Corrosion can be hard to spot and as dangerous as a pest infestation for your boat! However, corrosion is preventable, and we’ve listed a number of measures you can take to keep corrosion from affecting your vessel.
If you are having trouble protecting your boat against corrosion, even after following our helpful tips, come see one of our certified service technicians. Our dealerships in Rancho Cordova and Homewood, California offer intensive detailing with both protective sealants and waxes. You can find more information on our repair services here, but if your corrosion problem is minimal or you’re simply looking for preventative tips, just keep reading!
There’s some contention on how often a person should clean their boat, largely because there’s no one answer. In general, a boat needs a good cleaning once it begins to look dirty. It will also need a full polish and wax detailing once every 4 months or so. However, to prevent corrosion your ship should be rinsed and dried every time it leaves the water.
Corrosion affects every ship regardless of its hull material, as metal can be found somewhere on every boat. However, marine-grade stainless steel has some good corrosion resistance! It’s still important to regularly inspect and clean your boat’s stainless steel parts, often with a soft towel and some dish soap.
Be warned, when in regular contact with aluminum, stainless steel can lose its corrosion resistance (for example, steel screws on an aluminum propeller) even speeding up the chemical process of corrosion.
One of the cheapest and easiest-to-use tools for preventing corrosion on your boat is a cover! They can be bought at most boating supplies stores or dealerships and are as simple as covering your boat after it has been rinsed and dried.
Arguably more effective is a sacrificial anode, a piece of metal that draws in corrosion and takes damage in lieu of more important parts of the ship, such as the hull. Aluminum and magnesium are popular metals for this tool but be sure to use a multimeter on your ship’s hull before deciding. The meter should read your ship’s voltage which will tell you what kind of metal will be best for offsetting your corrosion.
While corrosion is often recognizable as rust, in its early appearances it’s a white powdery substance. This substance will begin to appear soon after the paint on your boat begins to blister under the water line. As soon as these blisterings begin to appear, take action. Purchase a rust remover spray for boats to stop the corrosion temporarily. If this isn’t done and the corrosion is left to spread you will likely end up replacing parts of your vessel.
While some of these tips are much simpler than others, they are all super effective for stopping corrosion on your boat! However, if you have trouble with performing any of the tasks above we here at Superior Boat Repair & Sales are always happy to help. If you’re located in the towns of El Dorado Hills, Roseville, or Folsom, feel free to walk into one of our dealerships in Homewood or Rancho Cordova and request help from our experienced staff. Whether it’s choosing the correct metal anode or the best rust prevention spray we want to help! Feel free to call (916-638-3382) or text (916-634-0877) at your convenience.
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