thoughts on Aluminium for sailing boat?

fuss said:
I have an aluminium boat and my boat was in a marina for 18 months berthed between two steel boats.

Why would you have lots of hanging anodes? my anodes are 5 years old and this includes the time between the steel boats.
(I know some people say that means the anode is not working but they seem to be just getting eaten away very slowly)
I have one hanging anode sometimes... just so that i can sometimes pull it up and see that it looks ok... if it did not look ok then i would probably assume there was a problem with stray currents etc.

if i saw an aluminium boat with lots of hanging anodes then i would assume that the owner does not understand what aluminium boats require.
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100% Agree. We owned and cruised a 32 footer for 8 years. Never replaced an anode. In fact I'm convinced that the boat still had it's original anodes (30 years on). If you understand how galvanic and electrolytic corrosion happen (and it's not all that difficult a subject matter), then you can prevent it. Don't believe all the second hand horror stories from people who have never operated an aluminium yacht.
 
Marsupial said:
There are lots of OVNI boats out here but their owners get very excited when asked to berth alongside steel boats, something to do with their boats dissolving overnight I understand. And they all carry lots of hanging anodes that are deployed as soon as they moor up. Beautiful boats inside but what a palava.
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sure... have a chat with charlie to know the truth http://www.charliesailing.com about ovni's before you start spreading this kind of nonsence around.
 
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I'm not too conviced the anodes are doing their job if untouched after years !

Alloy is spiffing - I am used to flying in and working with aircraft made of it, and I really fancy an Ovni, but I still couldn't reconcile to having a boat with a distinctly finite life...
 
Seajet said:
I'm not too conviced the anodes are doing their job if untouched after years !

Alloy is spiffing - I am used to flying in and working with aircraft made of it, and I really fancy an Ovni, but I still couldn't reconcile to having a boat with a distinctly finite life...
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With all due respect. You need to understand the issues before making this kind of statement. To suggest that aluminium boats have 'a distinctly finite life' is completely rediculous.

Anodes are there mainly in case they are required (i.e. if for some reason an electrical circuit is created accidentally). To assume that anodes must 'do their job' (i.e. that there is by definiton always a job for them to do), just because the hull is equipped with them, indicates that you do not fully understand their role on an aluminium hull.

Just my opinion, and experience as an owner.
 
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Seajet said:
I'm not too conviced the anodes are doing their job if untouched after years !

Alloy is spiffing - I am used to flying in and working with aircraft made of it, and I really fancy an Ovni, but I still couldn't reconcile to having a boat with a distinctly finite life...
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I am not sure where you get the idea a destinctly finate life. Of all the common boatbuilding materials Aluminium is the one least effected by salt water. Hang a piece of raw aluminium in seawater for say 100 years then test its properties. Now try that with typical fiberglass structure, steel or wood. Even when coated with the best available coatings the later materials will have deteriorated significantly. Alumium will even uncoated will be essentially unchanged.
All this a bit academic given that, other than steel, the lifespan of a boat is really determined when it is uneconomic to repair or replace the peripheral components.
Which boat will survive the longest an Ovni or Beneteau? My money would be on the Ovni.
 
Benetaus are an unfair comparison, not the best GRP boats in the world...

I am trained & qualified in alloy engineering, which is why I say such boats have a finite life; the same applies for steel.

Sorry if you don't like it, but that's physics & metallurgy for you !

One might look up electroylsis too...
 
alloy boats

have 1977 sarum 28 which i have stripped back to bare alloy inside and out
only corrosion under wooden pads for winches,mast,and rudder[no anode on rudder]
strong as old boots and well mannered
repair damaged paint work asap and enjoy
think their are four sarums 4sale in uk Eastbourn,Poole,Bristol,and one upnorth
all around£14000
Regards
bacus
 
Seajet said:
Benetaus are an unfair comparison, not the best GRP boats in the world...

I am trained & qualified in alloy engineering, which is why I say such boats have a finite life; the same applies for steel.

Sorry if you don't like it, but that's physics & metallurgy for you !

One might look up electroylsis too...
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Ovni’s are production boat builders like Beneteau they produce good quality boats at a reasonable price. They are probably the cheapest aluminium yacht builder. There are more expensive aluminium production boat builders which could be compared in fittings and interior finish to yachts like Halberg Rasseys.
There are then the custom built aluminium yachts which at the top end could be compared to Oyster.
An Aluminium hull is considerably more expensive to make than a fiberglass structure, but as the bare hull cost only accounts for something like 1/3 of the cost of the finished yacht it does not necessarily translate to a much more expensive yacht.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree about the physics and its effect on the relative life of different construction materials.
 
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With due respect to all concerned I think I have read an exceptional amount of misinformation on this thread. Top of the bill must be the old chestnut about dropping a copper coin in the bilge. For five years I owned a Sarum 28. She was a good strong and seaworthy boat and at 30 years of age had no corrosion problems despite coins & bits of wire periodically residing in her nooks and crannies and despite being berthed in fresh and salt water marinas in very mixed company. The paint adhesion problem only needs the right primer - do you see the paint flaking off airliners? I used Blakes epoxy primer/undercoat followed by Dulux weathershield gloss which is superior to single pot 'yacht' paints. Aluminium is now the favoured material for workboats which it wouldn't be if its durability and longevity were in question.
 
A bit of thread drift sorry - If anybody would like to have a copy of my scanned Sarum 28 catalogue, drop me a PM with your email address and I will send it on.

And if any Sarum owners are interested in a 9' long 2 part nesting plywood (or ally even....) dinghy designed to fit partially on the foredeck and over the forward end of the coachroof, I designed one a few years ago for a pal who had a Sarum then - but they have since sold her, and they never got around to building the dinghy........ and I would like to see if my design works. :)
Free copies of the plans by email to anybody who might like to build one, including all the offsets for the panel sizes.

PS - I would agree with Noelex and JimC above re how aluminium is a brilliant material for boat building, with very few disadvantages, and many excellent qualities.

Here are links to a few threads I started about an ally oil spill response cat I was involved in recently :
Aluminium OSRV - http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224851
and http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237131
and http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240767

The Builders did a fine job on the aluminium work (and the outfit), and I am confident that she will still be looking good in 10, 20, 30...... years time.
 
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Interesting read on the yachts from Craig and Bajan.

There is a similar styled vessel called "Blizzard", currently moored in Hobart (Tasmania), which from memory was built and designed by the captain of the local Antarctic research ship (Aurora Australis), to spend the entire winter frozen solid in ice, while the small team of scientists onboard do their thing.
Quite incredible expectations for this 50 odd foot yacht.

Just on the metal debris in the bilge thing, one of our marina workboat dinghies (18' long, constructed from 3mm rolled or pressed alloy) has had the bilges scattered with old builders screws and nails for the last six years, hidden under flooring, sole panels. She is permanently moored, never looked after, with impact dents all over, but no sign of corrosion.
 
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