Hmmmm...they're charging you for a whole basket or hanger load...if you tell them you don't care what color they're anodized (or perhaps choose two basic popular colors like clear or black) and that you are flexible on the schedule - see if they can include it with another lot and charge you a fraction of a whole lot...it's a small piece. That, or somehow find some other folks that need things anodized and go in together on a lot.

These companies are used to doing pallet loads of aluminum at a time. We send out two pallets of aluminum parts for anodizing here at Hartness International every day. I bet if you were to go to their office and find someone to speak to face to face, they'll cut you a break.

That's why I suggested a Machine or Sheet Metal shop. They can get you to the right guy to talk to for a small lot, or possibly add your stuff to their load.

Someone suggested this to me: any input?

I’d scuff them down with 400 wet/dry then shoot with any primer and then whatever kind of white lacquer (not enamel) you can find at home depot.

Your other option is to polish them which would actually look pretty cool.

Gotta go with the Wout on this one...systemic rudderhead failures don't sound like a corrosion issue...more like a design issue to me.

Anodizing will not rectify that.

I would agree that the quality is low, and the alum may indeed get brittle and be a part of some of the issues ...
but many of the issues are due to corrosion where the dissimilar metal adjuster screw (and assembly) and the alum casting meet...


I was just looking for a solution to help prevent corrosion and thought that anodizing will help.

I decided to bite the $50 bullet and just get it done. So i drove to the shop and i have now spent $10 in gas driving only to find out i need to remove the rivets and seperate the handle. So if i remove the rivet and return (another $10 in gas) and then go pick them up in 2 days.... It will cost me an additional $30 in gas. Grrrrr

I am now thinking rustolium (or similar) is the answer...

If they are a rough sand casting (like most rudder castings), you're going to be polishing for a LOOOOOOONG time.

Yes... i agree.. that is not an option... esp because i could not get insides very well (atleast not without shredding my hands)... and what would be the point if that didnt protect them throughout...

I don't think anodising solves these issues much either. Alu oxide is conducting and hence galvaic corrosion will progress much like it would with a non-anodised element. This has also been my experience with rivets and eyestraps on alu tubes both anodised and non-anodised. There maybe some measureable difference but not much in a practical sense.

Wouter

Do you think there would be any value (at all) in using a spray can primer and a coat of paint?

Make sure to use a good insulating grease like TefGel or Duralac on contact points between dissimilar metals and leave the castings otherwise naked.

You're Done! Now go sailing and stop driving all over town and wasting your gas :-)

WAHOOOOO!!!!

Thanks to all for the input... i have learned alot about aluminum, paint, anodizing, wasting gas, not doing a shred of work in a day, and in the end...... i am where i started... naked metal!

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

From my experience as ground crew in the last "open" Worrell (hmm- there was a "yellow boat" in that one!!) the only Mystere in that race ended up fracturing every rudder casting on the East Coast they could get there hands on!! Clearly a design flaw! I would "retrofit/upgrade" to some proven rudderheads/systems ala the old NACRA design or some of the Hobie designs IMO- parts if needed will then be plentiful/easy/cheap to come by and they will be anodized from those companies-

Kirt

That's a great way to go...but it will be a fair bit of work...the Mystere has quite a lot of freeboard at the transom so the non=-OEM heads will need a lot of modification to extend the tops...gotta get the tillers over the aft deck while still leaving the right amount of blade in the drink.

Mike.

I do sail with a Mystere 6.0 that has Nacra 6.0 rudders on his cat. He loves them... i considered that but i didn't see anytone parting out a smashed nacra 6.0.

When i stated this .. my goal was to purchase 1 back up casting after finding a hair line crack in a casting. I tried to get it welded (repaired) but they guy did a horrible job.

Always avoid welding Alu alloy. You will destroy the heat tempering in t he area of the weld...making the strength drop to about 50% of what it was.

how else do you repair a cracked casting if not getting it welded?

Shame on you for not asking me. I can get them powder coated for lunch at Shells. Also someone posted a do-it yourself anodizing link here a while back. I don't have it here at work. Search this site.

Call me and you can have them done tomorrow.

Shame, shame, shame on me!!!

Lunch including drinks???? that could cost more than the castings! lol - kidding!

Thank you for the very nice offer Mike.

I talked to a powdercoater (afer leaving the anodizer) and he said since the tubes were anodized, they would have to "off gas them" and that might make them bubble... he also said it would cost me $120! YIKES...

Our friend has taken them to work and is gonna paint them (the right way) and i will be done with it...

If they last a few years i will be happy. I still have the blue ones so i have spares.

Such is life. Live and learn... damn you Ecole de Voile Sanoucy.

OOp. Wouter says "Alu oxide is conducting".
Nope. Wrong.

I worked for Anaconda Wire and Cable Co in their research lab making and testing anodized coatings for their good insulating properties.

Now--If you bust thru this thin tough coating, there is raw metal that corrodes yada, yada...
> hence galvaic corrosion will progress much like it would with a non-anodised element.

I stand corrected.

I should have said that the oxide layer is often so thin that for most electrical applications an alu element with alu-oxide on the outside (anodised) can be considered to be a well conducting element. Hence the need to avoid touching any powercables and the reason why 2/3rd of all wiring in the world is made of aluminium threads. These wires conduct very well, are very bendy, are lightweight and are very cheap when compared to copper.

Of course bare aluminium will form its own alu-oxide layer on the outside in mere seconds to minutes. It is practically impossible to have pure (non-oxidized) aluminium outside of the lab (shielded from oxigen).

Wouter