www.iFourWinns.com

Well I tried to speak with Volvo customer relations and the kept sending me back to the dealer. The dealer said they were going to fix it by repainting ONLY the corroded parts. I asked what's going to happen when it corrodes again? They said they were going to try to figure out why it's happening? Hopefully I have an open case now and will be able to get some results if it does happen again once the warranty expires. I did email VOLVO and expressed my displeasure. My boat is supposed to be ready on Thursday. I'll fill you in with pics and opinions!

Doug

........

I think you're correct. When it does come back and/or show up in other areas (and I hate to say it but it might very well do that), you'll already have a documented problem and be in a pretty good position to get real satisfaction. In the mean time just be sure to have your dealer do all maintenance and get it done on time, so that you build up a record of YOU doing all the right things.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Well I got the boat back. I am impress with the paint job. I spoke with the painter and he said he used a zinc cromate primer and acrylic paint. It looks like new. Problem is we still don't know the cause of the problem. My grounding was fine. I was told the anodes weren't a big issue on a trailered boat . I spoke with Volvo and although the said they closed the case they will reopen it again if I have more problems. My warranty is good through september.

Doug

Looks good! Sounds like the painter did it right.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

When I picked up my new boat i noticed it came with the Aluminum anodes. I asked my dealer about switching to magnesium, and he said that he'd never heard of that. He did look it up and confirmed that the Volvo documentation does call for them in fresh water, but said that predominantly all of their boats are used in Fresh Water only (Lake Michigan) and they never swap out the Aluminum anodes for magnesium - just called again and confirmed this by the way. Having now read of these corrosion issues, and the corresponding issues with warranty coverage, I'm going to order up a set and swap them out before I pull the boat out of storage just to cover myself, as I believe that my Dealer is correct, Aluminum anodes work fine in the Fresh water around here. Am I right in thinking Volvo supplies Aluminum anodes as standard (which are not recommended for any one type of water) because they are the lowest cost anodes?

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

No, they're just a compromise metal that "sort of" works ok in either fresh or salt. My Volvo manual specifically says to change them. It doesn't surprise me a bit that a dealer would say they've never heard of this. I think most dealers simply don't think about it (and almost as many don't care).

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

http://www.boatzincs.com

There seems to be lots of opinions on anodes. My dealer seems to think the aluminum is sufficient for trailered boats. That anodes are only effective on boats that spend overnight time in the water.

Doug

I choose to follow the opinion of Volvo's manual, if for no other reason than the fact that that's who I expect to provide warranty service. It seems to me that dealers tend to take the "just use what came on it" approach (IMO because they don't know what they're talking about, just like they often don't about many aspects of the product they're selling), and folks who have been boating for awhile take the "use the RIGHT ones" approach, often because they've seen the consequences of not doing so.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I'm in the process of re-painting my drive now. I put the zinc-chromate primer on this weekend, will spray with top coat of Volvo silver this coming weekend. It won't look as nice as new, but should be better than it was when the boat came out of the water last fall.

I just hope it lasts a season or two. It made it for 7 seasons in the water(6 months per year) and only had minor corrosion. I thought that was pretty good.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I was surprised to learn that Volvo has 3 different part numbers for touch up paint. Of course, the 3rd one I tried was the correct one for my drive . I only needed it to touch up a scrape on my skeg that occurred during shipping to the dealer. No scraped skegs allowed.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Ok guys... my turn.
I just came back from two days of getting the boat ready for this season and much to my dismay I found sterndrive corrosion. .
Here's the history:
Purchased from Boat Warehouse in Kindston, Ontario (freshwater dealer).
It's a 2005 298 with twin 5.0 GXI/DP's, bought new in January of 2006.
Didn't see water for the first time until May of 2006.
Currently has 2 seasons on it slipped from May to October.
Slip/docks have shore power.
Unsure of anodes currently in use but as supplied from dealer.
It seems to me and please correct me if I'm mistaken, that these drives are experiencing significant corrosion for their age/use.
I know that those on this thread experiencing corrosion problems have slightly newer boats but is this normal?
Here's some pic's of the affected areas.





Would love to know what everyone thinks.

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"ROCKHOUND"
2005 Vista 298
Georgian Bay, Ontario.

While making arrangements for the repaint, find out which anodes you've got, and their condition. Also see if you can determine whether you've got any stray current around your docks.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Thanks Mike,
The anodes do seem to be heavily corroded for their age.
How would I check for stray currents around the dock... with a amp meter?

Pete

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"ROCKHOUND"
2005 Vista 298
Georgian Bay, Ontario.

Sorry Pete, never having had a slip myself I honestly don't know how to check for it; I just know it can be done and it wouldn't be the first time that turned out to be the problem.

I would say that a slipped boat could easily (i.e., normally) need new anodes every year, but you should first figure out which ones you've got.

If someone could write up a little how-to on this, it'd be great info for the board.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic