Aluminum Trawlers - Pros and Cons

[OldDan1943]

Paint it Pepmo Pink?

 

[BandB]

Ugh! Paint peels on aluminum, drop the sensitivities…

Sensitivities may not appeal to you. The rest of this isn't aimed at you but at some here. I do know that several jumping in here with advice have been through multiple marriages so hardly the ones to be seeking marital advice from and, to be clear, this isn't boating advice when asking how to coerce a spouse, it's marital advice. It's a bit of I'll get the gang all behind me and bully her.

Old statement from a college professor, "They convinced against their will, remain unconvinced still." Discussions, communication, trade-offs, still seem the better approach to me. But then I've never been divorced so what would I know.

 

[dannc]

Does anyone have a cunning suggestion for how to persuade a clever female that bare aluminium has its own attractions? My lovely wife is in to interior design, colors and God knows what, keeps insisting we paint it. I really like the "used fishing boat" look, you can hide in the crowd and zero maintenance. So - suggestions needed????

Forgot to mention something the wifey and I have discussed to do instead of painting the hull.

Use accents, either with paint, vinyl wrap, or have a design made out of aluminum that is welded to the hull. A decent graphic artist should be able to come up with a design that could be easily cut out of aluminum. The aluminum design could be painted to make it pop out even more.

Not sure if vinyl wrap is a good thing on an aluminum boat and it has other issues. Pretty sure we would not do this but it is an idea.

We don't have a boat but we picked out a name years ago that works if the boat is a "trawler" or a sailboat. The name provides the idea for a very cool accent.

Later,
Dan

 

[BandB]

Forgot to mention something the wifey and I have discussed to do instead of painting the hull.

Use accents, either with paint, vinyl wrap, or have a design made out of aluminum that is welded to the hull. A decent graphic artist should be able to come up with a design that could be easily cut out of aluminum. The aluminum design could be painted to make it pop out even more.

Not sure if vinyl wrap is a good thing on an aluminum boat and it has other issues. Pretty sure we would not do this but it is an idea.

We don't have a boat but we picked out a name years ago that works if the boat is a "trawler" or a sailboat. The name provides the idea for a very cool accent.

Later,
Dan

Vinyl Wrap is possible and definitely in accents.

 

[Scooby5959]

I could not have said it better myself

Rarity? Most of the fishing fleet in the PNW appears to be aluminum. Anything from 12' to 80' or so and less than 20-30 year old. Tens of thousands of them at least. Lots of aluminum sailboats too.

The problem I have is that it is difficult to keep paint on, and if you leave it bare, if you touch it, lean on it, sit on it, you will pick up oxides.

I know of two aluminum boat builders close to where I live . they build mostly commercial fishing boats “Bristol Bay”boats , they will also build recreational boats to your spec whether they be passage makers or aluminum fishing sleds . There are lots of aluminum boats in my neck of the woods .There is a nice I believe 36 foot aluminum passage maker for sale on craigslist right now a little north of 100,000 I think . Paravanes the whole deal . I had to tell myself no when I looked at it. Seattle craigslist , I’m having to tell myself no again. Most people on this forum buy Boats That are basically floating condos or trophies to keep shined up and on display .Whether you want to hear it or not just look at all or 35 40 year old boats with less 3000 hours on them they hardly get used. Aluminum boats or steel are built to be used .you’re not going to cut the side out of a fiberglass boat to replace the engine which is commonly done on a boat built out of metal

 

[Bkay]

This discussion reminds me of the time my wife and I were discussing aluminum hulls and the fact that in my mind, paint is not even a viable option on aluminum. When we were discussing advantages that go with no paint, I pointed out that a painted hull starts out beautiful and looks worse with each passing season. Whereas an unpainted aluminum boat starts out ugly and stays there.

 

[OldDan1943]

This discussion reminds me of the time my wife and I were discussing aluminum hulls and the fact that in my mind, paint is not even a viable option on aluminum. When we were discussing advantages that go with no paint, I pointed out that a painted hull starts out beautiful and looks worse with each passing season. Whereas an unpainted aluminum boat starts out ugly and stays there.

It will sparkle if you give it a good polishing but then, other boater may complain you are blinding them. :lol:

 

[OldDan1943]

Ah, I remember, if you take your all white hull on the ICW, your white boat will develop a mustache. More money to remove it.
See, another reason not to have an all white hull.

 

[Wayfarer]

Ah, I remember, if you take your all white hull on the ICW, your white boat will develop a mustache. More money to remove it.
See, another reason not to have an all white hull.

I'm not sure why exactly, but my white hull hasn't developed a mustache. I fully expected it to, and have done the AICW from Toronto to Charleston to Oneida Lake to Jacksonville. I haven't done anything to prevent it. Hell, I haven't even waxed the hull. Maybe that's why? Beats me!

 

[Chris Leigh-Jones]

This is hard.

My clever wifey does not like unpainted aluminum either.

I like unpainted because:

• Low initial cost.
• Low or no maintenance.
• Low future expense.
• Don't care if it gets banged up
• For a power boat, it makes the boat not stand out so much, and maybe look like a government boat, which could be good or bad.

She wants painted because it looks good and I agree with her. However, my list over rides looking good as far as I am concerned.

We have been going around and around on this for years but I think my wifey has finally decide that unpainted is bearable. I don't think she likes it, but agrees with the list, for the most part.

I think what has sent her over to the unpainted side, is the idea of having to pay tens of thousands of dollars to paint the boat initially, AND in the future.

One compromise we might make is to paint the above deck structure a very visible color.

It really is a tough decision. To paint or not to paint is a compromise.

Later,
Dan

I have tried agreeing the internals are all her province and to let her fertile imagination roam free. That kind of worked as at least our aluminium hull is now not the primary focus and enjoyment is being had all around. I'm sure the demon will again raise its head above the waves but not yet at least. Thank you all for advice, commiserations and ideas!

 

[Hippocampus]

Newbie question. Have seen what I think are decals on unpainted Al. Mostly used as accents. Such as a strip of panel on the back of the house or a bootstrap like effect. Are they in fact decals (colored plastic backed by adhesive and applied directly to unpainted Al) or are they something else?
Does break up the grey and some were quite tastefully done. She might like to design such an effect. We’ve used a similar technology to apply our boats name, seahorses and hailing port. Designed it ourselves then went to a truck labeling outfit. They used cad/cam to make it and then applied it. It held up perfectly for 8+ years even with fenders over parts of it and was still perfect when we sold the boat.
Just a thought. You get a mostly unpainted hull. She gets something more attractive. Found through the years it’s very important it’s our boat not my boat. Anything you can do to create and maintain that is worth every penny. Love it when the bride refers to her as mine.
Would note I prefer wood and white herreshoff for interiors. We designed the decor together. Made our decisions about layout and must haves together. Even have picked every boat we’ve owned together. As Marc Cohen sings she’s my Soul Companion and I’m hers. Remember it’s cheaper to get rid of a boat than a wife.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

n=1 from a work perspective: we often put vinyl decals and stripes on unpainted aluminum. In my opinion (that is somewhat considered) more efficient than paint - heat gun & a little bit of labor could remove it for easy replacement, and the cost versus paint was a wash.

If, somehow, we ended up buying an unpainted aluminum vessel, I would have no hesitation with getting vinyl wrap or decals to spice it up a bit, rather than painting it.

 

[darkside]

Here you go.
Still a little bit to do to finish it off.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/listing/3272075394?bof=kb36Li2k

 

[CharlieO.]

Here you go.
Still a little bit to do to finish it off.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/listing/3272075394?bof=kb36Li2k

View attachment 121309

That's a beauty!

 

[OldDan1943]

That's a beauty!

Looking fantastic

 

[Hippocampus]

No longer listed. Didn’t sell.