I’m headed to the Gulf in Texas for a week this summer and plan on bringing my 20 foot Lowe aluminum bay boat to fish for trout and reds. I will launch and recover the boat every day and rinse it off with fresh water at the end of each day. I have an aluminum trailer. 
 

The Mercury motor has anodes, and I plan on buying an anode for the trolling motor. What do I need to do to protect the boat itself? A four anode kit was an option from the factory, but the dealer didn’t order it for my boat, and searching online doesn’t show what those anodes were made of and how they were attached.
 

Do I need anodes? How many, what kind, and how do I attach them to the boat? Thanks in advance.

I used my 16 Lowe Roughneck aluminum boat in both fresh and salt water for ten years.  My son is still fishing out of it.   I did not use any extra anodes. The biggest problems when fishing salt water is the trailer and the wiring.  Fresh water boats used in salt water do not have the same wiring as a boat built for salt water use.   That's one reason flats boats are so expensive. When you come back, wash everything with fresh water thoroughly, especially the trailer brakes and hubs.  Salt water is tough on equipment.  We used to call it "Rust while you watch!"  ?

I wouldn't worry about it.  If you're washing it off each day and only going for a week, I doubt you'll see any problems.  The real issue would be any spots you didn't get washed out.  Especially if saltwater got inside something and evaporated and left the salt behind.  Then every time it got wet again, that issue would come up. 

 

With the boat out of the water, the anodes won't do you much good.  They need to be connected by water to the parts that might corrode to be effective.  Just having one on near a corroding part won't do anything while it out, in the air.  

Yep, I just didn’t know if the 6-8 hours or so per day in the water would be enough time for electrolysis to become a problem. I assume it’s a good idea to flush the motor every day too, or am I being too sensitive to the whole thing? Many boats sit moored in salt all the time and go on long multi-day trips, maybe I’m overthinking it for a week long trip. 

If The anodes are zinc a more sacrificial metal then aluminum for galvanic corrosion.

Your TM should have a anode to protect it from electrolysis in fresh water do to electrical current to ground like the OB.

Flush the OB engine with fresh water after each use should be good to go.

Be safe, it’s the ocean and big boats & barges.

Tom

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.