Anodes For Yamaha Jet Boats?

[Canuckjetboater]

Advice please - I have done as much homework on this issue as I can and am pretty frustrated. My experience says salt water = zinc anodes, brackish water = aluminium anodes, fresh water = magnesium anodes. I will always be boating in fresh water. Looked at the anode on my 2020 SX195. It did not look like magnesium. Started with the dealer, next Yamaha Canada, next Yamaha U.S.A. finally RIVA Florida U.S.A. Got a huge range of answers: 1. Yes, magnesium would be best for fresh water. 2. Yamaha does not make magnesium anodes. 3. You could use aftermarket magnesium anodes if it did not violate your warranty - will it - couldn't get an answer. 4. Yamaha factory anodes are (ready for this) "composite materials" that are good for ALL types of water......maybe but that seems unlikely to me.......this left me exactly no where. I am handy enough to get a generic magnesium anode and modify it to fit but I have to get confirmation from Yamaha first (in writing) that doing so will not violate my 5 year Yamaha Factory warranty. *****What have you guys done? SECOND question. I would like to install a second anode on the other side of the jet housing (Starboard side facing) as there appears to be two unused mounts there. They might have to be tapped first - anyone done that? Thanks for any advice! Cheers MT

 

[Julian]

Changing your anodes won't void your warranty. If you are worried and have a warranty claim, just put the OEM ones back on before you take it in.

This thread, also linked in the FAQ, discusses where your anodes are: https://jetboaters.net/threads/anode-locations.979/

Some people have added anodes to the pumps...just make sure they don't impede bucket movement.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Changing your anodes won't void your warranty. If you are worried and have a warranty claim, just but the OEM ones back on before you take it in.

This thread, also linked in the FAQ, discusses where your anodes are: https://jetboaters.net/threads/anode-locations.979/

Some people have added anodes to the pumps...just make sure they don't impede bucket movement.

Julian, thanks for the great advice. Yes, would be careful that any aftermarket anodes would not impede range of bucket travel. Cheers MT

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Julian, thanks for the great advice. Yes, would be careful that any aftermarket anodes would not impede range of bucket travel. Cheers MT

 

[Robconn]

The anode that came stock with my 2016 is not available anymore. I believe Yamaha changed the composition of it. Not sure if had to do with 3rd party vendors, cost etc.. Have yet to swap it out as I only boat in fresh water.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

The anode that came stock with my 2016 is not available anymore. I believe Yamaha changed the composition of it. Not sure if had to do with 3rd party vendors, cost etc.. Have yet to swap it out as I only boat in fresh water.

@Robconn ....thanks for the reply. As I will be boating only in fresh water my plan will be to replace at least the "brick" anode on the side of the housing with a magnesium one and if I get frisky I might tap the two identical arms on the other side of the housing to add a second anode.

 

[212s]

...thanks for the reply. As I will be boating my plan will be to replace at least the "brick" anode on the side of the housing with a magnesium one and if I get frisky I might tap the two identical arms on the other side of the housing to add a second anode.

If you wet slip in fresh water, electrical potential in the water is your biggest concern. We trailer so we don't need to change them, but if you don't have magnesium anodes, I'd recommend changing them for slipping. Not sure what the anodes are made of with the newer boats. Perhaps a composite as mentioned above so maybe no need to change. I'd contact your dealer to see what they say and keep a close eye on them.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

If you wet slip in fresh water, electrical potential in the water is your biggest concern. We trailer so we don't need to change them, but if you don't have magnesium anodes, I'd recommend changing them for slipping. Not sure what the anodes are made of with the newer boats. Perhaps a composite as mentioned above so maybe no need to change. I'd contact your dealer to see what they say and keep a close eye on them.

@212s.....awesome advice and IMO 100% on the money. You probably know this - while stray electrical currents are more concentrated in salt water they travel further in fresh water. That is why I requested a slip as far away as possible from the slips with electricity and you probably know this too - it is not necessarily the marina's fault. Many boats have terrible electrical systems that are not isolated and leak electricity into the surrounding water which makes having the proper anodes a must! As for anodes the rules are: Zinc for salt, Aluminum for brackish (50/50 mixture like tidal flats) and Magnesium for fresh. First thing I have always done with a new boat is swap-out the Zinc factory anodes for Magnesium. Now for the fun.....you would think I could get a "straight" answer from Yamaha Canada or Yamaha U.S.A. or one of the biggest Yamaha dealers in the U.S.A. (RIVA Motorsports) - right? WRONG - the "answers" - if you can call them that - to my questions left me TOTALLY frustrated! I got a bunch of different answers - half of which I knew were B$. One answer - that they were composites - stinks too, IMO. I tried to find-out if me swapping after-market Magnesium anodes for "whatever" (never did find-out) Yamaha ships on their boats from the factory would void my 5 year warranty and never got an answer to that either....beautiful! The only decent comments I got were on this forum - thank you members for your advice! I will probably swap-out my Yamaha "factory" anodes - whatever they are - for after-market Magnesium anodes for both sides of the housing!

 

[212s]

@Canuckjetboater You have me curious about it too now. I'll contact my dealer and see what they say about getting magnesium replacements.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

@Canuckjetboater You have me curious about it too now. I'll contact my dealer and see what they say about getting magnesium replacements.

@212s .....oh man I would love to hear their answer!!!!!Please let me (and all of us) know! This outta be interesting!

 

[Liveto99]

How about leaving your factory anodes and adding a magnesium one to the other side of the pump housing.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

@Liveto99 .......thank you for posting that, it is something that I considered. I could put a magnesium aftermarket plate there. I would, of course remove the Yamaha factory anti corrosion paint form the contact areas first. It would be the "best of both worlds", right? I think the mounts on the Starboard side are not tapped to receive bolts but I can do that - CAREFULLY. I saw a video on tapping those two Starboard holes in a JetBoatPilot modification video.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

@Liveto99 .......thank you for posting that, it is something that I considered. I could put a magnesium aftermarket plate there. I would, of course remove the Yamaha factory anti corrosion paint form the contact areas first. It would be the "best of both worlds", right? I think the mounts on the Starboard side are not tapped to receive bolts but I can do that - CAREFULLY. I saw a video on tapping those two Starboard holes in a JetBoatPilot modification video.

@Liveto99 ..... just got back from a shopping run. Bought a 6mm-1 tap to clean-out those factory holes if I can get a magnesium anode. I have a line on one now just have to check the size so that it clears the bucket and nearby linkage. Cheers. MT

 

[212s]

@212s .....oh man I would love to hear their answer!!!!!Please let me (and all of us) know! This outta be interesting!

Called my dealer and spoke with one of their techs who believes they are a magnesium alloy for both fresh and saltwater use, and Yamaha does not offer different ones for different types of water.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Called my dealer and spoke with one of their techs who believes they are a magnesium alloy for both fresh and saltwater use, and Yamaha does not offer different ones for different types of water.

@212s .....very interesting. Magnesium is only recommended for fresh water. Magnesium sacrifices itself faster in brackish water and super fast in salt water so the tech's answer is, in my opinion, a bit suspect. A magnesium anode would certainly protect the underwater metals in a salt water environment but would sacrifice itself really, really fast in salt water - so why would Yamaha do that? I'm not sure we have the correct answer yet. When I looked at my anode the other day (3 weeks in the water) it showed no galvanic sacrifice at all. That would have really worried me if I had seen evidence of galvanic action on the pump housing and there was none at all - so my personal observations at this point do not lead to a conclusion as to the composition of the factory anode. I picked-up a 6mm-1 tap bit at crappy tire and think I will try to get a certified magnesium anode, maybe from Marine Outfitters in Kingston to affix to the other (starboard) side of the pump housing. Stay tuned!

 

[212s]

@212s .....very interesting. Magnesium is only recommended for fresh water. Magnesium sacrifices itself faster in brackish water and super fast in salt water so the tech's answer is, in my opinion, a bit suspect.

He did say it's an alloy, so maybe it's a mix of metals so it's more durable in salt water, but still has the magnesium for fresh?

I picked-up a 6mm-1 tap bit at crappy tire and think I will try to get a certified magnesium anode, maybe from Marine Outfitters in Kingston to affix to the other (starboard) side of the pump housing. Stay tuned!

Will be patiently awaiting your results.

 

[212s]

@Canuckjetboater Heard back from Yamaha head office - they say the anodes are zinc and they don't offer any other options at this time. Jeff from CobraJet says they're magnesium. Tech says they alloy. Don't know who to believe...might take one off and test it for composition.