Aluminum boats in salt water??
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
Joined
·
842 Posts
Be sure and wash the boat and trailer runners well afterwards. I have seen an aluminum boat get pinholes under the runners after being used in saltwater (a lot). Was told that the carpeting held a lot of saltwater and it eventually ate through. The owner put teflon on the runners and had no more problems.
Joined
·
1,269 Posts
Ive taken my boat out in the bay. I wash it off pretty good and flush freshwater throughout the motor. Every now and then I ll let the rain soak it, to get whatever salt out of the carpet. I also run freshwater in the live well to clear any salt water.
Joined
·
494 Posts
I have a 14' alumacraft with 15hp merc 4 stroke we bought used. its a 2007 model. been used in saltwater, beat up, pulling the kids on tubes, i mean working it over and its still in great shape! we just rinse it real well when done. I have carpet on my runners but was considering going to the rubber/teflon type runners on it. just wash it good and go have fun!
Joined
·
2,280 Posts
And dont bring that thing in the bay if it is choppy or swelling, or you can kiss that 12 footer good bye! Almost sunk my 17 foot BT while it was choppy. Calm days are your best friend with that boat. O*D*W
Joined
·
494 Posts
thats the truth! i have learned to stay out of chop.
Joined
·
1,870 Posts
I see lots of aluminum boats in saltwater, just gotta rinse em off and periodically get underneath to inspect the hull. Only issue might be whether the hull is riveted together or welded together? If welded, then it should hold up very well so long as you take care of it. If it's only riveted, then the hull will not have nearly as long a life expectancy as welding. Though this can even be an issue in freshwater too.
The reason is that each day as the hull heats up the metal will expand followed by cooling at night. The rivets themselves will expand and contract differently than the rest of the hull. You won't notice anything right away but over several years the rivet holes will begin to stretch and contort until they leak and the rivets potentially fail. A welded hull (assuming it was done properly) will last A LOT longer.
Good luck!
Alex
The reason is that each day as the hull heats up the metal will expand followed by cooling at night. The rivets themselves will expand and contract differently than the rest of the hull. You won't notice anything right away but over several years the rivet holes will begin to stretch and contort until they leak and the rivets potentially fail. A welded hull (assuming it was done properly) will last A LOT longer.
Good luck!
Alex
Joined
·
216 Posts
If your boat spends a lot of time in salt water, you will want to research "sacrificial anodes" and install the appropriate type for your hull.
Hope this helps,
BT
Hope this helps,
BT
Joined
·
34,440 Posts
I had a 14 ft. jon w/ a stick steering motor....I spent alot of time in the bay and hit the gulf a couple times.....The stick steering got froze up from not properly cleaning the salt water and greasing it up good. I assume you in a 12 footer would be a tiller steer though. I kept mine cleaned and washed and the transom did develop ate up spots due to salt water....
Joined
·
493 Posts
Not sure if its an option for you, but it is easy if it is. We take our boat to the river on the way home. Back it in and run everything, motor, live well, wash down etc. It washes the trailer better than you ever could and its super easy. Just a suggestion.
Joined
·
871 Posts
I think this is an excellent idea for Aluminum boats.
In all honesty, saltwater will eventually ruin your aluminum boat I don't care what you do. An aluminum boat used only in freshwater will last for a heck of a long time. In only a couple years, when used in saltwater things will start to go bad rapidly. I have a couple friends with aluminum boats, and we work on all of them all the time. Given that, saltwater is bad for everything but I just think you are always asking for trouble with an aluminum boat from my experience.
Joined
·
2,609 Posts
:thumbsup: Me To
Joined
·
2,960 Posts
I fish out of a 25 yr. old sears alum 12 ft boat and have done so for 3 yrs...only in the bay, since I've owned it...never seen fresh water.
Even being over 25 yrs old...this boat is fine..I do however wash it off and out after every other use or so.
It should be fine but like everything...proper maint. is required to prolong the life of everything used in salt water.
Even being over 25 yrs old...this boat is fine..I do however wash it off and out after every other use or so.
It should be fine but like everything...proper maint. is required to prolong the life of everything used in salt water.
Here in Louisiana there are probably more alum. boats than fiberglass used inshore and in the saltwater marshes. The only saltwater/alum. problems I can recall were on older riveted hull boats which were not well maintained. Just make sure you have a galv. trailer, keep it and the boat well washed down after each trip,flush the motor and it will be all o.k.
Joined
·
107 Posts
Make sure your sacrificial Zinc is the correct size for your boat and like most have suggested, rinse it off after use like you would any other boat.
In fresh water you don't have the electrolysis effect so no worries at all, our 10' jon boat is over 40 years old and looks it but she floats really good! Have had to re-rivet and seal the others over time but that is from loading, reloading, sliding down banks, back up them, hitting rocks, trees, and my personal favorite, snake shot from a revolver.
Apart from the fact that an offshore Aluminum boat is expensive since it is a custom project between buyer and builder, they are more efficient to operate than same sized composite hulls due to to weight savings and require little cosmetic maintenance unless painted as the alloy will form a protective oxidized layer.
Check out Bloody Decks, AluminumAlloyBoats.com, or hit the Yacht listings on the www for aluminum boats to check them out. The Coasties and Navy use a wide variety of alloy boats of all sizes but my faves are the White Water big block Jet Boats built by Hell's Canyon Marine, Rogue Jet Boatworks, North River/Almar, Bentz Boats, and these guys:
http://youtu.be/UaJfP3EYyPA
In fresh water you don't have the electrolysis effect so no worries at all, our 10' jon boat is over 40 years old and looks it but she floats really good! Have had to re-rivet and seal the others over time but that is from loading, reloading, sliding down banks, back up them, hitting rocks, trees, and my personal favorite, snake shot from a revolver.
Apart from the fact that an offshore Aluminum boat is expensive since it is a custom project between buyer and builder, they are more efficient to operate than same sized composite hulls due to to weight savings and require little cosmetic maintenance unless painted as the alloy will form a protective oxidized layer.
Check out Bloody Decks, AluminumAlloyBoats.com, or hit the Yacht listings on the www for aluminum boats to check them out. The Coasties and Navy use a wide variety of alloy boats of all sizes but my faves are the White Water big block Jet Boats built by Hell's Canyon Marine, Rogue Jet Boatworks, North River/Almar, Bentz Boats, and these guys:
http://youtu.be/UaJfP3EYyPA
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
