What type of boat to buy??

[KOMPRESSOR]

If I were building a boat for commercial and charter use aluminum would be my choise. It is tough and easy to repair. It's disadvantages are it can't be easy formed into complex shapes like fiberglass can and it is more maintenance intensive because of the need for painting for appearance and corrosion prevention.

http://www.geocities.com/alloyed2sea/AboutMarineAluminum.htm

Someone got it wrong. Alu is definitly LESS maintenance intensive than fiber glass. It doesn't have to be painted unless one wants some special finish/apperance. For scuba diving purposes untreated alu is a dream. We just slam our (steel) doubles down were we want to. No damage done to the boat. To bad with the painted tanks though...

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Kompressor, SeaArk is built just a few miles from my hometown. I had been by there but never thought about them due mostly to my misdirected hatred of aluminum boats (I admit that I was wrong there). My cousin had this LoneStar 20 footer I think it was, all aluminum, 90 horse Johnson, circa lae 70s. I hated that boat, it would pound your brains out and it rocked like a tin pan on the drift or at anchor. It would also get hotter than hades in the Florida sun. Nontheless we dove a lot of places out of Destin and Panama City and Keaton Beach with it. It leaked too, really badly. But it is clear to me that these heavy duty aluminum boats are not the same animal and I suppose light colored reflective paints will reduce the "frying pan" effect. Does anybody know if these boats are hot to the touch in the sun? Are they noisy on the water while underway? What about long term saltweater use, being most of us trailer or lift our boats it seems like a freshwater rinse and annodes would take of corrosion. What series aluminum are those, they are obviously welding the joints. That bow ladder/step, is that so you can rig up and go off from the bow and recover over the stern?

Here is another US maker of plate aluminum boats:

V26SCS Supercab Sleeper New!

That last one looks awsome! Since the US Dollar is free falling in value right now we would get these for rather "cheap". To bad they haven't got a clue what CE-approved means...

 

[Nemrod]

The US is a still a huge market to itself plus non CE countries they probably sell all they can make so there is no push for CE approaval, however, should they get a market there they might get interested in it. There are many custom builders of both aluminum and glass boats in the US, to even begin to list them all would be a daunting task.

I really like that boat Kompressor but I am afraid that raw finsih would produce the "frying pan" syndrome in the balmy southern USA. I would have to use some type of white floor covering and light colored coatings on the top sides to reduce the chance of a thrid degree burn and talk about needing nuke rated sunglasses--wow. Hey, you guys looks sorta cold there--lol--beautiful pics--thanks.

Sitting like this on that raw aluminum must be rather warm--or--cold:

N

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

The US is a still a huge market to itself plus non CE countries they probably sell all they can make so there is no push for CE approaval, however, should they get a market there they might get interested in it. There are many custom builders of both aluminum and glass boats in the US, to even begin to list them all would be a daunting task.

I really like that boat Kompressor but I am afraid that raw finsih would produce the "frying pan" syndrome in the balmy southern USA. I would have to use some type of white floor covering and light colored coatings on the top sides to reduce the chance of a thrid degree burn and talk about needing nuke rated sunglasses--wow. Hey, you guys looks sorta cold there--lol--beautiful pics--thanks.

Sitting like this on that raw aluminum must be rather warm--or--cold:

N

Well, their mail is down anyways. Are you sure they are not bankrupt?

Hot air and to much sun? What, I have to find a sauna to burn my *ss so I have NOOOOO idea what the problem would be like...



What? NO!! I'm still on topic! It IS an aluboat in those pictures!

 

[Nemrod]

No, they are not bankrupt, BlackLab is well known and has a cult following.

I love those pictures, simmer in Norway, winter must be an iceage! You guys are definitly hardcore. I lived in Phoenix Az for some years in the Sonoran desert. People who are native there don't take their coats of until about 100 degrees F. Most of us Sunbelters get chilly below 70 degrees F. I had a friend here from Siberia Russia, he did not last long and had to go home, I am still in touch with him, he misses Amerika but not the heat. He broke a sweat above 32 degrees F. I guess it is what your used to.

N

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

No, they are not bankrupt, BlackLab is well known and has a cult following.

I love those pictures, simmer in Norway, winter must be an iceage! You guys are definitly hardcore. I lived in Phoenix Az for some years in the Sonoran desert. People who are native there don't take their coats of until about 100 degrees F. Most of us Sunbelters get chilly below 70 degrees F. I had a friend here from Siberia Russia, he did not last long and had to go home, I am still in touch with him, he misses Amerika but not the heat. He broke a sweat above 32 degrees F. I guess it is what your used to.

N

Those pictures are from February this year. We had great diving with nice viz. Air temps were low, down to minus 14 Celsius one day. But the sea held a steady 7 Celsius the whole week, wich is quite comfy for diving. I'm going back there in a week, and water temps are 11-12 celsius now.

I tried to mail the boat builder company, but got an error message. Would be nice to see their price list, and to hear if they already have a European agent selling for them over here. They have boats that would sell for the righ price. We like that kind of boats over here

 

[matt_unique]

I seriously looked into welded AL cruisers before I purchased the Tomcat. I swear the West Coast offers the best boat manufacturers...I found three AL cruiser manufacturers on the West Coast and only two on the East Coast. (The Tomcat is also a West Coast boat but they now have a few dealers in the East Coast).

Anyway I love the idea of zero core problems and the ability to weld damage. I too wondered about the pounding, noise, and temperature. 99.9% of commercial boats in Boston are AL and they seldom come out of the water. One brand that I found particularly interesting was Silver Streak:

SilverStreak Aluminum Boats

I emailed the East Coast manufacturers I could find. One replied to say they only build custom boats and I was looking at $150,000 - $200,000 for a 25' cruiser. That was out of my price range and I do not like the idea of a custom boat. I want to be able to talk to other owners for tips, tricks, fixes, etc.

--Matt

 

[Nemrod]

I think Pacific Boats and Black Lab may be related, they sure look similar.

Pacific Boats of the Northwest

N

 

[Cacia]

corrosion prevention.

arround here, if they don't like you, they throw handfuls of pennies in Al boats. You will have holes in no time.

and not to mention how hot our marinas are.....

the dollar is dropping like a rock. I am wondering if it is too late to buy gold, lol...I think I missed the BOAT!

 

[FathomDiveWear]

I was looking to upgrade my 94 evinrude 115hp for my rib BUT a merc is about $10000 at a local supply house. Like my little smoker even more (now it is tuned it does not smoke)

You know, my 90 smokes a little and I hate the smell of that crap. I started using a low smoke synthetic for Jetski's and I like it much better.