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There's a lot of legend surrounding aluminum sailboats. But not all of it is true. So alu boat building number are the pros and cons of an aluminum hull? Let's find. What are the pros and cons of an aluminum sailboat? Aluminum sailboats need a lot of maintenance; especially when they are located in saltwater. They need to be painted quite often every years.

They are expensive upfront. However, aluminum is a very strong and lightweight material. If done right, an aluminum sailboat can last forever, and can be very fast. A lot of people think aluminum is a bad material for sailboats.

But it's not all bad: aluminum also has its upsides. Most of the alu boat building number with this material are due to bad build quality. So the design is bad, not the material. Some say aluminum is the worst material, others say it is the best. Boaat general, sailors who have alu boat building number experience with aluminum hulls are very positive, even saying it is exponentially better than fiberglass and steel.

The quality of aluminum used is crucial. If it's not up to par, it will corrode VERY quickly. So you need a reputable boat builder that only alu boat building number marine-grade aluminum. Aluminum has a bad rep. That's because there are a lot of cheap, badly-built aluminum boats on the market.

Its baot shame: aluminum can be the ultimate boat building material. But alu boat building number need to pay attention to details when building or buying one. If neglected, aluminum can corrode away quickly. Good strength to weight ratio - Aluminum is very alu boat building number and very strong. One of the guilding important factors that determine your speed is the displacement of the hull - aka the weight.

A lighter boat is faster. So a well-built aluminum boat is faster, and also stronger than fiberglass. Fiberglass tends to crack when under stress. In a collision, aluminum will probably just dent. A dent is not that big a deal. A crack is - you will eventually sink. Lighter than all other materials - Aluminum is lighter than steel, wood, and fiberglass.

While steel is as strong as aluminum, it's very, very heavy, so that's not great. Wood is heavy as alu boat building number, and prone to rot - so aluminum wins. Even the lightweight fiberglass is more heavy than aluminum, while it isn't nymber strong.

Doesn't rust - Aluminum doesn't rust, so, as long as it's above the waterline, you don't need any paint to protect your deck. So while you need to be allu in the bilge, and everything that comes into contact alu boat building number salt water, the rest will be absolutely fine without much attention. Small boats are cheaper - Custom aluminum boats are cheap to build because aluminum doesn't require a mold like with fiberglass. The builder simply cuts the sheets to size and welds the hull.

It's an easy and fast material to work. The guilding itself is also cheap. But it also means that larger boats are more expensive, because the price of an aluminum sailboat mostly consists alu boat building number labor costs. Scratches aren't a big issue - Because aluminum doesn't rust, scratches aren't a big humber. If you scratch your top paint while docking, buolding will practically heal itself, alu boat building number to oxidation.

Lower insurance rate - Insurance companies offer lower rates for aluminum sailboats because they tend to get a lot fewer claims from. Lifetime hull warranty - Because a well-build aluminum sailboat hull lasts a lifetime, some manufacturers give you a lifetime warranty on it. Won't crack - If you hit a rock, your hull won't split open like a fiberglass one.

You'll just be numebr to carry on, which can be a game changer. This also goes for the deck, which means you'll never have leaks -period - if you maintain your boat properly. This is probably the greatest advantage of aluminum over other materials. Bost repairs are easy - Small dents and cracks are easily repaired: they can simply be welded. However, welding aluminum is a bit more complicated than steel, and it requires a lot of skill to create strong welds.

It's not as easy as fiberglass, which you can simply patch up using epoxy. Material is easy buildiing modify - You can literally cut aluminum with a regular alu boat building number cutter. It's a very easy material to modify, and as long as you make sure any attachment points are properly treated for corrosion, you can very easily change things around with just regular tools.

It bujlding more difficult if you need to weld stuff, then get help from a professional. Especially if it's structural stuff. More complex anti-fouling paint - You will probably have to paint the hull below the waterline more often than you're used to. Also, you need bottom paint without copper oxide. Due to the oxidation of aluminum, any kind of deck paint you apply will form bubbles after a couple alu boat building number nu,ber.

Some people don't paint the deck at all, which is perfectly fine. Electrolysis and galvanic corrosion - Aluminum is prone to electrolysis and galvanic corrosion. Electrolysis is the chemical reaction of metals with saltwater. When metal comes into contact with saltwater, an electrical current runs through the metals: it turns your boat into a battery, basically. You need to place anodes on your boat to protect your hull.

I'll explain electrolysis in detail. You need an anode - Sacrificial anodes protect from galvanic corrosion. If you have an aluminum boat that's in saltwater permanently, you definitely need anodes to protect it.

A sacrificial anode is basically a piece of metal that's more anode than aluminum, causing it to corrode before the aluminum starts corroding. Fittings are more complex - Due to electrolysis, adding fittings is more complex. There's really no error margin. Wherever your alu hull meets another piece of metal, it needs to be thoroughly painted, fitted, and maintained. Alu boat building number, corrosion will form pretty quickly.

A boat without proper isolation between the aluminum and other metals will weather away pretty quickly. Hull repair is expensive - Aluminum is more expensive than steel, and finding a skilled aluminum welder can be difficult. So alu boat building number can really cost you if you need to repair the hull. However, a good welder will be quick, which will save you in labor cost. Large boats are more expensive - Since aluminum boats are welded together instead of casted, the labor cost increases exponentially with length.

Quality, large aluminum yachts are way more expensive than fiberglass yachts. But they are a lot cheaper in the long run since they are made of a stronger material. Weak welds - Welds alu boat building number aluminum are prone to contamination. This simply means that they're more likely to contain gas bubbles. Which of course makes them weak. This isn't a problem for the top aluminum welders. Good boat builders use very skilled welders.

But cheap aluminum boats are hastily put together, and the welds can be a real problem. So make sure to only buy good quality build when you're looking for aluminum. Lots of low-quality alu boats - There are a lot of low-quality alu boats out.

Especially US build boats have a bad rep. Because aluminum is so cheap to build, lot's of cheap alu boat building number boats are being built.

And that means that the overall build quality is lower. So the welds aren't as strong, the hull isn't well-constructed or fitted. If you're buying an aluminum boat, you really need to watch out for these budget ones. More noise from water on the hull - Water crashing into aluminum makes a lot more sound than water crashing into fiberglass. Nothing disastrous, but important to know in advance. Condensation - Old aluminum hulls and steel ones as well suffer from more condensation than fiberglass.

However, this is only the case if the boat is not well insulated. Modern aluminum hulls are properly insulated, so condensation shouldn't be a problem.

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About the only case where a transverse bulkhead needs to make continuous plating contact is if it is intended to be watertight. Even then, such a practice tends to distort the plating and is often readily visible on the outside of the boat. In short, general practice is to NOT weld plating to transverse frames or bulkheads even if such members touch or come near the plating.

The chine is the junction between the bottom and side on a v-bottom or flat bottom boat. On high-speed planing boats, this corner should be as crisp are possible, especially in the aft half of the hull. The reason is that water should break free from the hull to reduce frictional drag at speed, and not climb up the topsides. As shown before, Fig. Otherwise, a backing member is largely optional.

If a special extrusion as discussed before is available, Aluminum Boat Building Supplies Number these are acceptable. Side and bottom plating fit into the slots which are then welded continuously. From an appearance standpoint, a continuous inside weld looks best. However, such extrusions are often proprietary items or otherwise prohibitive in cost, and a problem to buy and ship in small quantities.

Completing the ends of such extrusions where they join to transom and stem areas is also not always easy for the builder making a single boat.

However, if the protruding flange is too pronounced, there may be a tendency to hang up on rocks in certain boats such as whitewater boats, or snag debris and catch pilings in other types of boats depending on their use. Otherwise, round bar bends around frames easily and gives a well-defined boundary to work to when fitting side and bottom plates. A temporary chine backing member may help in this regard.

In this case the bottom is fitted first and cut with care along the chine line a temporary backing member may aid in fitting. Then topsides are installed, letting the edge overhang the junction a distance as required to form the spray deflector flat.

While a good design, this configuration also takes care to assure fair lines. As mentioned, on the modern aluminum hull, most plating is reinforced by longitudinals. While a good set of plans will specify what to use for these members, this does not necessarily rule out another alternative if what is specified is not available.

These are available in many sizes, often in the form of extrusions with radiused edges that facilitate welding, or you can cut your own from plate. Other stiffeners are often extruded shapes that can get costly and may not be as readily available in the sizes needed. When installing longitudinals, bending can present problems depending on curvature and member type. One approach some builders take to reduce bending effort Aluminum Boat Building Books Us is to gore members along their flanges as in Fig.

This idea is sound, but the execution takes care to assure fair curves. Good practice also calls for radiusing the corners at the gores slightly to minimize hard spots against the plating. Avoid over-welding, and completely around the ends of each cut.

This allows a strong fillet weld on both sides of the junction the inside weld can be intermittent. A simple corner junction here as in Fig. In fact, some builders extend the bottom plating considerably past the transom on faster planing hulls to form integral non-adjustable trim tabs.

These can later be bent down slightly if required for best performance and then bracketed to the transom once an optimum position has been found. Transom thickness technically need be no more than that of the side or bottom plating. Additional thickness may be required � at least in the area of the cut-out � either through the use of doublers or thick inserts.

A thicker insert is preferable at a cutout to avoid the need to seal joints between doublers by welding. Where thin plating meets thicker plating, bevel the thicker edge at a slope equal to at least three times the thickness of the thinner plate see Fig. The insert should have rounded corners rather than being a hard square or rectangular shape.

There is an on-going debate as to whether welded aluminum boats should be made as light as possible via light plating and framing but with more of it , or with heavier plating using minimal but also somewhat huskier framing members. A boat built with light plating and framing is lighter in weight for more-economical operation, has a higher speed for a given power, is more-easily trailered, has greater payload, and because it has less material, will cost less.

First, there is a natural tendency among builders in any material to over-build and second-guess the designer, even when a boat uses the heavier plating approach initially. The typical idea is that if so much is good, then a little more must be better. The result is that such boats weigh more than the designer predicted. You guessed it � NOT the builder.

Much depends on the boat and its expected service. For pleasure boats, I tend to favor lighter scantlings, but for more rigorous duty, heavier construction may be justified. However, rather than simply increase plating thickness, you might get similar results by adding a few more internal stiffening members instead.

An appealing possibility on metal boats is tanks integral with the hull, which is acceptable for diesel fuel but not gasoline. Because the hull shell plating provides one or more of the tank sides, and internal tank members can double as hull stiffening members, such tanks can save material and add capacity without taking up more room.

First, tanks might be of such a size or located in such a position that welding tight seams all around the perimeter is difficult if not impractical. Second, because full welds are required, there is a greater chance of heat buildup and ultimate hull plating distortion. Finally, special consideration must be given at the intersections of tank ends, hull stiffening members, and internal tank baffles when required.

Attempting to fit and weld tank ends tightly around stiffeners that pass through the tank is tedious if not impossible. Instead, hull stiffeners should stop at tank ends, with similar members cut and fitted inside, or with internal baffles installed in line with such stiffeners as substitutes and to maintain continuity.

Conversely separate tanks built outside the hull are physically easier to manipulate during assembly and welding, easier to test and assure integrity, easier to repair or replace, and not as likely to suffer damage in a collision.

Aluminum tank thickness is sometimes shown as a function of tank capacity such as the following:. To 50 Gals:. However, for practical purposes, most tanks should be at least. Thicker tanks also require less stiffening, and since plating material is usually suitable, no special thinner stock need be ordered as might be implied from the above list. Also provide striker plates or doublers on the bottom under sounding tubes if being used to prevent damage to the inside of the tank.

All tank tops should be canted, sloped, or cambered so condensation or moisture will drain off the tops. Tanks can be made out of the same material used for the hull plating , , etc. Special computer-aided design programs coupled with numerically-controlled cutting equipment have made it possible to literally pre-cut all the components of a metal boat to precise size and shape in kit form ready for final welding assembly.

However, for successful results, a skilled boat designer familiar with the material and fabrication techniques, along with the ability to operate the software to within exacting tolerances is a prerequisite. There are a number of options; the availability in your local area will likely dictate this choice for you.

They will fully cut your kit, and form all parts to spec. They even draw on the assembly lines for you. Here are some things to consider for the options:. Laser: the limiting factor in laser-cutting is not speed or quality, but the size of the table. Only a large router at CJM was able to tackle this. Waterjet: a good option and many shops have a machine large enough to cut your parts.

The downside is edge prep. The waterjet leaves sand particles in the surface of the weld. You will need to grind all the edges before welding. Router: the best option for boat building due to large tables and no edge prep. The downside is that detailed cutting is limited to the size of the end mill being used.

As most boat designs have been designed for a CNC router, this is not normally an issue unless there is an operator error. While a router is a great option, a bit of cleanup might be required. I found some interference issues in the joints of my jig, which required me to get in there with a little file and take out the cutter radius to make the jig fit correctly.

This is bad. Got it!? Ok good. Well, if you can afford a pulse mig machine, this is what you want. Professional boat builders will only use this kind of machine. However, they cost your first born child to buy, so maybe see if you can rent one for your build.

If a pulse mig is not an option, you need a spool gun for your welding machine. They are reasonably priced and most major manufacturers make them. You will need exceptional welding skills to use a standard spool gun though. Practice your different welds.

Avoid Aluminum Boat Building Supplies Kitchen burning through. I have been welding for 17 years and completely burned through my first boat. Even better, hire a friend with boat-building skills.

Have them go over the welding techniques with you. You will thank us later for this. The design files come with a jig. I chose to put mine on some custom-built sawhorses. Typically, these alloys have a heat number of H3, which means they have been strain hardened and stabilized. All alloys use magnesium as the principal alloying element. This makes the aluminum easier to weld, which is important for construction.

This aluminum alloy is not as susceptible to cracking during the forming process and is also the least expensive of the common marine alloys. Aluminum alloy is commonly used by the US Navy.

This aluminum alloy is widely used in chemical and marine environments where corrosion resistance is crucial and can also withstand extremely cold temperatures without becoming brittle. Considered the superior alloy for marine environments, has similar characteristics of , but with added strength.

This alloy is so close to its brother that the two are arguably interchangeable. The main benefit of this aluminum alloy is its increased corrosion resistance properties, especially in salt water.

It is the most popular choice for hull bottoms and side sheets. This is a great general-purpose alloy.

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