Aluminium Construction

Discussion in 'Boatbuilding' started by Troutcatcher, Jan 12, 2006.

  1. Troutcatcher
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: 66°N

    Troutcatcher Junior Member

    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???
     
  2. Caldera Boats
    Joined: Nov 2005
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    Location: Oregon, USA

    Caldera Boats Beer4Ballast......

    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.
     
  3. oneuglyboat
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    Location: ST LOUIS

    oneuglyboat Junior Member

    oneuglyboat.com

    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. oneuglyboat
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    Location: ST LOUIS

    oneuglyboat Junior Member

    oneuglyboat.com

    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
     
  5. Thunderhead19
    Joined: Sep 2003
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    Location: British Columbia, Canada

    Thunderhead19 Senior Member

    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.
     

  6. oneuglyboat
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    Location: ST LOUIS

    oneuglyboat Junior Member

    oneuglyboat.com

    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
     
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