After cleaning out the gas locker I had to refurbish the grating that the gas bottles sit on. The grating was heavily soiled and marked with rust stains from the bottom ring on the gas bottles, they had been sitting and festering rust. Gas lockers should be closed off from the rest of the boat and ventilated overside. On Truce the gas locker has an upper vent and a lower drain.
The gas locker is a wonderful environment for cultivating rust. The salt air can easily enter the drain and vent holes and no doubt in strong weather a good deal of wet salty air does enter. Then we have the sun to warm things up in the locker, helping the corrosion along nicely. On most boats the lid or door remains firmly closed until the next gas bottle change out, which could be weeks or months.
If your budget runs to aluminum or glass fiber bottles read no further. If like most of us, steel gas bottles are the budget choice or convenient swap a bottle option. Steel gas bottles are mostly coated in the thinnest paint possible with no kind of primer or undercoat (that I can detect) on the bare steel. The bottom of the support ring stand always seems devoid of paint and ready to rust.
Not wanting to put the old gas bottles back onto the newly refurbished grating I looked for options. I came up with cutting a length of split tubing, the type used in electrical installations, and fittig it around the base ring of the gas bottle. It fitted rather well and prevents contact of the steel base with the grating.
I am happy to report that after a few months of use and plenty of salt spray in the air the split tubing has prevented the rusty ring problem. Life is a little better now.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 