Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Nice shot of the bow of the secraft, running about 30. Sun "erupting" from to of storm cloud. Small water spout came out a little later.

Gearing up the seacraft for attempts at swordfishing. Only changes I need to make are hooking up the second fuel tank (have used boat for a year without ever burning more than 30 gallons at a time), and to add a larger swivel base rod holder for the big rod. Gunnels will also be reinforced to better take the loads of the big rod.

Here is the large swivel base rod holder, sitting in a piece of AL that will become the backing plate.





We I put the rod in a 15 degree holder, set drag to 30 lbs. and pull on the line, the gunnels flex a little. Nothing is going to break, but I dont like the see the flexing, so Im going to add a little piece to the sides of the hull and the inside of the coaming, basically box it. Will be hidden from view, but it will stiffen up the area around the new rod holder

Monster Fish time

My O'Day had several aluminum backing plates for deck hardware. I never saw any leaks from them, but almost all of them had dissimilar metals corrosion around the SS fasteners. Is there a way to prevent that?

gk108 wrote:My O'Day had several aluminum backing plates for deck hardware. I never saw any leaks from them, but almost all of them had dissimilar metals corrosion around the SS fasteners. Is there a way to prevent that?

Hi Gary, Not that I know of. With enough salt and time, if they are touching, its going to pit and corrode. The best way I have found to stop/slow this is to use a "gasket" of sealant.

I used stainless bolts to secure my console to 3" 3/8" thick aluminum angle, and also the stainless bolts going through my aluminum motor bracket. No sign of corrosion on either after 3 years.

gk108 wrote:My O'Day had several aluminum backing plates for deck hardware. I never saw any leaks from them, but almost all of them had dissimilar metals corrosion around the SS fasteners. Is there a way to prevent that?

I just removed my engine bracket to have it powder coated. When I pulled the stainless bolts from the engine and the transom I was surprised to see there was no corrosion. When installed I wrapped each bolt with clear packing tape and put a couple layers of tape between washers and the aluminium, and between the engine and bracket. It's been at least four years so I guess it helped some.

MD

Anti seize? I know it works on motors when bolting aluminum heads on with steel bolts.

Too much sealant is just enough. I like the idea of tape for some of the flat surfaces, too. That solves squeeze-out under SS flat washers.

What about Tefgel? I used this between all my ss and aluminum.
http://www.tefgel.com/contain.php?param=tefgel_infor

Be careful with anti seize. Read the label. Some has copper mixed in with it. Copper and aluminum do't mix. Food for thought.