The J/109 Class Association Forum

Hello, I am the new owner of Strider

The previous owner kept her in good shape, but she does come with a corrosion problem. I have a rather good comprehension of electrics and electronics (I use to write for Panbo, Sail Magazine, and Practical Sailor). Maybe one of you can call out something I should be checking for specific to J109's?

The problem presents as consuming 2-3 Zinc's a year, being rarely connected to Shore Power. In addition, a Yanmar sail-drive replaced in 2004 has been ravaged, with a hole on the side 1/3 up from the bottom appearing while commissioning her and grooves as deep as 8mm around the top of where the sail drive enters the bottom.

The owner said she came from a dock which was known for this kind of problem, and kept the shore power disconnected. Have any of you experienced a J109 being that sensitive to nearby boats?

The only thing I find odd, is that there are two galvanic isolators. The standard one behind the AC panel and a Zinc Saver mounted a few feet forward of the AC outlet.

Dan Corcoran
Strider #332

Not sure I can offer any brilliant solutions you haven't already thought of but just in case, have you checked your galvanic isolator to make sure it's working? We had to replace ours because the original had a fault in it. Not sure if this helps but the manual for the original isolator can be found under the "Info" tab on the class website, then go to "Drawings and Manuals". Or, follow this link: http://j109.org/docs/ProSafe-One-Manual.pdf
Good luck!

Jim
# 168, "Junkyard Dog"

Dan,

You may want to borrow equipment to measure leakage current with a good quality clamp on amp meter. There is a way to measure AC leakage current with an article that explains how on the Fluke website at this link.

Additional checks using a Silver/Silver-Chloride reference electrode can be made using a digital voltmeter on a 2 volt scale with greater than 10 megohm input impedance. The procedure is documented at this link.