Capt. George Tunison

With the high cost of everything these days, be prepared for a bad case of super sticker shock when shopping for your new or well used dreamboat. Thinking about finally selling old S.S. MoneyPit? With season coming and if old faithful is in decent shape, it’s probably worth more than you might think. Not long ago I sold my well-cared-for fiberglass flats rig for what I paid for it quite a few years earlier.

Now, I think I may be getting BBF again (BBF or “boat buying fever” – a dreaded condition which can magically cancel out all reason and financial common sense in normally very reasonable people, especially men.) If you find yourself talking to you in the mirror trying to convince you that you’ll somehow find a way to replace the tuition money, you definitely have BBF. There is no cure, just cold turkey, stripped of phones, credit cards and check books, then confined for a short period till senses are slowly regained. Nevertheless, I’m on the hunt again but definitely not looking to empty my already inflation-shrunk piggy bank, be confined, or cause war on the home front.

An interesting alternative is going aluminum. Fiberglass is heavy, more expensive, needs cleaning and waxing maintenance, and requires bigger and definitely more costly engines to push it, plus more fuel and bigger tow vehicles to pull it down the highway.

It’s a safe bet that early on many of us spent time fishing or hunting in riveted Jon boats, but when thinking aluminum hulls in saltwater most would recommend staying away from this construction method and choose only an all welded hull model. Getting beat up by a nasty chop on the way home over time loosens rivets starting leaks and corrosion issues.

When thinking about an aluminum purchase for seawater, usually the first questions folks like me have is, “What about long-term rust and corrosion issues?”

Interestingly, rust and corrosion are two different animals. Rust isn’t an issue with aluminum since it contains no steel or iron to oxidize — it doesn’t rust. Corrosion is a different issue, referring to the wearing away of metal due to a chemical reaction, like being dipped in the brine leading to corrosive pitting and possible eventual failure. Galvanic corrosion.

When it comes to boat building materials there’s quite a difference in the aluminum used in your lawn chair frame verses marine-grade aluminum, which is manufactured with special alloys to give it much more corrosion resistance and strength.

To preserve aluminum hulls, a simple coat of paint works wonders but a powder-coated hull is the best option. Uncared for hulls often get a white chalky coat of aluminum oxide. There are many marine grade paints or coatings available for aluminum hulls. Always use sacrificial anodes like zinc but never use magnesium anodes on aluminum in saltwater.

Like a fiberglass hull, you can also wax your aluminum hull providing even further protection and a common sense rinse down at the end of the day is always good medicine. There are many aluminum cleaning products to remove salt but many still rely on a 50/50 white vinegar and distilled water mix in a spray bottle, applied, then wiped off with a damp rag

Nowadays there are quite a few boat builders building inshore/nearshore saltwater aluminum boats like Ranger. The famous fiberglass bass boat company offers a few neat salt grade aluminum models and of particular interest are the all welded aluminum bay boat and skiff line from Xpress Boats and Sea Ark boat builders.

Much cheaper to buy, easier to launch, power, pull, pole, troll motor and easier to maintain. Take a long look at aluminum when thinking of your new bay boat or skiff purchase this time around as it may be the right choice for you and your skinny piggy bank.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.