Why no small aluminum sailboats?
chili li
aluminum canoes, row boats, motor boats, etc but no small sailboats. I'm
toying with the idea of taking a stitch and glue plan and using it as the
basis for an aluminum boat. A few rough calculations show that the weight
and price aren't that far out of line with glassed over plywood. Is there
some hidden downside to aluminum that will turn this project into a
disaster?
Brian
difficult metal to weld than steel. The economics of the small boat market
may not allow the boat to be competitive (production boats). Spending an
extra $2000 on a 40+ ft, $500,000 boat is insignifigant. On a 20-25 ft
pocket cruiser, will make a big difference to the selling price. This is
assuming that you're talking about production boats and it's just an
opinion.
For a good site with lots of designs for wood, glass, aluminum, and steel
try my favorite:
www.tedbrewer.com
-Brian
Earl Bollinger
Another factor would be aluminum boats have been associated with the little
inexpensive boats like Jon Boats and the common aluminum fishing boats. Thus
people's perceptions would be of a inexpensive boat. Jon Boats are really
cheap, especially the
little 10, 12 , and 14 foot varieties.
A aluminum sailboat would be a big problem to make, if you can handle the
welding and riveting involved.
I would consider it to be pretty good myself, very maintenance free.
Drawbacks, aluminum conducts heat and cold, you need pads and such, for hot
and cold days.
The seats get cold in the winter and hot in the summer.
You need to paint it with a thin coat of something that prevents the bright
glare and reflections you would
get off of shiny aluminum surfaces.
Aluminum is noisy in the water, you get a lot of banging around tin can, 55
gallon drum sounds, that some people
consider annoying.
As far as masts go, there is a safety issue with aluminum masts and low
power lines. A aluminum boat may
aggravate that safety issue. It's amazing how many people still get
electrocuted that way. Whether it's aluminum or wood makes little difference
to a lightning bolt though.
"chili li" <Chi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:dxAo7.2534$lx5.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Earl Bollinger
to make, if you can handle the
welding and riveting involved."
"Earl Bollinger" <ear...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:dEFo7.20775$Uf1.1...@bgtnsc06-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Jim
William R. Watt
sounds like a good thing to try. could always pick up a used 14 ft
aluminum fishing boat and put in a wood trunk and mast step. lots of used
aluminum fishing boats around.
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Jonathan Cooke
I have an aluminium norfolk punt 22' long 5' wide 18" deep, about 45 years
old so it lasts but it is very difficult to repair after so many years as
the grade of al it is biult from is very difficult to weld with TIG
equipment as it buckles like crazy , as I have found to my consternation and
cost!>
P.C.
Earl Bollinger skrev i meddelelsen ...
Im'e about to publish a frame set in 3D-Honeycomb that would seal an inside and
an outside dull surface, with 3 mm frames . if the frame structure is 2 mm. and
edges you could bend, for rivets thru outher and inner paneling, Uou can upscale
and downscale as long as you do so equaly, so producing any size between cirtain
numbers will produce a 3D building jig and foam fill structure, Having a
prototype make you scale by choice and plot the drawings in that scale for a
full assembly, --- that's if working with sheet material produce the design,
you want as Im'e talking about the Cyber-Boat Longboat serie A build in system
make you add frame set as required.
Sure , ----- right after it was done, a whole lot of trouble came past, anyway
There are one frameset ready, crasy that the unfolded panels is missing ;))
Anyway this is the one, provided by luck and will , the panels can be doubled,
or halved in numbers, still only to a cirtain extend, then as frames and panels
are plottet unfolded from surface, they provide hole points to be drilled aso.
that requier some extra work , Put an outboard in ; dig a hole and put in a
attach angle, place skies make it fly ;))
Have a nice day ;))
P.C.
Have a nice day.
P.C.
P.C.
P.C. skrev i meddelelsen <3ba3b2e4$0$82150$edfa...@dspool01.news.tele.dk>...
>http://w1.1396.telia.com/~u139600113/wrl/Longboat.wrl
>
>Have a nice day.
>P.C.
>
>
>
Maby this one, with two panels each side, also with inner paneling and foam fill
would be as good;
http://w1.1396.telia.com/~u139600113/wrl/Longboat-b.wrl
You _could_ make the framework in Ply or Chipwood sheet, and nail Alu sheets
with galvanised nails ;))
Jim
Stan DeHaven
Really, aluminum is great for fresh water. How many sailboats are used in
freshwater? Not that many.
I am not a naval architect, but I have worked as a marine engineer. Corrosion
is a real problem with aluminum in salt water. Aluminum pitts badly in salt
water.
Fiberglass has many adavantages over aluminum in salt water. For fresh water,
I am not so sure. I think fiberglass might be cheaper too especially if the
boat was an all welded design. Also, fiberglass, like wood, does not seem to
have a fatigue life (from flexing) which affects aluminum and steel.
Of course, for a day sailer stored out of the water, properly painted and
maintained, aluminum should work fine. Corrosion in salt water (and maybe
cost) is the main reason I see aluminum being a poor sailboat hull material.
Btw, most steel ships have cathodic protection because of corrosion.
Hope this helps,
Stan
In article <dxAo7.2534$lx5.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
Chi...@worldnet.att.net says...
Ian Kentish
I know it sounds rediculous but ...........would it be possible to make two
female moulds using reinforced concrete , one port and one starboard , cast
in the ground then lay a sheet of annealed alloy sheet over the top of each
and then a water filled bladder with stategically placed explosive charges
and whammo .....just weld around the seam .........some disposeable alloy
aircraft fuel tanks were made this way during WW2
Curtis Betts
Weight is about double what it would be in light plywood. But
durability/strength is many times better. The problem is that a comparable
weight aluminum sheet is very flexible, and can't be welded. The lightest
material you can weld is 1/8", and it deforms a bit at the welds.
Ignore any comments about corrosion that do not discuss specific alloys.
For a pretty full discussion, read Pollard's "Boatbuilding in Aluminum". I
have also seen some good discussions on the web, but apparently neglected to
bookmark them.
I've posted more on my project on the Bolger Boats newsgroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bolger/.
"chili li" <Chi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:dxAo7.2534$lx5.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Chris Crandall
: Really, aluminum is great for fresh water. How many sailboats are used in
: freshwater? Not that many.
No, tens of thousands. More small sailboats sail in fresh than in
saltwater, consider the small lakes that is the habitat for the small boat
sailor.
Even when I lived in Florida, I did more fresh water than salt water
sailing. Of course, now, I rarely sail in salt water (OK, I sailed a
Catalina 25 in Seattle in the past year, but that's it).
KPB314159
Ken Bowen
Roger Duncan
Mission Bay San Diego Calif. had a fleet of rental aluminum sailboats
both keel and center board about 16 ft long. I sailed one about 1968.
I saw aluminum cat boat about 4 years ago made in Washington State.
Wanted $13,000 for it. Nice looking boat.
Sandy D.
to be very well mannered. I would really like to hear what happened to
them, how long they held up to the paddle-boat crowd, etc.
"Roger Duncan" <fi...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:3bb6c745...@news1.lig.bellsouth.net...
kleinsch...@gmail.com
brucein...@nowhere.org
wrote:
both sailing and motor. But the process requires a certain amount of
specialized equipment and knowledge so perhaps the "average bloke"
sees plywood as a "easy" project material while aluminum is somewhat
of a mystery.
--
Cheers,
Bruce
Bob La Londe
news:63noja9kkifric3tl...@4ax.com...
learned quite a lot about welding aluminum over the last few years. I have
even made some aluminum boat repairs, but I have yet to actually build a
boat. Welding thin aluminum is a little daunting unless you know how to do
it, and have a lot of experience with it. I kinda know how to do it and
have a little experience. LOL.
