Abstract
River boats currently in operation lack adequate protection against corrosion. Historically, iron and steel have been the primary materials employed in boat construction. The cathodic protection techniques for boats involve the use of sacrificial anodes to mitigate hull corrosion. This paper will elucidate the sacrificial cathodic protection of boats operating in fresh water, specifically focusing on those in Basrah’s fresh water. The influence of water composition and the materials used for sacrificial anodes on the efficiency of the river boat protection system has been thoroughly investigated, particularly concerning magnesium and aluminum anodes. The analysis and calculations revealed that for magnesium anodes weighing 2.3 kg, a total of 17 sacrificial anodes are required, distributed over a span of 1.5 m. In contrast, for 2.3 kg aluminum anode, 13 aluminum anodes are necessary, spread over a distance of 2 m. Furthermore, the impact of fresh water pollution directly affects cathodic protection, accelerating the consumption rate of the anodes.