Rusting chrome/stainless on new TC?

[Doryman]

I've just discovered that at least 3 fittings on my new TC have a coat of surface rust on them. They are for the water and macerator on the starboard side and the connector for the washdown hose in the cockpit. I plan to contact my dealer about this but was wondering if any others out there had similar problems? In the same vein, is there some kind of maintenance I should be doing to prevent this from happening?

Thanks,
Warren

[Gene Morris]

We have a similar problem. It is our waste pump-out fitting. The factory will be replacing it. There is a photo of the fitting in our album and That-a-way has had the same problem. Our rust showed up within one month of completion at the factory. I'm sure your dealer will make it right. Another thing you might want to look at is the circuit breakers for the 12V system. They are only available at C-Dory if you want a spare or two you could probably have the dealer get them for you.

Gene Morris

[jimmydj]

gene,
i had to rewire 120volt system and i still have no 12volt power.

were brakers the problem?

thanks
jim
tc #40

[thataway]

Yes, The SS caps on the fills/pump outs are rusting. You can clean them and spray with a protectorany. This is due to a less expensive (Chinese) SS fitting. The factory and dealer know about this on my boat and no new fittings have been sent. I suspect that unless they buy good quality US SS this will recurr.

I asked both the factory and dealer several times for a manual for the Suzuki 150's--not yet sent.

I agree, that if these brakers are unique that they need to supply extras, or go to a breaker which is easily found--since some have failed.

[JamesTXSD]

Yep, a couple deck fitting on our boat had some rust, too. A bit of Flitz or one of those types of products should take care of it. My neighbor across the street is a boat builder, and he saw me polishing our boat before we left for this last trip. He chuckled and said, "It's stainless steel, not rust-less. If you live in a saltwater environment, this is going to happen. It's not a sign of a cheap product, just something that needs a bit of maintenance once in a while. You have to wax and use a little metal polish on your truck - your boat is no different."

That makes sense to me. I don't think it's an indication that C-Dory uses cheap alternatives. BTW, this same builder (known for making quality bay boats) also complimented the C-Dory on it's construction.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[Gene Morris]

JimB;

I agree with you that you have to maintain/polish etc. your boat on a regular basis. However, my Tomcat left the factory the first week in Sept. I first noticed the rust and pitting by the middle of Oct. this time frame is unreasonable to me unless the fittings had been sitting around for a long time. But, from nice finish to rust & pitts with-in 1 1/2 months!
We love our boat and believe that we made a great decision on the purchase. I do know how well they are built my last boat was a 24ft Seaswirl, now that's a cheaply built boat & I never had a rust problem on the stainless.

Gene Morris

[Pete in NY]

I have posted about this before. Stainless steel is a misnomer and the assumption that it will not rust is erroneous. So called stainless steel is an amalgamation (alloy) of iron, nickel, and chrome as well as lesser trace elements. Iron atoms on the surface of 304 or 316 (marine grade with higher content of nickel and chrome and slightly less iron by percentage) stainless steel will oxidize (rust). In order to avoid this, the part must be passivated. Passivation is an acid bath of nitric acid, (citric acid in environmentally sensative California) which removes the iron molecules (atoms) on the surface of stainless steel. In the highly competative marine stainless steel boat hardware market, passivation has generraly become a finishing process ignored for marine hardware to avoid additional cost. Attwood, Seadog, Perko and others are distributing parts to boat builders that are not pasivated due to the added cost of passivation or the absence of skill or understanding of the current lowest cost suppliers in China, the Philipines, etc. C-Dory Group must buy smaller than mass produced standard pack quantities as is from domestic suppliers and may not be able to source custom finished passivated parts economically. So... quit your bellyachin, C-Dory is not to blame and other boat builders using standard hardware have the same issues. The unpassivated stainless parts on our boats will discolor a bit when new and will do so less and less as the years go by and you polish your stainless. Red Fox noted on this forum a while back and observed that after years of polishing his stainless in fact, does not rust any more. The iron on the surface that oxidizes and shows as a stain eventually polishes away. Kind of a manual pasivation.

[flapbreaker]

For maintenance you might try some Woody wax.

[drjohn71a]

Gene - my TomCat left the factory a few weeks ago and already there is rust on the holding tank pumpout cap - before only one use. Pete in NY is right. No big deal to clean it up.

Whatever the problem, it seems to be universal, not just a C-Dory thing.

John

[Bob Cat]

Oh! The joys of owning a boat! And I used to think they were low maintenance . . .

Bob Cat