----- Original Message ----- From: "Trevor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 10:10 PM Subject: [canals-list] Aluminium hulls?
(snip) > Are there any specific 'pro's and 'con's regarding aluminium? My first > thoughts were negative, mainly concerning corrosion, especially on the > hull > if the surface protection was damaged; (snip) > I also suspect that there may be other, more specific, problems with > electrolytic action (although I'm not sure what these are likely to be); > are > they, in your opinions, generally an option to look for - or avoid? We have had an aluminium Sea Otter for 9 years. There have been no corrosion problems. We do get the odd blister developing around the stern, but once they are wire brushed off, there is no detectable loss of metal. The "blacking" is cheap black paint, applied for cosmetic reasons. The paint may be a problem with an aluminium boat; if it doesn't get a proper etch primer, the paint tends not to stick very well. Apart from that, aluminium is definitely low maintenance. We don't have a shore power connection, and if I was fitting one, I'd probably go for an isolation transformer rather than a galvanic isolator. So long as the hull is marine grade aluminium, there shouldn't be corrosion problems. -- Iain
