Quote:
Originally Posted by sailingdog
Osmund-
The problem with aluminum boats is generally only a risk in marinas... since a single boat with a grounding problem can damage the hull beyond repair rather quickly. It doesn't apply just to Ovnis, but to all aluminum hulled boats. Ovnis, being solid bluewater cruising boats, probably spend less of their time in marinas than coastal cruisers would...and as such probably don't see the issues as often... since it is specifically limited to marinas. There are a fair number of cases cited in the Boat US book Seaworthy IIRC... which is well worth reading in any case.
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Thank for the note about the book I will look out for it. Most problems in marinas come from incorrectly wiring shore power on the aluminium boat. Unless the ground wire is isolated a metal boat can suffer very rapid corrosion. There are simple ways around this, but every once in a while someone will add a battery charger incorrectly to an aluminium boat and create a major problem. This is the stuff that creates horror stories about aluminium boats, but the cause is just ignorance or stupidity.
Stray current in the water from a nearby steel boat or an unusually "hot" marina can produce a small amount of corrosion but usually the zincs will provide complete protection.
These problems are rare and seen less than , fiberglass boats with core or hull deck joining difficulties,