Having spent some time at anchor, we are now continuing eastward to the island of Mallorca. First to a marina in Palma, and then to a marina in Cala D'Or where we will haul the boat out for some maintenance.
First stop, Marina Port de Mallorca, in the heart of Palma city. Very convenient, modern, and clean, this marina was a good value with good security as well. We only had a small issue with electricity. We never hook our boat up since the solar panels supply everything we need, but another boat plugged into the supply in our slip because the outlet in their slip wasn't working??? Anyway, we ended up paying for their power. Regardless, this is a great marina with easy access.
Palma old town is well worth a visit and you could spend several days visiting multiple landmarks like the Santa Maria Cathedral as well as beautiful natural sites such as the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.
We did rent a car and drive the coastline, but we didn't have a a lot of time, so didn't get to the top of the mountain range, but looks like a good excursion. We spent more time walking Palma and went inside the Santa Maria Cathedral. The cathedral is pretty unique in that it is one of the larger ones, has the world's largest Gothic rosette, and has unique chapel art installations.
As we need to move along, we sail to the east end of the island to Cala D'Or where we pull the boat out of the water for some maintenance. They perform a service on the Volvo Penta engine replacing the fuel and oil filters and the impeller; paint the hull, and replace the anodes. The marina is a bit narrow when full, has salty water on the dock, and relatively expensive compared to Palma, but the maintenance crew did a great job with all the work and finished on schedule.
There are a total of 4 anodes to be changed on the boat:
2 fixed anodes on keel skeg
1 anode on lifting keel (centerboard)
a set on the propeller
Anodes are used as a sacrificial metal used to protect against galvanic corrosion which occurs when reactive metals immersed in saltwater lose their free electrons resulting in corrosion. If two metals are touching in saltwater, the more reactive will corrode even faster than if it were isolated, as it contributes free electrons to the less reactive metal. The propellor is a Gore folding model made from an alloy of Ni-Br-Al which corrodes faster relative to the steel shaft to which it is connected.
Therefore, an anode made from zinc, is placed in proximity to critical metals as zinc is a weaker or more reactive metal that corrodes faster than most other metals. Therefore, the zinc is utilized to be 'sacrificial' so that any corrosion that occurs will all manifest on the anode rather than the critical metal components that need to be protected.
Anodes should be replaced when about half of the anode has been corroded away and the pictures shown here are more than a year with constant exposure to seawater.
After the boat maintenance is complete, we launch it and head to the NE corner of the island before jumping off to Menorca.
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