Aluminium Boats - What to look out for?

[Tim Good]

In terms of depreciation does anyone feel a well built aluminum swing keeler will hold its value better in the market generally? Not only to hull strength but in terms of increasing popularity for such boats?

Or would it just come down to brand name. I.e. everyone knows Ovni so they'll pay the cash. Like Nauticat I suppose, overpriced in my eyes.

 

[noelex]

Failed a the first hurdle, it has twin wheels. Very much a no, no in my eyes.

Me I prefer a tiller, but most of the time a boat like this will be sailed on autopilot so the wheel configuration is not very important. It does provide some redundancy and seems logical with twin rudders.

Why very much a no, no?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Aluminium Boats - What to look out for?

Dents.

Oh and twin wheels. They cause dreadful corrosion, not to mention sea-sickness, lightning strikes and bird droppings.

 

[Tranona]

Aluminium Boats - What to look out for?

Dents.

Oh and twin wheels. They cause dreadful corrosion, not to mention sea-sickness, lightning strikes and bird droppings.

What about catching fire?

 

[snooks]

Failed a the first hurdle, it has twin wheels. Very much a no, no in my eyes.

Why's that then?

Sail it - Or read my report coming out in YM next month....and you might change your mind....

Let's take a look at the Exploration's steering/rudders for a second (or two)...There are two of them, each is protected by a short skeg, deep enough to deflect most things floating. If this fails the rudder stock should bend, not snap. The top aft section of the rudder is composite and designed to be sacrificial to stop the rudder puncturing the hull...If the rudder stock bends and the composite bit breaks off the rudder can still be used. If the rudder jams it can be disconnected so steering is still possible with one rudder. If the rudder does puncture the hull, the area above it is a watertight bulkhead. So you could still disconnect the rudder steer then let the area fill with water if you wanted.

All sounds very sensible to me

 

[[70521]]

Why's that then?

I like to keep it simple.

I am sure there are some great design features on the vessel, but I am convinced that duel wheels have no place on a cruising boat for a number of reasons:

More to break;

Take up far too much space; and

Two wheels plus self-steering gear makes no sense when you are on a long passage.

Every vessel it is about compromise, different things work for different people. For me twin wheels tick the walk away box.

I look forward to reading the article and seeing your comments about why two wheels are better.

 

[Elessar]

Nikes boat wasn't quite a "colander" lol. She did find a few holes that were successfully welded. Karl was very neglected when she got him. I urge everyone to follow her on FB and watch her videos on Youtube......she is great fun and has no hidden agenda. :encouragement:

oh no. The video says "supported by boatoon.com and lee sails". The forum nasties will be along in a minute to pillory her.

 

[MrB]

oh no. The video says "supported by boatoon.com and lee sails". The forum nasties will be along in a minute to pillory her.

Huge difference (to JE), Nike is delightful. She has no agenda what so ever other than sailing Karl and sharing her experiences, she asks for nothing what so ever.She has worked so hard getting a very neglected boat to this stage and now the fun/journey begins. Ask her questions or just reply on her threads, she chats with everyone. JE could learn a lot from this girl.

 

[[70521]]

Me I prefer a tiller, but most of the time a boat like this will be sailed on autopilot so the wheel configuration is not very important. It does provide some redundancy and seems logical with twin rudders.

Why very much a no, no?

I currently have a tiller, but prefer a wheel.

Just not a fan of two rudders as there is more to go wrong and the prop is usually nowhere them so most boats have a bow thruster (more to go wrong).

 

[noelex]

Just not a fan of two rudders as there is more to go wrong and the prop is usually nowhere them so most boats have a bow thruster (more to go wrong).

What you say is right, but with a centreboard, or retractable keel yacht without twin rudders a singe rudder needs to pivot, or fold (like the keel). Ovni use this on many of their models. It is more complex, probably less robust, and there is no redundancy.

 

[Otter]

oh no. The video says "supported by boatoon.com and lee sails". The forum nasties will be along in a minute to pillory her.

I love the extremists on both sides of the JE debate, even on a thread about corrosion of aluminium hulls they still manage to get a JE reference in, that shows real dedication to their cause.

 

[Elessar]

I love the extremists on both sides of the JE debate, even on a thread about corrosion of aluminium hulls they still manage to get a JE reference in, that shows real dedication to their cause.

OK guilty of mentioning it, but I found the contrast striking. I can't be bothered to input into the JE thread any more, it winds me up. Mr B just said it was OK to be nasty to people you don't like. Fine. He and other Mc nastys have different values to me and I will ignore them.

 

[Otter]

OK guilty of mentioning it, but I found the contrast striking. I can't be bothered to input into the JE thread any more, it winds me up. Mr B just said it was OK to be nasty to people you don't like. Fine. He and other Mc nastys have different values to me and I will ignore them.

I discovered the ignore button during a JE thread and it's surprising how much more readable the threads are - The two Mr C's are my only two, as they've never posted anything actually useful I'm not missing anything except their nastiness. The brief discussion on ring netting was actually interesting - and do check out SB's colregs post, one the finest bits of paraody you'll see on here.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I currently have a tiller, but prefer a wheel.

Just not a fan of two rudders as there is more to go wrong and the prop is usually nowhere them so most boats have a bow thruster (more to go wrong).

Twin wheels does not necessarily mean twin rudders.

With twin rudders when the boat heels one becomes more deeply immersed, thus less likely to let go and cause a broach.

Upside and downside to most things. I fear you are only seeing the downside.

 

[Tranona]

In terms of depreciation does anyone feel a well built aluminum swing keeler will hold its value better in the market generally? Not only to hull strength but in terms of increasing popularity for such boats?

Or would it just come down to brand name. I.e. everyone knows Ovni so they'll pay the cash. Like Nauticat I suppose, overpriced in my eyes.

Future values of boats are always difficult to predict - even more difficult with low volume specialised types where by definition the potential number of buyers is very limited. buyers tend to go for well established brands because they do seem more predictable, and high used values reinforce the reason why they are popular in the first place.

If you feel that an unusual boat (which an aluminium centreboard is, at least from a UK perspective) is the type that will suit you best, then perhaps future value is of less concern. However if you do want some security of higher future value then may be better to stick to a more mainstream boat, but may also mean you have to accept "less" boat for your money.

 

[snooks]

the prop is usually nowhere them so most boats have a bow thruster (more to go wrong).

Ah...but with twin rudders, that's what you want:

clicky: http://www.allures39-9.com/allures-39-9/concept-2/ and scroll to the bottom.

By mounting the prop forwards it's possible to get wash over the rudders...yes it's gives a bit of a delay, but it works quite well....I would have a bow thruster though, most of what is under the water is near the back so the bows can be blown away quite easily, and if you're coming in somewhere with the keel up a bow thruster is a boon to keep her pointed where you want her.

 

[noelex]

If you feel that an unusual boat (which an aluminium centreboard is, at least from a UK perspective) is the type that will suit you best, then perhaps future value is of less concern. However if you do want some security of higher future value then may be better to stick to a more mainstream boat

My impression is the aluminium centreboard boats have a significantly higher resale value. Anyone want to do analysis?

 

[[70521]]

Ah...but with twin rudders, that's what you want:

clicky: http://www.allures39-9.com/allures-39-9/concept-2/ and scroll to the bottom.

By mounting the prop forwards it's possible to get wash over the rudders...yes it's gives a bit of a delay, but it works quite well....I would have a bow thruster though, most of what is under the water is near the back so the bows can be blown away quite easily, and if you're coming in somewhere with the keel up a bow thruster is a boon to keep her pointed where you want her.

OH gawd noooooooo, I am sure the interior was designed by IKEA!

 

[snooks]

OH gawd noooooooo, I am sure the interior was designed by IKEA!

I wasn't pointing to the interior silly

It was the little diagrams of prop wash over the rudders

 

[Tranona]

My impression is the aluminium centreboard boats have a significantly higher resale value. Anyone want to do analysis?

Than what? The question will they lose value more than other boats, not what the price is.

Impossible to "analyse" without having starting values and values at different ages.

Some like Ovnis seem to hold value - but in the same way as many other premium brands such as HR, Nauticat etc do. However that is as much to do with confidence in the brand, high prices of new boats and scarcity as the hull material.

As a matter of interest there are 210 listings on Yachtworld for aluminium yachts (not just centreboard) in the 35-50' range, representing nearly 200 boats (some are duplicates). This compares with 12731 GRP, 352 steel and 522 wood. 52 are in France, 32 in USA, 20 in Holland, 9 in NZ 10 in Germany. The rest spread all over the world, many (presumably cruising) in French overseas territories so probably French origin. Only 3 in UK, all recent Ovnis.

So, very much a minority interest, and dominated by French, Dutch and US custom or semi custom builders.