[Gascan]

I am a member of a club that builds and fights model battleships from WW1/WW2 armed with CO2-powered cannons.  When I riddle the other guy's boat with holes, it sinks to the bottom of the pond, where it will rest until it is salvaged after the end of the battle.  The water is drained out, and the electronics washed out with rubbing alchohol, and the model is usually able to return to action within an hour or two with little or no ill effects.  Here is a video to give you an idea what it looks like.

Although the cannons are powered by paintball CO2 bottles and regulators, the boats are all battery powered.  I noticed that after a while of battling and sinking (and even flooding without sinking) the negative terminal of the battery looked corroded and my boat started to have intermittent loss of electrical power.  Other battlers suffer the same trouble with their batteries as well.  We tend to use 6V or 12V sealed lead acid batteries, 7.2V, 8.4V, and 9.6V NiMH batteries, and some guys are experimenting with LiFe cells.

I know that full size ships use sacrificial zinc or magnesium anodes to protect from galvanic corrosion.  Would that help protect my battery terminal?  Would it help protect the rest of my copper wiring?

Some battlers swear by gold-plated connectors because they have better electrical connection and resist corrosion.  Other battlers swear gold connectors make the rest of the copper wire corrode faster in a wet environment, causing failure sooner.  Who is right?  If gold does accelerate the copper corroding, is there a way to reduce or protect from this effect?

Most battles are fought in fresh water ponds, and we avoid salt water like the plague.  I've heard reports of corrosion and electrical problems in chlorinated pool water and in ponds with copper sulfate.  Is there a way to protect from chemically treated ponds and pools?

[curiouscat]

Looks like a fun hobby!

I don't think sacrificial electrodes will help. Gold plating might.

What might help is to use a good sealant and try to seal off whatever wires you can. il.e. prevent water from seeping in between the plastic sheath & copper.

Or encase all wire with a coat of water proof material or ducting.

[curiouscat]

What might also help is a coat of silicone grease or similar water proofing spray on contacts and wires before you use the boat every time.

PS. What are the rules of war? Just curious.

[billnotgatez]

Galvanic corrosion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion

I am surprised that there are negative comments about using gold

[Corribus]

Ha!  Lasagna cell?  How cool.  I used to notice that happening when I would store home-made pizza in the pan with aluminum foil over it.  Never could figure out why it happened.  Now I know!