Antifoul on trim tab rams ?

peterandjeanette

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 Jun 2001
Messages
1,176
Location
Stratford upon Avon/Sant Carles
Visit site
The guy who has just antifouled the boat has painted antifoul on the trim tab rams.

Now I thought that these rams were a. not painted as they are stainless steel and if they were could damage the seals on retraction and b. they should be protected by raising the tabs after every trip anyway.

Am I missing something?
 
on the stainless steel ram itself, or the black casing?
Dont think it should be on the ram.. wont that bugger up the seals?
 
No, you are not missing something.

I assume by the wording 'stainless rams' that you are talking about the outdrive rams? If you are making reference to the trim tab actuators as fitted on a Sealine then those should have a rubber bellows fitted on them. (I did notice your statement about retracting the tabs after a trip). However back to your original question whether it a leg or tab ram then yes you are correct you should not paint over the ram that goes inside the body, it will damage the seals. There should be no problem in moving the ram fully in, as on the outdrive and painting the remaining surface. I just cover mine with a layer of waterproof grease applied with a brush, it seems to help a bit.
I hope that answers your question.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The guy who has just antifouled the boat has painted antifoul on the trim tab rams.

Now I thought that these rams were a. not painted as they are stainless steel and if they were could damage the seals on retraction and b. they should be protected by raising the tabs after every trip anyway.

Am I missing something?

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

Painting the OUTSIDE casing of the ram itself is fine - should prevent barnacles.
Painting the shaft of the ram itself is a screw-up, and might damage the seals, depending on the type of ram.

With any luck, 30 mins, some white spirit and one of those green plastic pan scourers should fix the problem.

dv.
 
Pardon my innocence, but shouldn't the guy who painted the ram shafts be the one sorting them out? And what else has he bodged up? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Don't want to worry you, or anything.................
 
So what make of trim tabs are they on your Fairline boat, are they Eltrims by any chance?
Most of the Fairlines I have looked at had Lenco ones and they do not have stainless shafts, just asking as cleaning them with an abrasive pad might not be the correct method.
 
Top