I found out they are still making Mystere parts (and even entire boats) and purchased a set of upper castings (after finding cracks in mine.)

I have just received my shipment and found they are not anodized. I called Canada and they told me they are not anodizing them anymore since they are sailed mostly in fresh water (Ummmm BEACH CAT?).

What is the best way to coat/protect them from corrosion?

Sail in fresh water! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Well, lots of keelboats have non-anodized masts and they seem to hold up for a good while.

You could take it to a local machinist to see if they know where to get it anodized.

Paint might be an option...but it will flake off overtime.

It's generally pretty easy and cheap to get anodising done. But if there is any welding on the part, don't expect a good looking finish around the welds, the rest should be fine though.

I would avoid painting unless you do it with a complete paint system from grind, acid wash, etch primer, undercoat then top coat.

I would check to see if they even fit before you do anything with them. Just my thoughts after seeing what others have delt with from Mystere. Suprising to hear they are making boats again.

Lee

its not the same company.. and so far.. i am not impressed with the new company... but i do love my cat!

i checked them and they fit. they are VERY snug on getting on the rudder. At first i thought they wouldn't fit, and was worried i would break them trying... but they seem ok.

I was considering the http://www.zerorust.com/ mentioned on the "painting my trailer" thread. but not sure

I know there are companies that do dip anodizing in central Florida - it has been years since I needed it, but I'll try to do some digging. There was a time that a certain yellow Nacra 20 had some parts, including a custom spinnaker pole, specially prepared for a certain long-distance off-shore race. Once you have your junk dipped, you can Relax.

Wow, how prolific .... Words to live by!

Thanks for your help. and info is appreciated

Many years ago I brought a Cobra (like a 16ft mossie) After 15 mins of sailing we snapped the mast. The new mast was not anodised. So I got a tube of metal polish and polished it from top to bottom! Took a while, went over it a few times and it looked a lot like a chrome finish.

Caught up with the boat recently, (mast was replaced in 1993) while most of the boat looks pretty delapidated the mast is still shiney and shows no signs of corrosion.

cost about $10 and a couple hours of elbow greese.

HTH

Anodizing can be and is done in about every major metropolitan area in the world. As suggested, call a Machine or Sheet metal shop, they'll know where to send you. Etch and a dip should be pretty cheap. (hmmm...Wouter must be sleeping)

Alu, that is not anodised will hold up pretty well fro quite a long time.

For many years I have used non-anodised spi poles and booms and apart from turning a darker variant of gray nothing else happens in the first few years.

In my opinion you can go with it unanodised, although anodising will extent the lifespan from say 10 years to 20 years.

Wouter

We have 7 or 8 Mystere's locally and EVERY one has had a rudder casting crack or break. The boats are all about 10-13 years old and all were anodized. We do sail ALOT here, but i want to do EVERYTHING i can do to extend their corrosion resistance and extend their life span.

I even do a fresh water rinse on my boat every time i sail.

Thanks for everyone's input.

There are plenty of anodizers and platers around you. It will probably cost you less than $20 to get that anodized. Click the link for the list of business around Dunedin that do anodizing and plating. I get stuff anodized all the time.

Google Map Search for Anodizing around Dunedin

Thanks Jake. That price info is good. i was hoping it wouldnt be to expensive (esp since i was told the casting with all parts would cost about $110 each but ended up costing $165.)

I have a friend who is a welder for JSI and i was waitting to hear who they use, but thats great info incase he can't get the data to me.

Are you sure these breakages are the result of oxidising and not of the alu-magnesium alloy age hardening and becoming brittle and then cracking ?

In the end, anodising is nothing more then thorougly oxidising the outer portion of the aluminium component. The desired result is an extra thick and tight layer of alu-oxide on the surface of the alu element. The Alu-oxide then slows down further oxidising to an almost standstill. This is why plain non-anodised alu can be used just as well; only difference is that it will look less cleam (uniform) as natural oxidising looks more greyish then an anodised oxide layer.

But anodising for 20 bucks is something I wouldn't pass over.

Wouter

YES! i am sure, i put the casting under an electron microscope, then sent it off to the CSI crime lab for dusting. I had Smokey the Bear check it for fire damage, and finally McGruff the Crime Dog reasured me it was "not of the alu-magnesium alloy age hardening and becoming brittle."

They all agree that if it could extend its life by 10 years… it was worth the $20 - JUST KIDDING

PS thanks for all the input....

Yikes! I called all 3 local places listed and the costs were $55-$78 (lot charge what ever that means).

I am all in favor of people earning a buck, and making a profit but this turned out to be double the expected costs. I guess that’s to be expected with recreational boating.... grrrrr

Whether they do one, or ten the price will be the same. I'm guess so long as it fits in a certain rack, or tank. Something of that nature anyway.

You mentioned others needing the castings as well. Get a group together, buy as many as you need plus some spares and get them dipped.

I've had aluminum dive tanks (not anodized) for about 15 years (yes, they won't hydro them anymore so I have to ditch them next year).

Used to dive in salt and fresh water (well, they've been sitting in the garage for the past two years) banging around in caverns/caves. Not much paint left on those things....

Thankfully, never had problems with cracking, because 100 Cubic feet of air at 3500 PSI might do more than just "leak" if a crack showed up...

I thought aluminum just oxidized along the surface, and that prevented further oxidation (unless scratched).

Call me old fashioned, but I still think those old US Steel 103 cu.ft. steel tanks were the best ever... didn't float when empty and you could put a lot of bottom mix in 'em. Yes, they do corrode, but I never saw a spot of rust on mine, even where they were banded (doubles). But that's for another thread...