James
You have a problem. I assume that the zincs hadn’t been serviced in 3 years. While it wouldn’t be unusual for zincs to fail within a 3 year period, its a very bad idea to allow them to dissolve and leave the boat unprotected. The bronze through hulls, rudder shaft, cutless bearing, and any other below-waterline metal fittings that I missed may have been damaged. In addition, your engine heat exchanger and V-drive case may have been damaged. Since the paint in the vacinity of the through-hulls was damaged, I would wonder if there is an electrical problem with the AC power serivce in your marina.

Don’t panic yet, the boat is well built and you may have caught the problem in time. I would suggest having the metal fittings inspected however, both inside and outside the hull. Don’t forget to service your engine zinc too if you have one. My guess is that you might endup replacing your shaft and prop but the through-hulls will all look OK.

Zincs normally last 6 to 12 months. If you’re going to leave the boat for an extended period of time, its a good idea to drop in a zinc-fish. This is a zinc plate on a wire cable that clamps to your rigging. You drop it over the side to add extra protection.

Rich
BlackSheep #47

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Hi James,

Here's what I'd add to that, although I think Rich will disagree. First, unbond all those through hull fittings. Bonding them ensures they will become part of a bad electrical circuit, and will corrode. I would be very worried if there was an issue with them.

Rub all your through hull fittings with a 120 grit sandpaper, preferably wet-or-dry type. If they show the slightest pinkness (you'll see it, believe me) then they need replacement, no if, ands, or buts. They should show a golden yellow. I happen to like the Marelon valves. Rich, I think, prefers bronze. Marelon never ever corrodes. Bronze, of course, does. Marelon is less expensive than bronze. Freezing is an issue with Marelon and bronze, but my hunch is that Marelon doesn't split like bronze does. It may crack but when pressure is released it will go back to its former shape. It will still leak, but not as disasterously.

In the Pearson, the electrical grounds, bonding system, and AC grounds are all tied together. This is not so good. In fact, it's really frowned on now. Easily dealt with, but most don't bother.

Again, my two cents.

Bob

On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 2:05 PM, < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Nevermind my post except for the bonding and ground issue. They all go to the lower bars in the electrical closet near the companionway. All grounds are linked together. Black can be the AC or DC, green is the bonding system. At least in the '78 models.

Bob

On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 2:43 PM, james bartch < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Many thanks for the responce. I had a great survey and during the haul out – checked rudder post, shaft Max prop (polished and shined) cutless checked out fine, did the bottom job with petit trinadad$ and had The surveyor used was the same form the 05 purchase so we ahd some history on the vessel. I am hoping the the problem is recent.

i am pretty sure that the guy Mark Brewer (previous to the 06 sale) was a real sailor and if i could would like to compliament him on his work . I found the vessel was preped as he left it o6 right down the the dried nuts and fruit in the ditch bag…… (ready to curise) almost! That being said i wanted to get to this stray current issue…..

i have not done a detailed search of the site but would like to get some electrical plans if possible …. to start with.

note: the condition of the thru hulls – other than needing to be cleaned was “good” no pink, or signs of failure. shaft and prop was fine. short of pulling them for inspection, cutless was tight.

i like the drop zinc idea, it does not appear that this boat was sailed much in the last two years, the owner did send a fair amount on the engine and i am told the v drive was rebuilt a year or so ago???

now she has a fresh bottom job, zincs at the prop, shaft and rudder post base, hull rubbed out and polished and i am in the process of cleanup all the grounding connections inside but have not found the grounding bus yet so i can trace all the ground leads. she has a 50 amp serice and 50 power coard in to the boat, inverter, ssb and most all crusing gear….

that is about all i know at this point, still hoping the problem is recent but not for sure… we picked it picked her on the survey……….

please continue with your comments,,, aloha from hawaii

—
Bob Fine
s/v Pelican
Hull #8

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