Selestra WHISSTOCKS Al Alloy boats

[Guest]

Hi there,

Can someone advise me on the whereabouts of the Whisstocks Marina firm, is it out of business.

Also looking at Aluminium Alloy boats (specifically Selestra 53, 1984),... is this a suitable material / model for blue water cruising and what are the key things to know about re. purchase and maintanence of Al Alloy hulls.

Any key contacts re. Al Alloy hulls?

Any info to this new correspondent would be great! Thanks.

Shambles

 

[ChrisW]

I am not sure if it is the same firm but have a look at www.whisstock.com

USA Office: 6 Florence Street, Andover, MA 01810
UK Office: 22 Kingston Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4AX
(UK) +44 (0)1394 388 578


E-mail us at sales@whisstock.com

Good luck

 

[extravert]

These are my experiences with owning an aluminum boat

-Like a steel boat, an aluminum boat will never be as attractive as a wood or plastic boat. Making curves out of flat sheets is difficult, and you will always end up with the 'hungry horse' appearance in an old and stressed hull.

-Keeping a good paint finish on an aluminum boat is hard, as getting paint to stick is difficult. However, the paint is for cosmetic purposes, marine aluminum has little need for paint for corrosion protection.

-If a few sensible precautions are taken and the boat is well designed and built, corrosion will not be a problem. Marine aluminum just goes on for ever. Keep anodes in good condition, check bilges for metal bits, keep dissimilar metals apart as much as possible (especially below the water line) and avoid mercury like the plague.

-The boat will be a lot lighter than a steel one and a lot tougher than a plastic one.

-Repairs are specialized, it can be hard to find a yard that will take it on, and it will be expensive.

-Aluminum is a great heat conductor, hot in hot climates, cold and damp in cold ones. You will need a good lining for comfort, and it must be properly installed.

-And like all metal boats, noone hits you and gets away with in lightly.

 

[Guest]

I can't find any trace of Whisstocks in the Directory but there are loads of other ally boatbuilders.

Click on 'Directory' (below) then 'Boat construction and repair' then choose 'Boatbuilders - steel, aluminium' from the menu of the right and you'll get details for 44 suitable companies.

Hope that helps.

 

[Guest]

Extravert, thanks very much for info.

Just to follow up, I really like the idea of a strong boat and would like to use this for ocean type cruising.

Two things I have heard about:-

1) You mention the repairs, difficult to work on Al, argon type welding, although the French do have a lot of this Al type I believe.

2) Corrosion: some conversations I have had with folk have advised me that electrical fault on Al boats can cause a metallic galvanic discharge that is both difficult to spot (if Al boats are painted), and potentially very damaging to hull strength.

Have you come across this type of problem with your experiences, or is this a bit of a storm-in-a-teacup thing. I don't have a feel for how much corrosion could occur this way.

Heh, thanks again, Shambles

Shambles

 

[chippie]

In the unlikely event of corrosion occuring under paint on aluminium it can be identified by bubbling of the paint. Removal of paint on the affected area and cleaning back and recoating is usually effective in preventing further spread.