I am wanting to purchase a boat and everything looks pretty good
except the outboard. The owner claims he has never had it in salt
water, but it has been in a freshwater slip for at least a year. Take
a look at the picture posted he
http://home.nc.rr.com/glenbell/volvopenta.htm

My questions a
- Is this normal for freshwater?
- If this is professionaly repainted will there be a good chance it
will look good again?
- What might that cost?

wrote:
I am wanting to purchase a boat and everything looks pretty good
except the outboard. The owner claims he has never had it in salt
water, but it has been in a freshwater slip for at least a year. Take
a look at the picture posted he
http://home.nc.rr.com/glenbell/volvopenta.htm

My questions a
- Is this normal for freshwater?
- If this is professionaly repainted will there be a good chance it
will look good again?
- What might that cost?

If it hasn't been in sal****er, it has been in a slip with a lot of
electrical currents in the water. I don't know where the anode is on
that motor...what does it look like?

BTW, that's NOT an outboard motor. It is the business end of an I/O.

If you want a professional looking paint job, you are going to have to
disassembly the unit, work on the parts to get rid of the corrosion, and
take the prepped pieces to an auto body shop for proper priming and
painting.

Or you could have it powder coated. Dunno what that might cost.

Or you could have it powder coated. Dunno what that might cost.


powder coating is relatively cheap if you prep the parts yourself. much
longer lasting too.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am wanting to purchase a boat and everything looks pretty good
except the outboard. The owner claims he has never had it in salt
water, but it has been in a freshwater slip for at least a year. Take
a look at the picture posted he
http://home.nc.rr.com/glenbell/volvopenta.htm

My questions a
- Is this normal for freshwater?
- If this is professionaly repainted will there be a good chance it
will look good again?
- What might that cost?

The stainless prop is a major contributor to this corrosion problem. There
should have been additional anodes installed beyond what Volvo provided. The
anodes used should be aluminum alloy or magnesium. Not zinc. Anodes Should
be replaced when 1/2 worn. If shore power is used, a galvanic isolator is
needed to prevent electrolytic corrosion.
Since the corrosion is not isolated to one component, I suspect there is a
problem with the bonding between the engine and transom plate. I do see some
bonding wires on some of the underwater components.
A proper paint job will add further protection once the cause of the problem
is corrected.

My judgment would be that this boat is worth $3000 (or more) less than the
equivalent boat without the galvanic corrosion problem.
Jim

If you are going to trailer it then wire brush it a bit and hit it with a
spray can. If you plan on leaving it in a slip you need to look into the
problem a bit more. Looks like galvanic corrosion from not enough or shot
anodes. If you leave it in a slip and do not have to leave it connected to
shore power I would do that as well. Just hook up the shore power when you
are actually on it. Generally i/o's are not the best choice to be left in
the water, fresh or salt.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am wanting to purchase a boat and everything looks pretty good
except the outboard. The owner claims he has never had it in salt
water, but it has been in a freshwater slip for at least a year. Take
a look at the picture posted he
http://home.nc.rr.com/glenbell/volvopenta.htm

My questions a
- Is this normal for freshwater?
- If this is professionaly repainted will there be a good chance it
will look good again?
- What might that cost?

What follows is current owners explanation. Does it sound legitimate?
------------
I talked to the owner at Falls lake marina, He said that all boats
that stay in the wet slips thru a summer or two experience the same
problem. He claims it's the high marine growth that accumulates on
the bottom of the boat and outdrives. The marine growth has very
strong clinging roots. The growth causes the paint to loosen and then
water gets under it. He also claimed that last summer was one of the
highest levels of growth they had at the lake in many years.

The Anode is fine and bolted to the outdrive, its very large and has
no signs of wearing at all. It is also made of Aluminum alloy and not
zinc.

Almost everyone runs stainless props so I can't believe they would be
so popular if they caused that much problem with corrosion. Also every
time we left the marina I unplugged the battery cables.

The only time the shore power was plugged in was when we spent the
night on the boat at the marina. Was never left it plugged in when we
were not there.
------------

wrote:
What follows is current owners explanation. Does it sound legitimate?
------------
I talked to the owner at Falls lake marina, He said that all boats
that stay in the wet slips thru a summer or two experience the same
problem. He claims it's the high marine growth that accumulates on
the bottom of the boat and outdrives. The marine growth has very
strong clinging roots. The growth causes the paint to loosen and then
water gets under it. He also claimed that last summer was one of the
highest levels of growth they had at the lake in many years.

The Anode is fine and bolted to the outdrive, its very large and has
no signs of wearing at all. It is also made of Aluminum alloy and not
zinc.

Almost everyone runs stainless props so I can't believe they would be
so popular if they caused that much problem with corrosion. Also every
time we left the marina I unplugged the battery cables.

The only time the shore power was plugged in was when we spent the
night on the boat at the marina. Was never left it plugged in when we
were not there.
------------


No, algea would not cause that corrosion. This is a better explanation
for the problem:

http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/galvanic/default.asp

wrote in message
ups.com...
What follows is current owners explanation. Does it sound legitimate?
------------
I talked to the owner at Falls lake marina, He said that all boats
that stay in the wet slips thru a summer or two experience the same
problem. He claims it's the high marine growth that accumulates on
the bottom of the boat and outdrives. The marine growth has very
strong clinging roots. The growth causes the paint to loosen and then
water gets under it. He also claimed that last summer was one of the
highest levels of growth they had at the lake in many years.

The Anode is fine and bolted to the outdrive, its very large and has
no signs of wearing at all. It is also made of Aluminum alloy and not
zinc.

Almost everyone runs stainless props so I can't believe they would be
so popular if they caused that much problem with corrosion. Also every
time we left the marina I unplugged the battery cables.

The only time the shore power was plugged in was when we spent the
night on the boat at the marina. Was never left it plugged in when we
were not there.
------------

Clearly, this fellow doesn't have a clue. Leaving the boat in the water with
the battery cables "unplugged" could mean that the boat wasn't protected by
an automatic bilge pump. I would look for signs of partial sinking or high
water in the bilge.
The anode should wear considerably in one or 2 months given the condition of
the outdrive.
You should have this boat surveyed by a reputable surveyor before buying it.
Jim