The search continues, Aluminum

[Catimann]

I have had many boat owners tell me that Aluminum is the best hull to have.
I assume everything has problems in sea water. I did find this web page that explains the short comings and what to do.
https://www.boatingmag.com/protecting-aluminum-boats-from-salt-water-corrosion/
What I found interesting was this quote: "In the slip aboard your aluminum boat, you'd say that this is where your hull becomes pitted because of a bronze through-hull on a neighboring boat." I remember my chemistry from college but didn't think you could have such a problem over such a distance. I would think this would take a year or longer to happen and your anodes would have to be bad.
Another question is do you guys consider an Alcan 290 to be in the trawler class?
One of the guys here said to write down all that I want from a boat and the prime thing I want is to be able to live in it for a few months at a time in summer. I have thought house boats were a great idea but they are lake boats. The Alcan sort of covers this.

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Mine is all aluminum and pretty bulletproof. Wood never. Fiberglass maybe, but you have to be careful around other boats and boat slips. Aluminum, don’t worry about it.

 

[psneeld]

I have heard of aluminum hulls being totaled in just days from a stray current....may want to research this a bit more.


Never saw one first hand but have seen several aluminum tanks corroded almost beyond repair from short term galvanic action.

 

[Comodave]

Yes, you sure do need to be careful with an aluminum hull. Boats in the marina can cause you problems. You should do a lot of study on this topic. Sure wouldn’t want to have problems that could have been taken care of proactively.

 

[FF]

"Boats in the marina can cause you problems."


Even if your boat is "perfect".

 

[Mischief Managed]

As long as your boat does not have a direct electrical connection to the other boats in the marina, your boat will not be harmed by them. Use an isolation transformer for shore power and there will be no direct connection between your boat and any other boat. I would imagine the vast majority of aluminum cruisers have an isolation transformer right from the factory. Another option would be to make boat "inverter based" which means that all your AC loads are provided by an inverter or two that is/are powered by the house batteries and the shore power is connected ONLY to un-bonded battery chargers that charge the house batteries.