken. I do see his pump anodes and they look like they are working, I see some pitting on them and the pumps don't look that bad. He rubs it off to a smooth surface. It's the ride plate that is all pitted and I do not see any anodes present on them in the video.

 

[zipper]

@tdonoughue Whatever it is, it rubs off easily and they do need to be cleaned up and sprayed down with a coat of lube, to slow the oxidation.

I shot this today...

I think that @twentiesforever 's pump zincs are working for the pumps. The ride plate, not so much. There may be zinc's I did not see, but are they working?

 

[tdonoughue]

Right. Ok, that makes sense. See, I have had that same white stuff on my pumps and have rubbed it off the same way (with no pitting, etc.). So that all aligns with what I thought.

But now I need to go back to that ride plate above, and to mine, and see what the anode situation is there. Good eye. Thanks for the education!

 

[zipper]

But now I need to go back to that ride plate above, and to mine, and see what the anode situation is there. Good eye. Thanks for the education!

I can see the mounting screw locations for the anodes on both ride plates. At least the section connected to the intake grate. The other section of ride plate may share the pump zinc. When you look, look for the mounting screws from the bottom. In his video, I can see briefly the screw and possibly an anode on top of the ride plate on port side. I see a screw on starboard side but no anode.

Port side anode screw from bottom.



Starboard side zinc mounting screw from bottom.



I dont have a good view from the top during the video.

Starboard...I dont see a zinc, I do see a dome shape that looks black in the lower left corner. I can't see the port side to screenshot.



Better pictures of the top of the ride plates would show if they are present or sacrificed away. There is too much bare aluminum for my comfort level to wet slip another season without a fix. I would remove the ride plates and use a marine epoxy primer/paint to cover everything but the anode mounting locations.
@twentiesforever Are there anodes on top of your ride plates?

 

[tdonoughue]

I am appropriately tutored... Thank you, @zipper !

Um, listen to what he said...