Is your outboard safe?............Ed Sherman

Continuing with my theme of early preparation for spring and things you need to buy for the upcoming boating season I'm going to focus today on your outboard engine, and more specifically the anodes on your engine that will help keep it from turning to a corroded mess. Anodes, commonly referred to by many as "zincs" are a super important part of your engine's life support system. Since outboard engines are made primarily from aluminum alloys, they are extremely vulnerable to corrosion if not properly protected. The paint system on the engine is one of the key's to keeping corrosion at bay. So any paint that has scraped off should be cleaned with a salt neutralizer, primed and repainted. Once that step has been accomplished, replacement of sacrificial anodes comes next. Typical locations for anodes on an outboard are shown in the diagram below, which comes from my book "Outboard Engines".

What many boaters don't realize is that the anodes are not necessarily made of zinc, and in some cases the use of zinc can actually be a big mistake.

The issue here has to do with an esoteric factor known simply as a metal alloy's voltage potential. Simply stated, all metals have a voltage potential when submerged in an electrolyte (the water your boat floats in is the electrolyte).  The three common materials used to make anodes are aluminum, magnesium and zinc. The materials are not pure as they are actually alloys designed to enhance their performance as an anode, or the sacrificial component of what we call a galvanic cell. The aluminum used to make sacrifical anodes for example, is not the same alloy as your outboard engine's case. The anode material you select must have a sufficient voltage potential to overcome the lack of conductivity of the electrolyte. Salt water is a good conductor, so an adode with less potential like zinc will work fine. Fresh water on the other hand is a poor conductor, so an anode with more potential is needed. Brackish water falls somewhere in between so a reasonable compromise needs to be met. So, when selecting your anodes, think about where you are operating your boat and select anode material that will do the job. Aluminum anodes are the best compromise for most all conditions, which is why most outboard manufacturers today are supplying their engines from the factory with aluminum anodes. I say most, but not all. The table below shows anode material and best application depending on boat location:

                                Salt Water                   Brackish water                 Fresh Water

Zinc                                OK                              No                                  No

Aluminum                        OK                              OK                                  OK

Magnesium                      NO!                             NO!                                 OK

 Notice the NO! above for magnesium anodes. These should only be used in a fresh water environment. This has to do with their very high voltage potential and one more esoteric fact. Aluminum used to cast outboard engine cases has a unique characteristic among metals. That is, it is known as an amphoteric metal. Translated into plain english, that means it will react (or over-react) to exposure to either acids or base materials. When an anode is dissloving it is actually emitting gasses that are a strong base chemically, and this can actually induce corrosion in aluminum. So, in short that means that among the metals we commonly use in marine applications aluminum is one that can be overprotected in an anode / cathod relationship. Magnesium in saltwater will cause such an over-reaction and damage your engine. Zinc in freshwater will actually passify and end up doing nothing to protect your engine. The aluminum anodes available to our market will do OK in either fresh or saltwater.

So, when you are out shopping for anodes for your engine this year, get the right material. It may not be zinc as most think.

Tip of The Month..........Ed Sherman

You've all heard about the issues related to E-10, E-15, water in fuel and all the horror stories related to fuel in general. Sadly, most of what you've heard is true. In fact, if you are running your boat without a fuel / water separator, you're CRAZY! But, there is a top secret tip you should know about before you run out and buy a fuel water separator just so I won't think you're nuts. It doesn't matter if its a gas or diesel engine, water happens. Keep in mind here I'm going to be referring to the better filters out there, like some of the Racor branded units.

These filter systems are really just that, a system. They have a paper element inside to filter out particulate matter, but the trick is in the way they separate the water from the fuel. Basically they track the fuel down a spiral "thread" molded into a cylinder below the paper element. This spiral arrangement is designed to create a bit of centrifugal force that thows the water out and eventually lets it settle to the bottom of the filter's sight bowl. Here's the trick, the speed the fuel travels down this spiral is what determines the filter's success rate in spinning the water out of the fuel. So, the situation is this, we have a case here that is a bit counter-intuitive. Bigger is not better. You need to be sure the filter you are using is matched to the rate at which the fuel is flowing through the filter to ensure that the spin will be fast enough to be effective at chucking the water off to the side. Always match the filter manufacturer's engine size / flow rate specifications to what's on your boat. A bigger than needed filter assembly is actually a bad thing.

America's Cup Trickle Down..........Ed Sherman

One of my readers got back to me yesterday regarding my piece entitled "I've had it with the America's Cup".

On Feb. 1 Wayne K wrote:

"I have long (Since the 70's energy crisis) held that auto racing is screwed up.  They have all kinds of rules that limit ground effects, control turbo-boost, limit displacement and on and on trying to set some limit on performance.  In that area it would nice to see that energy focused on something the rest of us can use, so turn off all the rules and go into Indianapolis with one simple rule:  You get 50 gallons of fuel, use it wisely."

"We have gotten some nice developments out of high level racing.  Modern fibers for sails and running rigging and now even stuff suitable for standing rigging have been developed in part by tapping the deep pockets end of the sport.  Some of that trickles down to us cruisers and soft recreational types.  Hull developments like winged keels, which now make performance in shoal draft cruisers a working proposition is a nice bit of technology transfer as are stronger resins and lighter construction techniques." 

 I certainly agree with Wayne that we have ultimately been the beneficiaries of a technological trickle down from the America's Cup developments over the years. I would add that the trickle down is not exclusive to the AC boats however. Much has been learned from projects targeting the fastest Atlantic and Pacific Ocean crossings by the likes of the late Steve Fosset and others. We have learned much from the Volvo 60's and all of the earlier iterations of global races. But there is a difference in the way the public perceives these endeavors.

The Ocean races pit man and woman against the elements both in a physical and mental sense. It's exciting to see film footage of a lone sailor or a team battling their way through the Southern Ocean when the chips are down. Man and high tech equipment being truly tested. We don't hear of all the behind the scenes bickering that may have gone on to get to that point, and maybe there actually wasn't any bickering to begin with. I guess my point is nobody really wants to hear the bickering, its embarrassing to the sport.

Wayne's comparison of race cars to boats is a good one. Maybe it is time to thoroughly review the Deed of Gift. Put the lawyers to work on that document and develop a new unlimited class of boats. Turn the America's Cup into the "ultimate sailing" category. Maybe throw a length limit into it and say anything goes for a boat of a given length and let the design teams go hog wild. OK, tighten up the rules about country of origin for crews and equipment if needed. But whatever is done, make it whiner proof going into it. No tacky before game battles played out in courts of law. Save the New York court system to prosecute our good friends on Wall Street. You know, the folks we all gave our hard earned tax dollars to a year ago, who are now back to their old tricks again. (At least they can afford new boats.) 

The court appearances over yachting rules looks bad and does nothing to develop enthusiasm for the sport. Its just plain and simply bad PR, which the industry does not need!

Wayne brought up another interesting approach to my concern over growing boating and it's playing out now in the Pacific Northwest. This is an approach that is certainly affordable to the masses. Seems there is some inter-club activity going on soon.

"Will Lesh operates Tippecanoe boats locally and may be the last provider of pond models and sailing model kits.  It is another kind of sailing that might attract families who move on to the real thing.  www.modelsailboat.com/wil.html  We are having inter-club races using Will's boats.  In fact we have a Cat vs Tri race at our Yacht Club before the super bowl."

Hey, its worth a try. Seems more wholesome than the America's Cup series this year.

Miami Boat Show Preperation..Input Wanted. Ed Sherman

As someone who lives in the northern latitudes, I always look forward to getting to Miami in February to make my rounds at the Boat Show and connect with friends in the industry. Since I'm currently in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and as I left my hotel this morning it was something like 5 degrees F outside with a brisk breeze making a wind chill that brought things down to around -10 F, warm is going to feel especially good this year.

This year I'll be on a mission in Miami and I thought I'd share just a little bit of that with you, and also ask for your input at the same time. One of my primary goals at the Miami show is to gather photos that I use in my books, articles and this year for this blog site. I'm currently in the process of developing a totally revised gasoline engine certification for the ABYC. I'll be shooting all manner of photos of engines (both inboard and outboard) and drive systems this year. Cut-aways of engines, close-up shots of specific parts of engines and sub-systems on or near engines are all fair game. Talking about this and that is great, but we all know that a good picture is worth a thousand words. I'm currently assembling my shot list and thought it might be a great idea to get some reader input as to specific shots you'd like to see. If you register to my site either directly or through the Boater Mouth Site (www. BoaterMouth.com) or send me an email directly at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with a specific request, I'll try to get the shot. When I get back form Miami, I'll post your requests with a little background about the shot and explanation of what exactly the shot means to you as a boater. So, we've got a week to get this done. Get those emails sent my way and I'll follow-up after the show. 

Are you Evaporating?....Ed Sherman

Last week I discussed some of the goings on at ABYC Standards week in Orlando. Well I'm back, but I woke up this morning with a few questions for myself....With all that's going on with the EPA's mandates to control evaporative emissions for all manner of things with engines, including boats, when exactly are boat builders supposed to do what to stay on the right side of the law? Its a little confusing.

So, I went to the law that covers Control of Evaporative Emission for "off road" equipment, CFR title 40, part 1060 and looked over the table contained therein that explains this. Let me share it with you:

Several things need some explaining related to the above table. First, the term "SI" simply refers to spark ignition, read, your gasoline fueled engine. Permeation is a term that describes the ability of the fuel vapors to migrate through a material such as fuel hose, or a plastic fuel hose. Fluid doesn't leak, but some vapors do, and yes they evaporate into the atmosphere. The bottom line here is that what has for years been described as a permeation rate of 100 grams/meter squared over a 24 hour period has been reduced to 15 grams /meter squared over a 24 hour period, a significant up specification. The fuel line is currently available, plastic fuel tanks that meet this specification are not yet available, but the vendors basically have until January 1, 2011 to come up with some product.

For those not understanding the term "diurnal", the ABYC describes it this way: "evaporative emissions that occur as a result of venting fuel tank vapors during daily temperature changes while the engine is not operating." This will all be controlled by the charcoal filtration system I mentioned last week.

So, are you evaporating? Right now you are, but as you can see, over the next several years the EPA is going to slow that process down dramatically.