First post and Question.

I have been kicking around the idea of building my own boat for awhile, and basically decided yesterday that I was finally going to go ahead with it. I have decided on building a Barnegat Bay Sneakbox for my first, only I plan on doing it out of Aluminum instead of wood or fiberglass. I am a TIG welder by trade, but don't own my own machine, and plan on getting a small MIG I can run in my garage. Since this will be my first build, I have a bunch of questions before I get started. I looked up a number of books online, and didn't know if anyone could recommend 1 or 2 that will help. Also, I'm planning on getting a small MIG (possibly one that will run off of a 110 outlet), and don't know if this will be enough machine to do most of what I need. I'm looking at either .100 or .125 thickness aluminum. What grade aluminum should I use (I will be painting the boat). Does anyone know the weight difference per 4x8 sheet between .100 and .125. And is there anything else I should be asking or look into, that I missed above. Any and all help will be extremely appreciated.

Aaron

 

Welcome Aaron

I don't have a lot of experience with the smaller mig welders, at least not with aluminum. It seems to me that the tig process would probably work better for the 1/8 and lighter material you intend to use, but I understand about the cost of the tig machine. I think there are several builders on this site with experience using the smaller machines. I have a 250 amp hobart with a miller spool gun and find welding 1/8 6061 pretty tricky. I built my boat with alloy 5052 skin and 6061 t-6 framing. A sneak boat is a duck hunting boat? Pollards' Boatbuilding with Aluminum, is a good book. I look forward to hearing more about your project, regards, rusty

 

It's a Duck hunting boat actually I know , the U and the I are right next to one another. Thank you for the info. I'll be taking pictures as I go, but probably won't be starting for a month. I've got to do some reading and get some plans.

 

My Freudian boat slip is showing!

It truly was a keystroke error, I beg you pardon. How do you do those smilie face things anyway. regards rusty

 

No problem. I did almost spit soda all over the computer here at work when I read it though. Funny Stuff. There's a little box next to where you type when you reply, and you can click on which ever smilie you want to use.

 

you can also edit ,,,,,,,,,if you really want to.........longliner ,,welcome aboard

 

Instead of using quick reply click on Go Advanced, then they give you alot of emoticons to pick from :?: :idea: :!:

 

By the way, You might want to post on the Metal Boat Society forum. Those guys are all welders. http://www.metalboatsociety.org/

 

Intelligence test

Hi Ike, thanks for the reference to the Metal Boat Builders Society. Sounds interesting but when I tried to join up to look at their forums I kept filling out the the registration form wrong and then I couldn't get my user name and password right so I gave up. Must be some kind of intelligence test so we all know how that's gonna turn out. regards rusty

 

Tja

Google duck hunters boat page and go to there talk forum. There have been a couple of guys that have made duck boats in aluminum on that site that may be able to help. You may have to register before you can post a question. You should have no shortage of advise as there are a lot of diy builders on the site. They like for you to use your real name when you register. It's one of my favorite sites. Good luck. Sincerely, Tom Ayers.

 

Just bein' patient

Hi, Thanks, The MBS guys e-mailed me and told me that I had to wait a little to get registered, I was just too eager. regards, rusty

 

tja, thanks for directing me to the site. I tried to register there yesterday, but didn't notice the bold writing. Too busy looking for the fine print I guess. I hate using my real name on the internet.

 

When adapting plywood designs to aluminum, keep in mind that .125 alum weighs about the same as 3/4 plywood, roughly 2 lbs/square foot - and with material this thin, you get a lot of weld distortion.

From my meager understanding, any of the 5000 series alloys should be fine for a trailer boat, especially one so heavily built.

In the northeast U.S., the only reasonable supplier seems to be Yarde, in Connecticut. They have surplus and off-cuts listed on their website.

Ditto the recommendation on Pollard's book. It's on Amazon.

Sal's Dad

 

you can pm me if you want, I have 30 years building in ally. also writing a book on it, have tickets in Ally welding too, but quickly , you need a welder with Grunt, and frankly 11 vac is not going to do the job,

 

meant 110, 3ph is best , and line volts over 220
for 6mm you will need a constant amperage of over 200,
could you pick up an old miller and run a spoolmatic , ?