Replacing zincs

[baz]

OK -- so it's time for me to replace my zincs as yesterday I noticed the trim tab zincs were completely gone (poof). This is good in as much as that meant the zincs are doing their job. 😉 It's been almost 2 years since we bought the R25 new from the factory.

We have had the boat in salt water in the Edmonds Marina here in WA since July 2009.

So, I'm now wondering how to go about having the zincs replaced. Edmonds Marina does not allow divers to do any underwater work so this means the boat has to be lifted onto dry land.

I do not have a trailer so how do I go about getting this work done? I also must find a reputable person/company to perform this work unless I can convince myself I can do it myself.

Any thoughts on how to proceed, and for anyone in my local area is there a recommendation for a person/company that I can engage for replacing the zincs?

I have all the underwater zincs as well as one for the engine as I bought these last year with the hope I could have them installed during the 2010 Bremerton get together (per Dave's diver organization). However, that did not happen for some weird reason.

I may also find when lifting the boat out of the water that the boat's bottom paint needs redoing or maybe the hull simply needs a good wash down to remove all the accumulated crud over the past 2 years.

Thanks in advance for any advice. 🙂

 

[rt11002003]

Make a plea for someone to lend you a trailer. Haul the boat, pressure wash the bottom-rent a washer, repaint bottom-if necessary, change the zincs yourself and put the boat back in the water.

All of these things can be done on a trailer. That's why I always try to get a trailer, or have friends with trailers. 😀 Around here it's very expensive to have a boat hauled, blocked and worked on. 🙁 And, slip fees are worse. :cry:

gene

 

[Stella Maris]

Barry,
Take a trip over to Port Orchard. Spend the night there enjoying Amy's on the bay for dinner. Before heading over, call the marina. Ask them for the name of their diver. They will install them in the water for $50.00 plus the cost of the zinc's. If you bring your own along (you can get them from the factory or at Fisheries) you will save a few more bucks.

While in Port Orchard you can also enjoy the Farmers Market on Saturday.

Another alternative is to go down to Elliott Bay. They allow divers and there is a nice restaurant there also. Bruce Moore can give you the name of a diver to use there if you should choose to do so.

No need to pull the boat out (although after two years, you might want to have the bottom checked). We used Yachtfish Marine in Port Orchard to have the bottom re-done on Karma in December. They did a great job and were not bad on the price. We had the haul out, blocking, bottom cleaned and painted, all zinc's replaced as well as additional zinc's added for less than a $1,000.00 bucks. They did a great job and returned Karma to us as clean as she was when we left her. They stopped and thanked us for our business as we were relaunching. A real class act.

 

[baz]

Dave: What a wonderful suggestion and a great way to have fun while zincs replaced at a fair price. THANKS. 🙂

 

[Stella Maris]

The diver will also clean the bottom for you if you need it done. Of course, there is an additional charge for that also.....

The other thing she will do is let you know if she see's any issues with the bottom. She is good and very reasonable!

 

[baz]

David: Gill just checked out Amy's and it sounds great and well recommended. We will take a couple of friends with us and make it an even more productive time. 😀

 

[rt11002003]

Maybe I should move to WA. The going rate for bottom painting here is $50/foot (LOA). I don't recall the charge for hauling, blocking and etc. :cry: I used my trailer when I lasted pulled my former R21EC.

gene

 

[RProffer]

In my experience, if you have good bottom paint, most if not all of the growth should sluff off within about 100 yards of cruising.

You could save yourself a ton of money if you changed the zinc's and painted the bottom yourself. Does your marina haul boats and put them on chocks? It is better to paint the bottom on chocks rather than on a trailer, especially if the trailer belongs to someone else. Just depends if you are handy with your hands. Cleaning the bottom is not difficult. I would recommend wearing a mask and goggles/face shield when cleaning the bottom.

 

[Auklet]

Sounds like a lot of good suggestions. But you will be driving right past one of the best boatyards in the pnw. I have used Seaview at Shilshole for over 30 years and have no complaint. I would let them do haulout and pressure wash and then do the rest of the work myself. Rules have changed in the last seven years, so don't know if this is still their policy. It would definately be worth a call.

 

[baz]

OK -- so I replaced ALL of my underwater zincs today -- and I would say, not soon enough. All had been eaten away and diver thought things would be bad since it had been around 22 months since zincs were installed last (actually when boat was brand new).

I lucked out as no damage had been done from the underwater inspection.

However, some of the bolts were in pretty bad shape. Here's a picture of the bolt that held the prop shaft zinc on.

Comparing this bolt with the new bolt that came with the new prop shaft zinc I purchased from Ranger Tugs I would say the bolt used on the brand new boat was a much softer metal and of not good quality.

The diver will be checking my underwater zincs evry 3-4 months from now on. 😀

[Edit]

Here's what the diver team (Info@DoubleJDiving.com, http://www.doublejdiving.com/) reported to me as a result of their inspection...

"Barry-The zincs were gone. The bow & stern thruster hubs have been affected by corrosion. The appearance is rough but does not appear to interfere with the performance of the unit. The zinc bolt for the main propeller was an inferior metal and was deteriorated, but fortunately there is no other damage and the new bolt is the proper stainless steel. The paint is starting to wear and getting thin, but overall in decent shape. No rush to haul, but perhaps this coming Winter or prior to next Spring would be a good plan. At this point, we will check the zincs in three months and determine a regular schedule from there. Next due for the week of August 29th."

 

[captainmike]

Beach the boat on a sandy bottom use a short garden hose to breathe through a couple of hand tools and 20 minutes your done.

P.S don't forget the engine zincs

 

[baz]

Beach the boat on a sandy bottom use a short garden hose to breathe through a couple of hand tools and 20 minutes your done.

P.S don't forget the engine zincs

Ha ha -- the sandy bottom scenario is in a tropical area somewhere, right. :lol: The water temps around PNW aren't that enticing to me -- but nonetheless I get your drift/point. 😉

Yea -- have to figure out where this little baby goes (two of them no less) in my Yanmar 150 Hp engine... Andrew tells me he posted a spec sheet with pictures for this... need to go off and ferret it out now....