E35-3 Prop Shaft Strut - a look inside - and a zinc question

[dhill]

My boat doesn't have the Newmar, but has a Charles 30 amp battery charger instead. I don't know if it was original, but I suspect not. Mine is installed under the galley sink, which is probably not the best place for it.

I reinstalled the clamps on the galley drain pipe.

 

[Dave G.]

My boat doesn't have the Newmar, but has a Charles 30 amp battery charger instead.

I would replace that with a modern multi-stage smart unit. There are many marine rated brands, I personally went with the Guest 10a x 2 bank. I think it was about $150 a couple years ago. They are also much smaller and lighter so easy to relocate and mount. My house batteries (2 x 6v) are pretty much wet cell golf cart spec units & use much less water/maintenance since swapping charger as they don't get "boiled" by the old dumb charger.

 

[jtsai]

I would replace that with a modern multi-stage smart unit. There are many marine rated brands, I personally went with the Guest 10a x 2 bank. I think it was about $150 a couple years ago. They are also much smaller and lighter so easy to relocate and mount. My house batteries (2 x 6v) are pretty much wet cell golf cart spec units & use much less water/maintenance since swapping charger as they don't get "boiled" by the old dumb charger.

I believe Cardinal Points' Charles 30 amp battery charger is a marine grade multi-stage charger.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

@dhill @jtsai @trickdhat @Jerry VB @Kenneth K @Loren Beach
Thanks everyone for your input. For now we'll just avoid hooking up to shore power. There are too many other projects to take up time and money. Also, I don't want to start randomly replacing parts. Instead I'd like to work out a comprehensive plan for upgrading the electrical system and make sure everything we put in will play well together. For now the only thing we'll be adding is a small solar panel to throw topsides while the boat is on the mooring. All you've said is very helpful.
Cheers! Jeff

 

[Prairie Schooner]

We were on a mad dash to get the boat launched this spring and I'm back-filling project updates now. This is a follow-up to my earlier follow-up.
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/thread...-inside-and-a-zinc-question.19649/post-161033

We concluded the blistering under the PropSpeed was due to galvanic action and put an anode on the strut. It pained me deeply to drill a hole through it. I know it won't weaken the strut in any significant way, but it seemed such a violation to put a hole in that beautiful bronze. We also stripped the old PropSpeed from the strut and reapplied it. At the yard I shaped the back of the anode puck a bit with a float file to try to match the contour of the strut 'foil'. The idea being to have as much metal/metal contact as possible. Next year I'll probably do this a bit more aggressively/accurately with my studio belt sander.



The aft shaft anode was in pretty good shape so I just filed the surface clean. The forward shaft anode was replaced.

To restate earlier info, there is no connection between the strut mount and anything metal inside the boat. It is completely encapsulated in epoxy.

Next year our plans include stripping the old bottom paint. It looks like the surface of the moon right now!

 

[Pete the Cat]

We were on a mad dash to get the boat launched this spring and I'm back-filling project updates now. This is a follow-up to my earlier follow-up.
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/thread...-inside-and-a-zinc-question.19649/post-161033

We concluded the blistering under the PropSpeed was due to galvanic action and put an anode on the strut. It pained me deeply to drill a hole through it. I know it won't weaken the strut in any significant way, but it seemed such a violation to put a hole in that beautiful bronze. We also stripped the old PropSpeed from the strut and reapplied it. At the yard I shaped the back of the anode puck a bit with a float file to try to match the contour of the strut 'foil'. The idea being to have as much metal/metal contact as possible. Next year I'll probably do this a bit more aggressively/accurately with my studio belt sander.

View attachment 47382

The aft shaft anode was in pretty good shape so I just filed the surface clean. The forward shaft anode was replaced.

To restate earlier info, there is no connection between the strut mount and anything metal inside the boat. It is completely encapsulated in epoxy.

Next year our plans include stripping the old bottom paint. It looks like the surface of the moon right now!

I have carried this configuration for 25 years after I replaced the 10 year old strut and never had another problem. Drilling the hole was a good idea. You cannot over zinc a fiberglass boat.