aluminum boat in salt water

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ronbo

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Hi
I was going toget a small aluminum skiff for the kids (and me) to kick around in as a second boat, but I would be leaving it in salt water. A freind of mine said it would corrode very quick... is this true???

thanks
ronbo
 
There is a special type of paint that you can use on aluminum hulled boats (for salt water applications). I can't remember what it is right now but if you would like, check on sites that sell and maintain pontoon boats. There should be some info on these sites, as pontoon boats are becoming very popular now. Good luck.
 
And never let a penny lay in the bottom of the boat.
 
You're right, Salty; don't use a bottom paint that contains any copperous properties.
 
You have to do a proper barrier coat with epoxy if you plan on leaving it in the salt.

No cutting corners on this at all. Many coats of the epoxy, cannot miss one spot.

And you should also use Micron 66 or trilux 33 bottompaint.

Jonathan
 
Depends on the aluminum. I run two different aluminum boats in saltwater, never had a corrosion problem.
 
Mike, do they also sit in salt water when not in use? Or do they get hauled on a trailer, the beach or a dock----out of the water?
 
Trilux 33 is the only bottom paint for aluminum that I know of and you should use primer first
 
We have a lot of all aluminum boats of all sizes that sit in the salt water year around. No
problems regarding corrosion unless it's a galvanic issue. Like the 'Penny' example above,
you can't have any dis-similar metals around except for maybe zinc.

Pete
 
Nope, they sta in year round. If it starts icing we try to get them out before they get stuck.
 
Not all aluminums are good in Salt water. Welded is far superior over rivets.
My Starcraft came apart kinda easy. The Rivets corroded away from the holes and then the holes eroded.
The Sears hardware corroded so badly I had to replace it all.
The Alumaweld did just fine. It was a BassBoat really, but handled the salt ok.

We had a Jet boat in AK. I cant remember the brand but it had a Jacuzzi pump.
The Boat and pump did OK, but the wiring and windshield parts etc got bad quickly.
It had a little Four cylinder Triumph motor. In the Salt water, you never knew if that dammed thing was going to start or not.
It was OK in Fresh water.

What the heck, they aren't that expensive. Get one and use it the way you want. When it's used up, get another one!
 
Make sure you have on PFDs so when it springs a leak, you will have time to get rescued----maybe by the CG!
 
World War II planes have been found in salt water 40 years later in near perfect condition.
There is a marine grade of aluminum (forget alloy) we have cut aluminum boat parts for a
commerical boat builder all from this alloy, I think it is special for weld ability and not corrision.
John d
 
The 5000 series of Aluminums have a primary alloying ingredient of Magnesium and are the strongest of the non-heat treatable aluminum alloys. They are well suited for Marine and Aircraft usage. Easily formable with bending, rolling and crimping as well as welding by the GTAW (TIG) and GMAW (MIG) processes. No Galvanice issues to speak of when they are welded. The rivots can also be made with this alloy to reduce the dissimilar metal problems. These alloys are 5052, 5086, 5083 etc...
 
Aluminum vessels have no corrosion problems in salt water, however, just like steel vessels, they need protection. The aluminum alloy of 5086 is the standard in hull materials below the water line, and above the water line 6061-T6 is the choice. Either zinc anodes or aluminum anodes will protect these alloys. Many commercial vessels don't bother with paint, just the anodes. Beware of the riveting...if they are galvanic to the hull, they'll act as "tiny" anodes and consume rapidly. Stay away from copper bearing bottom paint as the aluminum is galvanic to it.
 
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