Advice on Aluminum boat Valencin 39, 1985

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by nortonscove

Most people I know working in the marine industry don't really like aluminum past a given age. At about 10 years the crewing companies will ditch aluminum due to it's deterioration. Most don't seem to appreciate the softness of it and it's willingness to act as an anode in the presence of harder metals when submerged in saltwater.

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In terms of fundamental material properties aluminum has an absolute fatigue limit (10^7 cycles) whereas grp and steel dont.

I wouldn't expect a recreational alum yacht to get anywhere near that limit. Corrosion will be the limiting factor and that is visually detectable.

For commercial fleet operators it would make sense to life an alum fleet. You'll know when that limit is after making numerous repairs.

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[Djarraluda]

A good way of thinking about it is that the hammer test is for integrity only. You will hear a change in tone.
As said above, aluminium tends not to thin over a large area, so the visual check is good for that. Continuity at welds is the critical thing and the hammer test can reveal this.
When (if) it gets to a detail area of caution, the weld needs to be cleaned and spray a dye on it, wipe this off and you will see if any crack is present.

[xslim]

Ok, arranged inspection on Thursday.
Went with an old inspector with a hammer - seems to be more responsive also. Promised to tell me why I should not buy the boat.

Hope I'm making a good choice taking this boat

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by xslim

Ok, arranged inspection on Thursday.
Went with an old inspector with a hammer - seems to be more responsive also. Promised to tell me why I should not buy the boat.

Hope I'm making a good choice taking this boat

We hope so too !!!

Buena Suerte!!!

[Cheechako]

Good luck! Sounds you are doing things right, so time will tell.

[xslim]

An update for the story

Made a survey. Short story:
- hull in good shape
- maintenance is bad

The survey uncovered few things that I did not know about (and the seller as well):
- motor leaking oil - needs replacement of gasket
- priming under antifouling needs to be repaired
- one bearing in rudder is gone, so rudder needs to be dropped to replace the bearing
- 3 stations were damaged. 2 were repaired with reinforcement plate and bolted thru hull. The 3-d still needs fixing (probably all of them need re-welding?)
- deck antislip pads lost antislip capabilities. replace / any ideas how to fix?
- some other minor small things

The good thing: Surveyor hummered all the hull back and forth and did 10-12 thickness checks - hull is 5.2 mm thick and 6.2 under waterline

I'm asking to drop the price to 49k...

PS: If anyone is interested in survey report:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/brp39ijpm0...15277.doc?dl=0

[northwestsailor]

First off, I have a 25 year old aluminum boat I bought in Venezuela about 6 years ago. I was left on the hard for three years so visually it was in rough condition on the exterior but interior was nice enough.

Aluminum doesn't rust, it corrodes usually in the form of pitting. Put your hand in the bilges and rub the bottom. If it feels sandy, it probably is some corrosion especially if is a damp area. Dampness may not come from exterior leak but interior such as refrigerator box drain, anchor locker, shower drain area etc.

These can be cleaned up but should be checked carefully.

Are you fuel, water and waste tank integral ie built into the hull from aluminum plate? Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of integral is that the boat is double hulled in that area. Usually there is a "coffer" dam between the two tanks which is nothing other than empty space so that even with amazing corrosion there would be no chance of fuel getting into the water tanks or vice versa.

Are your deck fittings welded or bolted on? Again both methods have advantages and disadvantages. If bolted do you have easy access to the nuts below deck through the insulation and shell ceiling material?

Which brings up another important point, make sure the boat is well insulated whether you are planning on northern latitudes or southern, a well insulated boat is very important.

From what I read in your survey report most of the items listed seem fairly minor or at least easily repairable if if a few good swear words might be needed to accomplish the tasks

[xslim]

So, I signed the contract.

The owner is on vacation and then I'm on vacation so it seems the boat can be "handed over" only after New Year.

Now that the boat requires a LOT of things to do, would you guys / gals be interested that I will create a topic in "Refit" forum section and post all my refit questions / problems there?

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by xslim

So, I signed the contract.

The owner is on vacation and then I'm on vacation so it seems the boat can be "handed over" only after New Year.

Now that the boat requires a LOT of things to do, would you guys / gals be interested that I will create a topic in "Refit" forum section and post all my refit questions / problems there?

Yes. I think a new topic and title would be a good idea. My suggestion is to include some key words in the title, and to post photos of before, questions with photos showing the specific issues, and photos of progress or before/after photos. That will likely engage and keep the interest of more members, and that provides more potential for more advice and learning opportunities for more people.

Here is a potential title:

"Refitting Aluminum Boat Valencin 39 : Questions and Progress"

[xslim]

So last weekend I moved a boat to my home city and slowly starting the refit project. The discussion will continue here:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...it-159212.html