Yachting

30 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com MAY 2016

ANY QUESTIONS

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QUESTION OF THE MONTH

A

Chris Beeson replies:

Ballast bags are more

effi cient now than they

were, so I would say that two

people should be fi ne inside a

six-man liferaft.

It’s worth bearing in mind that

ISO 9650, the liferaft standard,

specifi es 1.2m^2 (16sq ft) per

person, which sounds like a lot,

but try sitting in that space for

any length of time and you may

change your mind. The standard

also specifi es that a person

weighs 75kg (165 lb), which is a

Will my liferaft invert?

Why is my engine

corroding?

Q

Over the summer last

year, one of the cooling

pipes on our Volvo Penta

engine slipped, rubbed on the

fl ywheel and sprayed salt water

onto the engine.

We shut the engine down

before there was any damage

internally, then thoroughly

cleaned the engine off and

even repainted it, but salt crystals

still keep appearing on top of the paint and

around joints. The rear parts of the engine are

unaffected and the anode has been recently

changed. Is this just residual salt, or is our

engine corroding? If so, how do we stop it?

Paul Colley

A

Nigel Calder replies: Are these all

aluminium parts? The corrosion at

the alternator mount defi nitely looks

like galvanic corrosion as a result of interaction

with the steel bolt and the aluminium

alternator frame, probably with residual salt

holding moisture and creating the necessary

electrolyte. In this case, the deposits are most

likely aluminium oxides although from the

photos they look rather more crystalised and

less powdery than normal.

I suspect that there is a similar interaction

around other fasteners and at the intersection

of aluminum castings with iron castings.

However, this does not explain the more

generalised deposits, although this could well

still be the case as aluminium, especially old

aluminium on which the paint has already

peeled, is notoriously hard to repaint. Some

kind of acid etching to remove surface

oxidation followed by an immediate barrier

coat is normally needed.

There is some cause for concern, especially

where you have a reaction around fasteners as

the dissimilar metals will accelerate the rate of

any corrosion. Get a Volvo-Penta mechanic to

look at it. Repeated cleaning off of the crystals

and fl ushing with fresh water may slow

whatever is going on to acceptable levels.

This Plastimo ISO 9650 liferaft

may be rated for four people

but it’s still a squeeze

distant memory for me at least.

You’ll also have grab bags and

other useful kit, so stability is very

unlikely to be an issue.

Q

I have bought a

boat with no liferaft

and think I should

buy one. Usually I sail with

my wife but occasionally

with between four and six

people on board.

I am tempted to buy a

six-man raft to cover all

eventualities but have been

advised that with only two

in it, which is the most likely,

in big seas it will be unstable

and may invert. Is this correct?

Nigel Sylvester

PHOTOS: PAUL COLLEY

White salt-like deposits could be a sign of galvanic corrosion

Have yachts become

less seaworthy?

Q

I recently sailed as crew on a 13m

yacht in the Mediterranean and

on the ARC+ to St Lucia via Cape

Verde. We were lucky with the weather but

given the conditions, I was disappointed

by the considerable number of equipment

breakages that we and other yachts

experienced. These ranged from minor issues

through to forestay deck fi ttings breaking

and water entering via rudder fi ttings.

Is the quality of our fi ttings and of our

yachts themselves up to the standards

required for sailing, let alone heavy weather

ocean sailing? Are production yachts better

built now than 30 years ago?

Keith Pheasant

PHOTO: VYV COX

This yacht’s rigging

lacked the proper

toggles, causing

fatigue and failure