Aluminum boat & saltwater

lakeorbay

lakeorbay

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Is this a bad combination? The reason I need to know is because I'm about to embark on an aluminum boat restoration. I mainly fish inland lakes. There is good saltwater fishing here and would like to take advantage of that from time to time. It might be wise of me to check my options before I start. Thanks everyone.
 
Boatist

Boatist

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

Aluminum boats do great in saltwater if it is a trailer boat. Just flush the motor and the boat when you pull it out of the water. Most ramps here have a wash station for flushing the motor and cleaning the hull and trailer.

If your going to dock the boat in saltwater for a long time then the boat aluminum boat needs to be set up for it. Example all the new Coast Guards 47 foot boats are Aluminum hulls and unpainted and they hold up great. Some aluminum hull need to be painted if going to dock in salt water.

My 1980 Aluminum boat has had about 50 percent of it use in salt water and has no signs of any salt water damage. In fact the picture is backing in at Bodega Bay on the Pacific ocean.
 
lakeorbay

lakeorbay

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

That's good news, thanks. Some decisions I make during my restore would be decide on whether this is going to be strictly a boat for fresh water or both. My horizon has been broadened:D.

Yeah, I'm in the Bay Area. I'm more of a Fresh water fisherman, but it would be a shame to miss out on the Halibut, Sturgeon AND Salmon if they ever let us fish for them again!
 
S

sunbird 18

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

We run a Lund 16, Alumacraft 16, and a starcraft 16 here at work in the ICW of florida....salt water. All trailer boats. Rarely washed down. All of them are trashed. Corrosion under the paint everywhere. Leaking rivets. It looks like most of the corrosion is just surface oxidation, but once it starts to get under the paint, it doesnt stop.

On another note, we have a USCG SAFE boat that is 100% aluminum and it is holding up just fine. Maybe because there is no paint to flake off of it it seems better?

Regardless, you should be ok going into saltwater from time to time. Just make sure to wash her off real good outside AND inside.
 
D

David Greer

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

Also, keep you trailer axle and hubs out of the water at a salt water ramp.
 
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dave11

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

I have an unpainted Alumaweld I use in salt water 99% of the time. No problems or corrosion anywhere I can see. I just wash it off with a brush and water after I use it.
 
Boatist

Boatist

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

Halibut in San Francisco inside and outside the gate was one of the best year ever last year.

Sturgeon been below average for a number of years but if you work at it you can still catch 3 keepers a year. What took the fun out of it for me was when they limited the max size to 6 feet or 72 inches. However your can still hook them and reel them up to the boat take a few pictures and release.

Salmon may never open again as the State and it Leaders more interested in growing crops in the the deserts of Southern California than letting any water run down thru the delta and out into the ocean. The Young Salmon swim down stream thinking they are headed to the ocean but down stream now is the pumps sucking up all the water to pump to S. California.

Only a few weard O's and ME who think water is for fish.
If you do fish I hope you have signed up at WATER 4 FISH . ORG. You can sign the petition and have it sent to all your state reps very easy at.

http://www.water4fish.org/

Ocean fishing for Rock fish you now nead a LAW Degree and have to be able to identify every type of fish. Some are no take, Some 1, Some 2, Many have size limits. I have 3 books over an inch thick and about 20 full pages of NEAR SHORE Fish and SHELF Fish and I still catch fish I can not identify.

Kind of takes the fun out of it but I still enjoy the ocean on that one nice day when there is no wind and the water is clear, Swell are under 5 feet, no Jelly Fish and no Red Sea or Plankton. Then if there no Fog and the Sun is out you could see Whales and Dlophins and a Sea Lyon that does not have the fish at the end of your line. Also Pelicans that have not just grabbed your Anchove. It could actualy be FUN to be on the water and enjoy the Day. I know it will happen some day.
 
lakeorbay

lakeorbay

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

Thanks for the post and I will visit that site and get my petition in. Something tells me the lawmakers will have their way regardless. Lot of power and money comes from them crops down south.

That sounds like a hell of a lot of work to have a nice day, but I know what you mean. Fishing is relaxing and enjoyable, but there's work involved.:D
 
Huron Angler

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

lakeorbay said:
That's good news, thanks. Some decisions I make during my restore would be decide on whether this is going to be strictly a boat for fresh water or both. My horizon has been broadened:D.

Yeah, I'm in the Bay Area. I'm more of a Fresh water fisherman, but it would be a shame to miss out on the Halibut, Sturgeon AND Salmon if they ever let us fish for them again!
Click to expand...

I feel for ya. Here in Michigan we are still allowed to catch Salmon but the schools are in poor shape after the baitfish have been decimated by Cormorants, Round Gobies, bad economy and other issues.

Ballast water is the most destructive force in the Great Lakes.

Good luck opening the eyes of the western beaurocrats to common sense, sounds like an uphill battle unfortunately.:mad:
 
Peter Eikenberry

Peter Eikenberry

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

It is an old wives (sailor's wives?) tale that aluminum boats don't last in saltwater. Literally tens of thousands of aluminum boats are used in saltwater world wide. As with any boat you should clean it off after pulling it out and flush the engine cooling system. Especially the cooling system. Salt will accumulate and eventually clog all the cooling passages and corrode the engine.

What porbably happened to start this old tale is someone built an aluminum boat out of an alloy that doesn't hold up very well. 5000 or 6000 series alloys are usually those used for any aluminum that will be around salt water. Most other aluminum alloys won't hold up very long in salt water. But any professional boat builder knows this and uses the right stuff.

Painting aluminum is a whole other issue. If not done exactly right it will end up a mess. See. Aluminum Boats and Tanks: To Paint Or Not To Paint? http://newboatbuilders.com/docs/aluminum.pdf

Most often aluminum is left unpainted because it has it's own protective oxide layer and if left alone will last just fine for many years, especially aluminum boats that are trailered. But if you prefer to paint, do it right and the paint job should last for many years. A significant numbered of production aluminum boats are painted and the paint jobs seem to last along time.
 
lakeorbay

lakeorbay

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

Thanks to everyone for the info, this is good stuff. I'm going to paint strip the bottom of my boat out of necessity, so I may just leave the bottom half bare. Opinions?
 
ts

ts

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capt sam

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

the biggest issue you will have is the salt build up on the bunks and the boat sitting on there for long periods of time, it will pit the metal. If you can lift one side of the boat while washing it and hose the bunks off, it'll last longer.....assuming it's a small boat.
 
K

KitchenSink

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Re: Aluminum boat & saltwater

capt sam said:
the biggest issue you will have is the salt build up on the bunks and the boat sitting on there for long periods of time, it will pit the metal. If you can lift one side of the boat while washing it and hose the bunks off, it'll last longer.....assuming it's a small boat.
Click to expand...

Everytime I go out in the salt I drop it in the lake for a few minutes then hose the inside out with fresh water.
 
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