TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT

We’ve seen boats come in with thousands of dollars worth of corrosion damage because a $40 anode was ignored too long. A corroded lower unit. Pitted prop shafts. Heat exchangers full of damage. Trim tabs eaten away after sitting in a marina for one season. Most of it could have been avoided with the right marine anodes fitted at the right time. That’s the thing with corrosion on boats. You usually don’t notice it until the damage is already done. If your boat lives in saltwater …

Walk down almost any marina in Australia, and you’ll see it. Boats with black rub marks along the hull where dirty fenders have been sitting for months. Usually around the rear quarter or near the bow flare, where the boat moves against the pontoon every day. Most owners don’t notice it straight away. Then one day they wash the boat properly and realise the gelcoat has gone dull where the fenders constantly rub. That’s why good Fender Covers are worth fitting before the damage …

You can usually tell which outboards get flushed properly and which ones don’t. The engines that are looked after tend to have cleaner cooling systems, fewer corrosion problems, and less salt buildup around the thermostat housings and water jackets. The neglected ones are normally the opposite. Seized fittings. White salt stains. Broken flush caps. Cooling issues that start showing up at the worst time possible. The Flush M Quick Flushing Plug Solution fixes one of the most annoying parts …