Hi all,

I'm looking for some info on aluminum boats. I currently have a 21 ft
Seaswirl Striper (fiberglass). It's a good boat...but I want something
that is more appropriate to the weather here in Oregon so I'm looking for
something with an enclosed cabin. And since I'm getting to old and heavy
to be climbing along the outside of a cabin, the walk through windshield
sounds like a good idea. Apparently that limits me to aluminum boats,
although I've no real preference either way. The two models I like so far
are the Hewescraft Ocean Pro and the Weldcraft Ocean King (links below).
If anyone knows of a fiberglass model with similar configurations to those,
please let me know.

http://www.hewescraft.com/2007/oceanpro/index.html

http://www.weldcraftmarine.com/model...cean_king.html

SInce it looks like I'm going aluminum, I'm hoping to get the benefit of
others experience.

One of the significant differences is that the Weldcraft boats have a
"marine grade plywood" floor while I believe the Hewescraft boats have an
aluminum floor. Although the Weldcraft boats certainly look nice in the
pictures, my first impression on the plywood was that they were cutting
some corners to make it cheaper. Or am I wrong there? A wooden floor
would certainly be easier to remove than a welded floor should any under
floor maintenance be required. So I'm hoping to hear what people who have
actually owned an aluminum boat think about the pros and cons of each.

Another probably stupid question is regarding the corrosion issue. I've
heard the story of the copper penny eating through the hull. While I'm not
planning on experimenting with a $60,000 boat...it does make me wonder how
expensive that sort of thing would be to repair.

Also, I've heard that corrosion is less of an issue for boats that are
trailered. I'm figuring on every other weekend in the water, with about a
70/30 split between salt and fresh water...plus maybe two weeks a year
moored in salt water during the summer salmon season. I've heard that I
should use magnesium in fresh water and a less noble aluminum in salt
water. So...for a boat that goes back and forth...do I need to swap them
out, use both, or just use one or the other?

Ray in Oregon

wrote in message
news
Hi all,

I'm looking for some info on aluminum boats. I currently have a 21 ft
Seaswirl Striper (fiberglass). It's a good boat...but I want something
that is more appropriate to the weather here in Oregon so I'm looking for
something with an enclosed cabin. And since I'm getting to old and heavy
to be climbing along the outside of a cabin, the walk through windshield
sounds like a good idea. Apparently that limits me to aluminum boats,
although I've no real preference either way. The two models I like so far
are the Hewescraft Ocean Pro and the Weldcraft Ocean King (links below).
If anyone knows of a fiberglass model with similar configurations to
those,
please let me know.

http://www.hewescraft.com/2007/oceanpro/index.html

http://www.weldcraftmarine.com/model...cean_king.html

SInce it looks like I'm going aluminum, I'm hoping to get the benefit of
others experience.

One of the significant differences is that the Weldcraft boats have a
"marine grade plywood" floor while I believe the Hewescraft boats have an
aluminum floor. Although the Weldcraft boats certainly look nice in the
pictures, my first impression on the plywood was that they were cutting
some corners to make it cheaper. Or am I wrong there? A wooden floor
would certainly be easier to remove than a welded floor should any under
floor maintenance be required. So I'm hoping to hear what people who have
actually owned an aluminum boat think about the pros and cons of each.

Another probably stupid question is regarding the corrosion issue. I've
heard the story of the copper penny eating through the hull. While I'm
not
planning on experimenting with a $60,000 boat...it does make me wonder how
expensive that sort of thing would be to repair.

Also, I've heard that corrosion is less of an issue for boats that are
trailered. I'm figuring on every other weekend in the water, with about a
70/30 split between salt and fresh water...plus maybe two weeks a year
moored in salt water during the summer salmon season. I've heard that I
should use magnesium in fresh water and a less noble aluminum in salt
water. So...for a boat that goes back and forth...do I need to swap them
out, use both, or just use one or the other?

Ray in Oregon

Lots of the makers make hardtops as well as Alaskan Cabins. Look at
http://www.riverjetmagazine.com and look at their online magazine for links.
Look at http://www.precisionweldboats.com/ for really nice boats. More
expensive than your present boat.

Don White wrote:

Down this way, I'd look closely at the Seabreeze line. I've seen them at a
boat show and really like the classic look.
http://seabreezeboats.ca/styles.html



The topic is *aluminum* boats, dummy.

Hi,

Interesting name for a boating web site...but they do have some good
resources.

16 years seems like a pretty reasonable life span for a wood floor in a
boat. And plywood, even marine grade, isn't that expensive. Did you
replace it yourself or have it done? I'd think it would be difficult to
get a good enough fit to keep stuff from slipping between the cracks. I
crab a lot and am constantly cleaning up seaweed. I imagine that would get
pretty nasty if it managed to get under the floors.

And you say you run both fresh and salt. Do you swap out the anodes, or is
it not something to worry about if it's only in the water for a day at a
time?

Also...you keep steering me towards jets. I understand why they're a
necessity for smaller rivers...but I'm figuring on just the Columbia, bays
and ocean. But I'm curious of how they compare performance wise with
propeller boats. Do they handle any different?

Again...thanks for the info.

Ray

Hi,

Yeah...I'm not sure an electric windlass would be an option. For sturgeon
fishing I have a quick disconnect so I can follow the fish when I've got
one hooked. I'm not sure that would work with an electric windlass.

I'm also not sure it would drop fast enough in the river. I typically have
to run out some 150 feet of line easy, and with the current if it doesn't
drop fast it will get swept down river. Although a better anchor would
probably help with that. Most people have the rake style, but I currently
don't spend that much time on the river so I cheaped on and still have the
v shaped. I have a heck of a time getting it to hold in fast current.
Anyone have any experience trying to use a windlass in fast water?

But yeah...it doesn't take long for pulling in the anchor to get old. And
I have one of the buoys that pulls it up for you.

Thanks,

Ray

Well...I did ask if anyone knew of any fiberglass boats with cabins and walk
through windshields...so it was a reasonable response. The link had
both...just not in the same boat. But I'd generally rather get too much
advice than not enough.

Ray

Hi,

Yeah...I've seen the Parkers...they're nice boats. A comparable brand out
here is Defiance, although they don't go quite as large. I was drooling
over one of those the first time I was caught out in the rain crabbing.
But for quality, I'm actually pretty happy with my Seaswirl striper. Of
course it doesn't have an enclosed pilot house or the walk through
windshield...but otherwise it's a great boat. When I was comparing boats
at a boat show...I kept going back and forth between the seaswirl striper
and the bayliner trophy. The seaswirl guy brought me up to the side of the
bow and told me to push in to see how much flex there was. Then he told me
to go try that with the bayliner. I bought the seaswirl. It had virtually
no flex...but I could push in nearly 2 inches on the bayliner. He claimed
there is a reason they call them "bay...liners".

Ray



http://www.defianceboats.com/

wrote in message
...
Hi,

Interesting name for a boating web site...but they do have some good
resources.

16 years seems like a pretty reasonable life span for a wood floor in a
boat. And plywood, even marine grade, isn't that expensive. Did you
replace it yourself or have it done? I'd think it would be difficult to
get a good enough fit to keep stuff from slipping between the cracks. I
crab a lot and am constantly cleaning up seaweed. I imagine that would
get
pretty nasty if it managed to get under the floors.

And you say you run both fresh and salt. Do you swap out the anodes, or
is
it not something to worry about if it's only in the water for a day at a
time?

Also...you keep steering me towards jets. I understand why they're a
necessity for smaller rivers...but I'm figuring on just the Columbia, bays
and ocean. But I'm curious of how they compare performance wise with
propeller boats. Do they handle any different?

Again...thanks for the info.

Ray

Lots of the jet boat makers make prop boats also. I leave zincs on all the
time. I have extra bolted to the back transom lip. I have left it up to a
week in SoCal sal****er. And Canadian waters. I replaced the floor myself.
Took the old boards out and traced them to the new boards, and got Nautilex
vinyl flooring from Cabelas and glued it down. There is lots of
understructure to the boats. Very little gets between the boards, except
water.

wrote in message
...
Well...I did ask if anyone knew of any fiberglass boats with cabins and
walk
through windshields...so it was a reasonable response. The link had
both...just not in the same boat. But I'd generally rather get too much
advice than not enough.

Ray

A voice of reason ! Hope you stick around.

On Sep 28, 4:55*pm, wrote:
Hi all,

* * * * I'm looking for some info on aluminum boats. *I currently have a 21 ft
* * * * Seaswirl Striper (fiberglass). *It's a good boat...but I want something
* * * * that is more appropriate to the weather here in Oregon so I'm looking for
* * * * something with an enclosed cabin. *And since I'm getting to old and heavy
* * * * to be climbing along the outside of a cabin, the walk through windshield
* * * * sounds like a good idea. *Apparently that limits me to aluminum boats,
* * * * although I've no real preference either way. *The two models I like so far
* * * * are the Hewescraft Ocean Pro and the Weldcraft Ocean King (links below).
* * * * If anyone knows of a fiberglass model with similar configurations to those,
* * * * please let me know.

http://www.hewescraft.com/2007/oceanpro/index.html

http://www.weldcraftmarine.com/model...cean_king.html

* * * * SInce it looks like I'm going aluminum, I'm hoping to get the benefit of
* * * * others experience.

* * * * One of the significant differences is that the Weldcraft boats have a
* * * * "marine grade plywood" floor while I believe the Hewescraft boats have an
* * * * aluminum floor. *Although the Weldcraft boats certainly look nice in the
* * * * pictures, my first impression on the plywood was that they were cutting
* * * * some corners to make it cheaper. *Or am I wrong there? *A wooden floor
* * * * would certainly be easier to remove than a welded floor should any under
* * * * floor maintenance be required. *So I'm hoping to hear what people who have
* * * * actually owned an aluminum boat think about the pros and cons of each.

* * * * Another probably stupid question is regarding the corrosion issue. *I've
* * * * heard the story of the copper penny eating through the hull. *While I'm not
* * * * planning on experimenting with a $60,000 boat...it does make me wonder how
* * * * expensive that sort of thing would be to repair.

* * * * Also, I've heard that corrosion is less of an issue for boats that are
* * * * trailered. *I'm figuring on every other weekend in the water, with about a
* * * * 70/30 split between salt and fresh water...plus maybe two weeks a year
* * * * moored in salt water during the summer salmon season. *I've heard that I
* * * * should use magnesium in fresh water and a less noble aluminum in salt
* * * * water. *So...for a boat that goes back and forth...do I need to swap them
* * * * out, use both, or just use one or the other?

Ray in Oregon

Ray,

If you are 70% in salt and 30% in fresh use Aluminum. Your primary
concern must be protecting your boat in the most corrosive water
type... salt. And.. who want to change their anodes each time? Mag
anodes work great but for fresh water only. If you use them in salt
you will actually see them working like an anti-acid puck. So avoid
Magnesium if you touch salt or even brackish water. Your anodes will
not waste away very quickly if you trailer your boat. It takes
approx. 24 hours for the the cell to stablize anyway. I have 20 years
experience in the pleasurecraft corrosion field.