"Wayne.B" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:40 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

Aluminum boats
are good but welding them right requires more skill than most boat
companies can afford and they are difficult to repair..

We just got back from a trip to Alaska and the Pacific North West.
Boating conditions there are very rugged and there are also large
numbers of welded aluminum boats.

A friend of mine used to have a 50 ft aluminum racing sailboat and
repairs were relatively easy with the right skills and equipment. I'd
agree that not every boatyard can do it however.

My aluminum boat is 17 years old. Has only had a couple hull repairs.
Copper wire fell in the anchor locker and cause a small leak in the bottom.
$100 of Tig welding and was cured. Replaced the wood floor, and a bad weld
was cracked and small tig job required. Could have fixed with my Mig welder
with spool gun, but did not own it at that time. Bottom has a few dents
that may be affecting performance, but not enough to cause me to get the
hammer out. They make carbon fiber offshore raceboats. EXPENSIVE! Looking
at $150K for hull only.