Pontoon in salt water: anodes & bottom paint
Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 1:32 pm
I'll be moving my pontoon to a tidal brackish creek in South Florida, where it will live at a dock behind the house. The salinity at this location ranges from 10-20PSU; the adjacent river a mile downstream is close to 35 (ocean water).
What are your experiences with anodes and bottom paint?
I know I'll need a non-copper anti-fouling. Open to your feedback and experiences on what to pick here. I'd be prepping and applying it myself. It may spend weeks or months at a time sitting dry on the trailer, which some paints don't like. Trailer has plastic pads that the hull sits against. The pontoons are currently unpainted but do have some calcium buildup at the waterline.
Each toon hull has a bracket at the bottom aft corner that I can bolt an anode to. I'm considering a pair of these: https://performancemetals.com/collectio ... disc-anode . I'll leave an un-painted area for them to contact. Any reason not to use a 316 Stainless bolt? If not, what else could I use to secure it? Could find an aluminum bolt, or maybe even nylon. Could use nylon washers between the SS washerfaces of the nut and the bolt and the corresponding Aluminum.
I shouldn't have any worry about loose electrical fields in the area.
Thanks for sharing your experience and any advice
Matt
What are your experiences with anodes and bottom paint?
I know I'll need a non-copper anti-fouling. Open to your feedback and experiences on what to pick here. I'd be prepping and applying it myself. It may spend weeks or months at a time sitting dry on the trailer, which some paints don't like. Trailer has plastic pads that the hull sits against. The pontoons are currently unpainted but do have some calcium buildup at the waterline.
Each toon hull has a bracket at the bottom aft corner that I can bolt an anode to. I'm considering a pair of these: https://performancemetals.com/collectio ... disc-anode . I'll leave an un-painted area for them to contact. Any reason not to use a 316 Stainless bolt? If not, what else could I use to secure it? Could find an aluminum bolt, or maybe even nylon. Could use nylon washers between the SS washerfaces of the nut and the bolt and the corresponding Aluminum.
I shouldn't have any worry about loose electrical fields in the area.
Thanks for sharing your experience and any advice
Matt