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Pontoon electrolysis?

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Blinq

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York, PA
Can anyone tell me if this is electrolysis?  I had my boat in the water (fresh) at the local state park for 3 weeks and when I pulled it out the front half of the pontoons on both sides look like they had scale or were being eaten. It's very strange because its on both sides but only the front half between the welds. I thought it was scaling or something but It's very hard and does not scrape off. I checked my grounding on the boat and nothing is grounded to the frame. While trouble shooting a bad live well bilge pump I did have a exposed wire under the water. Can anyone tell me by the picture what they think this it is?  One picture is the smooth section from the transom to the vertical pontoon weld and the other is from the front section where I have the issue.

IMG_4045.jpg

IMG_4044.jpg
 
My guess would be electrolysis.  Where there other boats parked around it? Is there power on the docks?

I don't think your live well wiring would do that unless you had it on all the time, as it only has power when turned on.

If there was other boats around the dock with battery chargers on them, they may be the culprit, or the dock power may have a safety issue as well.

I would speak to the park rangers to make them aware of your problem and to have the dock power checked.
 
My understanding is that if my boat isn't part of the grounding system (like a trailer) electrolysis shouldn't happen. I guess I have too read up so more but now I'm afraid to get the permanent slip, which I've been waiting for.
 
Blinq, go back to the "Dock Talk" main page and look at the 'pinned' posts, there is one on pontoon pitting with a lot of discussion on the subject.  ;)
 
If you are at Codorus, the only dock that "might" have power is "A" dock (Marina dock). I'm not aware of power at any of the other docks. You might look at some neighboring boats and see if any of them have any issues. What dock were you slipped at?
 
Was at Codorus at D3, the first slip on D (not sure why it's 3 instead of 1). I,m confused because this boat was kept at Codorus all summer for the past several years. I didn't do anything but remove the motor so it would fit in the garage. I'm the very next on the waiting list and was told I may get one this year because sometimes people sell or give one up mid year. I wouldn't want to put it in if I get one until I figure out what's going on.
 
It wouldn't hurt to swing by F&S and ask them if they've seen this before with any toons at the lake. If anyone would have seen or know what the issue might be, it would be them.
 
My 2012 has this same issue, I had no idea until I did a good toon cleaning a few weeks ago (didn't know what I was seeing until I read this thread) but this is my first summer owning it so I'm sure it was like that when I got it, it's very well hid by the carpet on the trailer rails when it's out of the water.

So my question is do I need to do anything about this? Is there anything I can even do to fix what's done? It will come out of the Marina in September for winter storage.

Btw, I have no idea how this was stored when the original owner had it for the first 3 years but I'm sure it was in the water for most of the time.
 
Swung by D dock. The only electric I saw nearby is a light post just off end of dock. (100' away). Could stray voltage be making it to the docks? Doubtful but weird things can happen. Oddly its 10 am and sunny and the lights on??
 
Follow up. As suggested by SempferFi I went and talked to the local dealer. He wanted to see the boat. Took it in and he (Bob) went over it. He said its just heavy algea build up, not eletrolosis. He also explained that different sections of the toons could have different amounts due to the temperature differences in the sealed sections depending on their draft and how the sun hits them. That make sense because electrically the sections are not isolated but they are physically sealed from each other. Anyway that made me happy and since then I also got a permanent slip! With the last 3 weekends being really nice, everything around the house that needs done will just have to wait.
 
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