Aluminum and salt water

My grandson just bought a 54 Striker in 2019. It has no bottom paint on it. He runs out of Madeira most of billfishing season, then goes to the Canaries after. I had him add a delrin ring between the thru hulls - on the outside and inside. Electrolysis problem solved.

My Dad built a couple of aluminum catamarans for motor sailing. Everyone on the other forum told him it couldn't be done. Well, there's an Alumarine currently for sale in Spain, that he worked on in Honduras when it was chartering down there.

I've found a huge problem with Aluminum yachts with internal tanks is fresh water. The scale that builds up after decades degrades the tank from the inside. Coating the tanks is a preventive measure but the Chris's, Burgers and Browards of old all had tanks that had to be replaced, then coated.

Broward used to use a lead over foam insulation on the whole hull. WTF. When the foam rotted away the lead sat on the hull sides. Leaky ports did in a few older Browards.

If you buy an older Broward or Burger please let the surveyor talk you out of it. If not bring plenty of cash and enjoy months in a shipyard.

Your right I forgot about the grey water and black water tank rot as well. Not to forget the stupid shaft tubes that run thrust through the fuel tanks that rot out and have to be replaced. Yes should have listened to the surveyor but what can I say the wife loved the mahogany interior and that was that. In the end even the charity non profits would not take it off my hands. Plenty of fiberglass hulls with problems as well. For the record my tastes are for a well maintained Burger or Broward which we did next and spent 6 months in a ship yard with 15 years of excellent cruising. Sandblasted and replaced what needed and the next 15 years were great.

I currently own a Monarch aluminum workboat that is strong like bull but mainly in fresh water in search of the 22 lb Largemouth bass. I've learned to avoid salt water in my old age. Best advice I was given is to buy a used boats from the Great Lakes or River system. Salt water is evil (JK)

So you bought a completely neglected boat and then are complaining about Aluminum.....Yet after fixing the boat got 15 trouble free years out of it........ I much prefer Fiberglass, but wouldn't shy away from Aluminum if it met my needs.

No different than buying an old fiberglass boat with bad wood in the stringers/bulkheads, wet cores in the layup, badly blistered bottom, leaking fuel tanks and windows along with many other potential problems. rtrafford has owned both and says there is little difference in cost and upkeep.
B-O-A-T, you know what that $tand$ for.

The big problem with Aluminum is it does not lend itself to neglect like fiberglass does. For example, let a fiberglass boat sit for 5 years with minimal/no maintenance and the hull itself usually is ok. Aluminum doesn't. If you don't keep zincs on aluminum and keep up with bottom jobs and such, in 5 years you'd need a major refit on the hull. That's where the difference truly lies.

I agree with you that maintenance needs to go on all of the time. However, aluminum cannot be straight neglected for 5 years......drop a tool in the bilge and leave it there, it will eventually eat through the aluminum. Not keep up with the zincs and again the hull will suffer. Not keep up with the bottom paint, the hull will suffer........Fiberglass is much more forgiving in those areas......

I agree about doing the maintenance on an aluminum boat or any boat. If you don't do it you will have trouble with any yacht. I own an aluminum boat for a lot of years and never had problems. I will never understand why someone would drop a wrench or any tool in their bilge and let it there, I have dropped tools in the fiberglass and the aluminum boat I've owned and always retrieved them and anything else out of the bilge. If you get problems from that kind of stupidity you (not you personally a collective you) deserve it.

Having run thousands of boats there's no end to the list of things I've found in bilges, especially nuts.

One of the issues I had with my Striker was not with the boat at all.

It was my neighbors boat. He had his electric system hooked up wrong and was eating up my zinc’s. He did not use a marine electrician to save some money he used the guy who worked on his house..

Needless to say, as most of you Capt’s here know, I don’t go anywhere with out the multimeter gauge.

I had a friend that had electrical problems with a boat he bought, the person he bought it from was supposed to be an "electrical expert". He used a house electrician to do the AC and completely removed the DC side of the electrical system. The boat was an electrical nightmare. He had a capable electrician give him a quote to fix the boat and it was almost $200,000.00. This was on an aluminum Roamer, I think he sold the boat instead of fixing it.

I can only imagine.

I was lucky. One of the guys on the dock was a EE and he was losing zinks too. He worked in one of the refineries and knew his stuff about electrolysis and metals. He passed away a few yrs ago... Blake was a heck of a guy.