Originally Posted by
Beezer
thx g or the reply. Its freshwater. I bought a stainless chain so will use that and may want to replace the steel cogs or maybe just paint them to help with corrosion. Good thought on the zinc.
Good to hear it's freshwater. Money-wise, it's probably best to use marine grease in the bearings and after you remove the craft from the water, perhaps spray the chain, cogs and other unprotected surfaces with WD-40 or Boeshield T9 to displace the water and add a thin protective film.
At worst, you might get surface rust, but I highly doubt the corrosion will be severe in the time frame you describe.
Sacrificial anodes (zincs) work only when the system is submerged, and I'm guessing the total submersion time for the entire project is relatively short. So anodes are probably unnecessary.