TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT

A Rocna anchor should bite quickly. That is the whole point of buying one. So when it skips, drags, or refuses to bury, it usually means something else is going on. The seabed might be wrong. The scope might be too short. The boat might be loading the anchor too hard before it has had a chance to dig in. The anchor is only one part of the system. The chain, swivel, depth, bottom type, wind, tide, and your setting technique all matter. Why a Rocna Anchor Usually Sets Well Rocna anchors are popula …

A failed riser can ruin a MerCruiser engine fast. It only takes one internal leak for seawater to end up where it should never be, inside the engine. That’s why Mercruiser exhaust manifolds and risers are not parts you ignore until something obvious breaks. They can look fine from the outside while the inside is badly corroded. By the time the temperature gauge climbs, the engine runs rough, or water reaches a cylinder, the repair can move from a parts replacement to a major engine job. If …

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 …