joliette
New member
Is there a good (galvanic) reason why anodes should not be fitted in a wooden hull with stainless steel bolts ...?
Anode installation.
- Thread starter joliette
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Tranona
Well-known member
Why would you want to do that? MG Duff recommend insulating the mild steel studs from the wood with either a plastic sleeve or with a sealer. On my boat after problems with local decay around one stud, I made good with epoxy and glass then lined both stud holes with epoxy before re-bedding the studs in Polysulphide sealer.
svenmaximus
New member
My 50 yr old wooden folkboat (with an iron keel, stainless prop shaft, copper nails and bronze prop, pintles, sea cocks and screws etc) does not seem to have any kind of problem with never having an anode fitted at all throughout her entire life. Why is this? The only anode she does have is inside the engine block.
Tranona
Well-known member
That is quite normal. However, I think you will find the OPs boat is a very different animal with lots of different metals in its machinery. Not entirely sure it will need a hull anode though as most will be in the outdrives which have their own anodes - but I don't know the whole set-up.
joliette
New member
I should explain further ... The anode is for a very specific purpose, which is nothing to do with protecting engines or outdrives etc, which are already covered by the Mercruiser system. It is to act as an earth for the spark protection system on the my two fuel tanks. So the earth bonding wires - connected to the fillers and tanks - will be the only connections to the anode, and the connection stud will be insulated to prevent any possibility of it coming into contact with the 12V system. I guess I could put a stainless steel or bronze plate in as an alternative but I was seeking to avoid one of those expensive sintered bronze things ... I am just wondering if there are any galvanic issues that I need to concern myself with (bronze fillers, aluminium tanks, anode and stainless or galvanised steel stud all connected to ground through a wooden hull).
