Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

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lucastefanel
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Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by lucastefanel »

Hello,

finally i started to make real my adventure.
Starting from very amazing CS25 plans i adapted the boat on what i'm looking for and what i really need and together with my very good job experience with Aluminium 5083 i decided to build my dreams boat.
As suggested by Jaques on my previous topic i made some adjustements based on the fact that i'm not building the boat in fiberglass but in aluminium, after that i reviewed nestings and i sent first plates to cut.
After some weeks i received a huge pallet around 6 meters long with bottom plates together with frames and bulkheads.
I'm keeping track on youtube of my progress, the link is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNlTzp ... rcVv6LpEJQ

Here i would like to share with you some pictures of progress in order to get some feedbacks from your side.

Cheers!!
Luca
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cracked_ribs
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by cracked_ribs »

Very cool! I have often been curious to see one of these go together in aluminum. That's a very popular material where I live, but not often for home builders!
I designed my own boat. This is the build thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=65349

Jeff
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by Jeff »

Luca, Welcome to our Forum!!! We look forward to watching you build!!! Again, welcome!!! Jeff

Matt Gent
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by Matt Gent »

Super cool project!

A friend and I want to learn to weld. We are tinkering with adapting a small S&G skiff (Lillistone's Fleet) to Aluminum as a "senior design project"' once we have the hang of it. CS25 is on a whole other scale!

Aluminum boat building seems to be very regional. The petroleum industry in the gulf supports a bunch of Louisana builders, plus the PNW. I'd think it makes sense for low production / semi-custom boats elsewhere but tradition seems to reign.

Dan_Smullen
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by Dan_Smullen »

This will be a great project to watch!

Cowbro
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by Cowbro »

Matt Gent wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 12:29 pm Aluminum boat building seems to be very regional. The petroleum industry in the gulf supports a bunch of Louisana builders, plus the PNW. I'd think it makes sense for low production / semi-custom boats elsewhere but tradition seems to reign.
I have looked into it for a bit, there are plenty of options out there to order a CNC cut aluminum boat kit for anything from a 10' dinghy to a 40' trawler, the problem lies mostly in the construction technique. There isn't as much information out there like there is for S&G boats. If your welder settings aren't dialed or you weld something out of sequence you risk turning the whole thing into a giant curvy noodle. It also requires some much tighter tolerances for fit-up. You can't just pile in thickened epoxy to fill a 1/2" gap.

Luca, I am watching this with much interest, it seems like you are off to a great start and seem to be more than capable. 8)

MikeyGnz
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by MikeyGnz »

Hi Luca

I've been building a GV10 in alloy as a practice project before I build a kit-set boat. See My Build for more details. Just looking at what you have done so far you seem to be a better alloy welder than me and are using heavier plate/sheet so you shouldn't have as many distortion problems as I had. Looking back on my experience the two main things I learned were:
  • Do a lot of practice on off-cuts to get the welder settings and technique dialled-in. Once confident everything is correct, do more practice.
  • Short welds then let cool to reduce heat build-up.
Looking at your welds and gear you probably know all this already though.

Good luck with the build, I'm looking forward to see how it all goes.

Mike

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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by TomW1 »

Luca I look forward to following your build until you launch it. I know you will need to prime it with zinc chromate before painting for corrosion protection. What aluminum alloy are you using 5053. I worked for a major aluminum company. :D

Regards, Tom
Restored Mirror Dinghy, Bought OD18 built by CL, Westlawn School of Yacht Design courses. LT US Navy 1970-1978

lucastefanel
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by lucastefanel »

cracked_ribs wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 11:08 am Very cool! I have often been curious to see one of these go together in aluminum. That's a very popular material where I live, but not often for home builders!
Hi, you are right, is very used in other parts of world instead of italy or europe in general but i think is more easy to work compared to fiberglass but this is my personal opinion :D

lucastefanel
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Re: Aluminium boat building - 25ft fisherman

Post by lucastefanel »

Jeff wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 11:19 am Luca, Welcome to our Forum!!! We look forward to watching you build!!! Again, welcome!!! Jeff
Many thanks Jeff 8)

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