tonystott wrote:
Chekika wrote:
Nice, yes, but, as you know Moondancer, when I look at that I see a nice truck that is going to be experiencing serous body rust in 3-4 yrs, unless it is kept 100 miles from a saltwater environment. So, my comment: unfortunate.
Keith
Keith, even if everything is hosed down thoroughly after every immersion? My TI and trailer gets a good hosing before I head home, allowing the drive to blow dry it. Surely the same would apply to car-topped ones. I live 200 yards from the seawzater lzke and 1 mile from the ocean.. I hose down my tow car each time (about twice a week) as well.
Tony, it is not a matter of people washing their equipment. Everyone except the most ignorant wash their equipment. Probably, the more you wash your car, trailer, etc., the better it is. However, it does not prevent serious rusting on all steel parts. Saltwater gets into cracks, crevices, and holes--places where it cannot be fully washed out. It is not going to be blown out.
Rust, of course, is like grass; grass is growing back almost immediately after you walk over it with a mower. Saltwater rust is relentless, and the salt
greatly accelerates the corrosion. You may not see the rust on your car for a year or two, but it is there. In 3-4 yrs, rust spots will be evident, and there is plenty that you don't see. As Fusioneng said, he had to replace the whole roof on his Yukon after he car-topped his TI. He now uses a trailer (but it is steel!) His Yukon was under warranty, and, I guess, the dealer did not ask if he had been car topping a TI. Some years ago, when I did a lot more sea kayaking, I had friends who kayaked and car topped their kayaks--BUT, they did not put them up until they had thoroughly washed them with water. One carried jugs of fresh water, another carried a pump system with fresh water. A 3rd generally only kayaked where she could wash her kayak or sail board off after finishing, and before loading into her van.
Galvanized steel is zinc coated. The zinc reacts with oxygen and then with CO2 to form a tough, rust-resistant coat of ZnCO3. Galvanized steel still rusts, but much more slowly than ordinary steel.
Aluminum forms a similar rust-resistant coating on its surface. It is very rust resistant,
as long as it is not in contact with steel (iron), but that is another story.
Hobie and other boat manufacturers have steel parts on their boats, but it is high-quality stainless steel. High-quality SS is also very rust resistant.
Rust is a sad fact of living in a saltwater environment. We can mitigate its effects, but car topping an Island or using a steel trailer is courting disaster a few years down the road.
Of course, it is everyone's choice, but it always pains me whenever I see anyone proudly displaying their car topped kayak, canoe, or Island.
Keith