Global 48 aluminum cutter
She’s our go anywhere boat
Other than the dramatic downsize the first thing you’ll notice about our new lady is that she’s aluminum – gasp! A lot of people get freaked out by aluminium and to be honest I’m not really sure why. Electrolysis is an issue but we plan to move, move, move and stay out of marinas.
Aluminum vs Steel vs Fiberglass
Aluminum is low maintenance compared to steel, we don’t like to paint, especially hard to reach bilge areas. Our new to us boat has a painted hull and we plan on blasting it off. Metal boats are not better than fiberglass, they are just better suited for icy waters. They are also typically dry boats with no deck penetrations like on fiberglass such as stanchions, winches, sail tracks, cleats, chain plates – these are all bolted through the deck (on fiberglass boats) and allow water find it’s way in where as aluminum or steel boats are mostly welded. [Read more…]