Message 8 of 8
Posted by member Clive Ffitch on Thursday 15 December 2016

Thanks Simon, very good food for thought indeed - I have stainless plates and stainless screws and when in the water Adele is on a swinging mooring, so hopefully no local shore power/ earth leakage issues, but I am now more uneasy about no tab anodes at all! I shall draw a screw or two in the spring to inspect for any corrosion. Not sure about the fun of having to drill holes in the stainless tabs to fit any anodes, without having to take the bliddy things off to do it though!!! Oh the joys of boating! Clive

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Message 6 of 8
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Friday 9 December 2016

Hi Robert and Clive. I have found over many surveys that Trim Tab anodes are essential for any vessel kept afloat - though the anode help protect the trim planes, they are really important for protecting the screw fastenings that hold the planes to the hull - I have pulled a few planes off the backs of boats over the years with very little effort - the screw heads just pop off! Corrosion rates can be due to a 12v current leak on board (12v seems far more destructive than 240v - but 240v can still be bad), but if your engine bracket in not corroding, this is unlikely. The likley cause is some over local power leak - either from ashore (pontoon piling or bank side piling) or a boat with a power fault - this is not as uncommon as it sounds - in short - never trust another owners boat!!). hauley used to eat tab anodes -but I'd get a couple of years out of each. Also stainless does seem to cause anodes to waste at a greater rate than aluminium, we see this with sterndrives fitted with stainless propellers. In short - check for any bonding issues (tabs are not usually bonded - so shouldn't be a big issues), check for any local issues, and then, fit bigger trim tabs! Dartmouth has fairly high corrosion rates, but Chichester yacht basin used to be very high... Cheers Simon.

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Message 4 of 8
Posted by member robert sneddon on Wednesday 26 October 2016

Thanks for your comments lads. They are not bonded to each other or to the outboard or any other skin fitting. They are just stand alone anodes fitted to each tab. The outboard tilts clear of the water when moored however this still leaves the anode on the bottom of the outboard bracket submerged and I can get at least a couple of seasons from that one along with the small button anode which is fitted to my Suzuki DF70. I'm happy they are doing the job there supposed to, I just wonder if I'm missing something as the wear does seem excessive. Kind regards Robert.

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Message 2 of 8
Posted by member Peter Cox on Monday 24 October 2016

Robert I can't answer your question but perhaps some more information from you might tempt someone else to chip in. Are both your tabs electrically bonded to each other? Are they bonded to the outboard and/or to any skin fittings? Do you/can you tilt the outboard clear of the water when moored? Anodes in general seem to be a bit of a black art, with several conflicting opinions around, but I hope you find a solution. Peter

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