thoughts on Aluminium for sailing boat?

Any discussion about construction materials is always contentious, but aluminium is generally regarded as the best material to build a cruising yacht. Its biggest drawback is that it is significantly more expensive than a fibreglass structure.
 
Love alu.

However, your zincs are a unique problem and dont EVER drop some copper into the bilges... will eat right through.:eek::eek:
 
Biggest problem with ally is the paint. You can leave it unpainted in whjich case it goes dark grey and ugly. Or you can paint it - and then re-paint it and re-paint and so on. If you arent convinced of this, which was my experience at work, then look at a few older Ovnis and you will see what I mean.

I reckon well done GRP or better still epoxy/ glass are the best boat building materials.
 
mogy said:
Intertested in opinions and facts about aluminium as a material for a yacht
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I used to have an alooominum boat. In summary...

Cons...

Expensive to make initially.
Difficult to get paint to stick.
Can corrode if not treated incorrectly.
Aluminum compatible antifoul paint not very effective.
Likely to be chined hull as compond curves difficult to make.
Can look boxy or agricultural.
Noisy inside.
Needs lining to avoid condensation.

Pros...

Tough as old boots.
Good strength to weight ratio.
 
Thanks,In my quest for a cheap boat in Spain I have come across an ally 27 footer which would fit the bill.I have had steel boats and from your replies I will be looking at the same promlems to some extent.I remmember seeing some ally boats hanging an anode over the side whilst in dock .I think my biggest doubt/fear is the wretched thing being eatern away by some stray electrical current!!!!
 
A friend has a Trintella 57 in aluminium. This model came out in 1987, although his is a bit later. It has a painted hull (dark blue), which still looks perfect, and sweet lines.
I imagine that trying to keep the cost down on smaller boats could be a challenge.
Aluminium builders have had to overcome some initial problems - weld fracture, electrolysis and plate distortion - but they seem to have succeeded.
Because aluminium is so light the plate thickness can be much greater than with steel.
I'd be happy with an aluminium boat, if it was anything like the Trintella 57!
 
Did some racing and cruising on a friends Alloy yacht some years back.

I found the only way to keep my kit dry was to store it in plastic containers, The condensation was dripping everywhere.

Trying to sleep on board was all but impossible due the constant noise from the slightest ripple on the water.

Some time later I was delivering a small trawler up the east coast, brand new so no kit on board, we planned to run non stop, however the combination of a two stroke diesel engine and empty compartments made it impossible to sleep off watch.

We ran for 3 days then stopped for 7 hours so we could all get some sleep, but only after we found a creek to run up to avoid and waves/noise.

Lots of insulation to kill the noise and condensation would help.
 
Aluminum would be my first choice for a custom boat of say 35' and over. Any steel or aluminum boat needs insulation to be warm and quiet below. But for winter living aboard so does fiberglass. One big advantage of an aluminum (or steel) boat is no holes on deck. Every fitting and hatch is either welded on or blind tapped into welded on pads so leaks should be totally non existant. True paint doesn't stick to aluminum as well as to other materials but if you don't mind bare aluminum it brings the price close to a steel boat as a good paint job costs a bit. Up here on Canada's west coast a large number of workboats and commercial vessels are bare aluminum and they have a long working life. The penny thing is a bit of a myth as the normally dry bilge in an aluminum boat wouldn't cause a problem. Electrically ideally every circuit, 12 volt as well as 120 volt, will be switched with a double pole breaker so off really means off. Through hulls of Marelon eliminate problems as well. For a really good treatise on aluminum construction see Steve Dashew's Cruising Encyclopedia - he has probably been personally responsible for more custom aluminun boats, both sail and power, than anyone else in the last 20 or so years.
My second choice would be cold molded construction with epoxy sheathing, as maintenance free as fiberglass and no blistering. The warmth of wood below and as strong as convential glass with a bit less weight. Composite glass is lighter but more expensive.
Fiberglass would not be my choice for a custom design but as the world has shown for production boats it works very well. Not ideal in all ways but if you want to build multiples the same it is hard to beat.
 
oldsaltoz said:
Did some racing and cruising on a friends Alloy yacht some years back.

I found the only way to keep my kit dry was to store it in plastic containers, The condensation was dripping everywhere.

Trying to sleep on board was all but impossible due the constant noise from the slightest ripple on the water.

Some time later I was delivering a small trawler up the east coast, brand new so no kit on board, we planned to run non stop, however the combination of a two stroke diesel engine and empty compartments made it impossible to sleep off watch.

We ran for 3 days then stopped for 7 hours so we could all get some sleep, but only after we found a creek to run up to avoid and waves/noise.

Lots of insulation to kill the noise and condensation would help.
Click to expand...

Very few aluminium yachts are uninsinulated. Only the old lightweight racing yachts, or some homebuilt boats are made like this.
Insulated an aluminium yacht will be quieter and have less condensation than a fibreglass boat
 
Monique said:
dont EVER drop some copper into the bilges... will eat right through.
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A copper coin dropped in the bilge will quite rapidly eat a coin-sized hole in the hull. That is obvious enough but another point not so well known is that the tiny fragments of copper wire that abound when doing any wiring job on board are just as dangerous.

Then there was the guy who antifouled his boat with some surplus paint that turned out to be copper based. Leaks started to appear and on investigatio it turned out the hull was paper thin below the waterline.

A great material, especially if you plan to sail near coral or ice but requires scrupulous care.
 
Here are some rather nice aluminium sailing yachts for reference browsing - never mind that they are all staggeringly expensive, they are nice dream boats.....

The Ovnis (mentioned earlier) and slightly racier Cigales - http://www.northseamaritime.com/Page/ALUOvni.htm

Atlantic Yachts built in Holland - http://www.atlanticyachts.nl/index.php

Van de Stadt design - http://www.stadtdesign.com/

And here is a rather lovely 51' Van de Stadt yacht for sale in Tortola for US$ 340k - lots of $$'s I know, but it is nice even just looking.
I am impressed by the water-tight bulkheads, with proper water-tight doors to pass through them.
http://www.bviyachtsales.com/core/l...rl=&hosturl=bviyachtsales&&ywo=bviyachtsales&

I have been involved in the design and build of a couple of ally power cats here - the elder one is now 10 years old, and has never had any problems with the aluminium work - the hull sides are not painted, but the decks are, and they just need occasional touch up.
 
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.
 
Small thread drift...

Bajansailor said:
And here is a rather lovely 51' Van de Stadt yacht for sale in Tortola for US$ 340k - lots of $$'s I know, but it is nice even just looking.
I am impressed by the water-tight bulkheads, with proper water-tight doors to pass through them.
[
Click to expand...

MAGNIFICENT vessel. Superb find and a true bargain at this price. Still lots of moolah but try getting a HR 48, or equivalent Island Packet at this price point??

You made my day!!!:D
 
For anybody interested in a small aluminium bilge keel yacht (Mogy?), one has just come up for sale on Yachtsnet - http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/boats/m28910/m28910.htm

And if you are in the market for an Oyster or a Rallberg Hussey, then it would definitely be worth considering that lovely Van de Stadt (mentioned above) for sale in Tortola - that is, if Monique has not already bought her..... :)
 
NORA

I have had an aluminium sailing boat, a Sarum 28, Stephen Tucker design, for 10 years and do not recognise a single one of the criticisms listed in this thread. They are fantastic. Just wish I could afford a bigger, new Ovni!
 
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.
Click to expand...

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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