Aluminium Construction

[Troutcatcher]

Dreaming about building a small boat from aluminium rather than S & G.

Is it possible to make a watertight hull by riveting only and no welding???

[Caldera Boats]

yes, it is the same principle as airplane or airstream trailer construction.

Lots of rivets with a gasket or sealing compound between the sheet overlap.

[oneuglyboat]

you can build an aluminum boat without welding, but why? the world is full of capable talented welders who will work for fees for thier services. a small well designed boat such as our wart hog can be completely welded for less than $400. we also offer boats up to 36 ft with welding cost of less than $600. the advantage of welding is it provides a completely watertite joint.

My suggestion if you dont or can't get your boat welded, would be to build the boat in such a way that the boat is filled with foam to above the designed waterline and not worry if a small amount of water enters the space between the foam. if you use pink or blue construction foam you can get it at your local home supply store for about $18-20 per

[oneuglyboat]

you can build an aluminum boat without welding, but why? the world is full of capable talented welders who will work for fees for thier services. a small well designed boat such as our wart hog can be completely welded for less than $400. we also offer boats up to 36 ft with welding cost of less than $600. the advantage of welding is it provides a completely watertite joint.

My suggestion if you dont or can't get your boat welded, would be to build the boat in such a way that the boat is filled with foam to above the designed waterline and not worry if a small amount of water enters the space between the foam. if you use pink or blue construction foam you can get it at your local home supply store for about $18-20 per 4 X 8 SHEET

[Thunderhead19]

many many many little boats are built with riveted hulls, Lund, Lucky-Louie etc.... I'm also working on plans for assembling a rigid-hulled aluminum boat using only pre-cut parts and Acrylic adhesive like Locktite H8000. No tools required, and self-jigging. I can get an adhesive that will set even faster than H8000, in 15 minutes! But I have some more research to do.

[oneuglyboat]

you are right, but im talking about larger cross sections for the hull materials. most of the riveted boats use very thin materials that are not conducive to welding. I'd think a well designed smaller boat would work well with a more robust hull thickness, in that event welding wouldn't cost any more than riveting. harold