One Boat for non alloy to alloy conversion

[petrel]

Lifetime non-alloy guy here. Tired of fussing over gelcoat and looking for something tough like my mud boat (Phowler 2066)and versatile. I currently use a 2006 31 Edgewater and a 1971 21 Boston Whaler (both center consoles) to get me to my diving and fishing destinations which are anywhere between 5 and 80 miles offshore.

The EW is a great riding, relatively fast, dry boat with plenty amenities, but it is a pain to tow and can only be launched at the best ramps. Plus, I am incessantly fussing over the finish. The BW rides like an ox cart, but tows effortlessly and can be launched anywhere. Eventhough she is old, I still fuss over her finish too. They are both garage kept because I can't stand the ravages of outside storage, as I have limited time for maintenance. To me, cleaning and waxing a non-alloy finish is just like changing the oil...it is part of the maintenance and I won't have an improperly maintained boat.

I am wondering if an AA boat sized somewhere between these two boats would be the way to go. Something in the 26-29' range, a thousand pounds lighter than the EW may fit the bill. I'm hoping that a natural finish will put an end to my fussing over the finish and make me more inclined to occasionally wet slip it or leave it on the trailer closer to the fishing. I want to stay with a center console t-top and bump up the speed to just over 50 knots. I need plenty of locking storage and an enclosed head.

Questions:
Is a natural AA finish truly low maintenance or maintenance free?
Do AA boats ride about the same or better than similarly sized, draft, deadrise, etc. non-AA boats?
Do any builders make "unsinkable" hulls?
Are there any builders on the East Coast?
Are there so few used ones around because you guys keep them for life?
What are the maintenance issues specific to AA boats?

I have visited all of the sponsor's websites. These outfits are ridiculously stingy with photos on their websites! They don't make much of a showing at the boat shows around here either.

I skimmed back through the member photos to 2008. All of the bigger boats I saw had big wheelhouses on them. So far the Pacific 28 is the closest thing I can find to what I want. Please direct me to any images/websites of similarly styled rigs if available.

Thanks for your time and assistance.

[welderbob]

Welcome aboard, you are on the right path.

A natural (mill) finished aluminum will develop a dark grey patina over time. A little soap and water once and awhile doesn't hurt. The best thing you can due for an aluminum boat is keep the inside clean on the inside. Don't let crap lay in the bilge.
We have applied "Shark Hide" on the last two boats we delivered.

We use Bill Lincoln at Response Marine for our design work. I'm sure he could design some thing along the lines and ride of your Edgewater. Bill is the designer of RockSalt boats, I'm not sure if there still building boats.

I like watertight compartments for anything bigger than 20' boats. Aluminum likes to breathe,it my opinion that spraying foam on aluminum is not that great. The key is to let the aluminum get oxygen to protect itself.

A 28' 24 degree deadrise center-console sound like it could fit your bill. A pair of 250 hp 4 strokes should get you near the speed your looking for.

I can only speak for myself . I am a small builder,things like boat show take a tremendous amount time and resources with little results. Most recreational boaters don't understand alloy boats .I have had 10k people walk past our boats without one serious inquiry. I had more mommy's take picture of the kid behind the steering wheel and not one of them looked at the big screen with pictures and video of our boats. I think we have more pictures of our projects on FB @ Sound Marine Aluminum Boats. We also have some video on You tube. I can send you some links. Most of them have been post here at one time or another. The majority of our boats are for commercial or government ,but that doesn't mean we don't do nice finish work.

Our current project is a 34' oil spill response boat with a pair of 350 Yamaha's. Yes I will have some build pictures up next week when we flip the boat upright.

welderbob

[Sabs28]

NICE, Another East Coaster

Welcome to the forum. Lots of knowledgeable people on this site. So feel free to ask.

[welder]

Is a natural AA finish truly low maintenance or maintenance free?
Alloy is VERY low maintenance if built correctly
Do AA boats ride about the same or better than similarly sized, draft, deadrise, etc. non-AA boats?
Alloy is a rougher ride the the same sized Non Alloy hull due to being lighter weight
Do any builders make "unsinkable" hulls?
Yes, Pacific Boats is one manufacture that does
Are there any builders on the East Coast?
Very few and one of the GOOD ones has spoken above
Are there so few used ones around because you guys keep them for life?
Ya might say... Once you go alloy ya never go back. Most boats are sold to buddies to move up in size
What are the maintenance issues specific to AA boats?
NO acid, be careful with dissimilar metals, Keep your sacrificial anodes in good shape and CLEAN

Most Alloy boats are NOT go fast rides although those can be built just bring money, LOTS OF MONEY, Most of us buy alloy to carry a bunch of weight, Handle rough seas, less maintenance, better fuel economy, easy to clean, don't have to worry about CHIPS, STRESS CRACKS, SPIDER CRACKS, BLOOD STAINS, ROCKS, DOCKS and beer bottles.
Remember... Speed is fuel and the more fuel you have to buy, the less you get to fish.
My Pacific 23 will do 45MPH the way I'm set up right now and if I wanted more speed I would have bought a 250HP motor but again were all about saving dollars. I enjoy a 3800/4200 rpm ride at 30 to 32 MPH and that makes it good on fuel but still gets me there OK.

Storage on a Pacific 28 is what ever you ask for...
Fish boxes in deck.
Gunwale [Lockable storage]
Bow/anchor locker
Back to back seat storage
Transom storage
Under the gunwale racks for gaffs and poles
Center Console lockable storage
Electronic box lockable storage
and more.

Fuel in the 28 could be up to and above the 200 gallon mark if needed and of course you can spec the boat with just about anything you could want on it.

WOW... Sounds like I work for Pacific I just REALLY believe in there product . If I ever sell my 23 it will be to buy at least a 26 with a 7 foot pilot house and would love to have a 28.

I do know if you have ANY questions about Pacific, call Julie at 888-658-7111

[petrel]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the warm welcome and the wealth of information.

On AA boats, how do you handle accessory and through hull installations? Are all of the through hull fittings welded in and mated directly to the hoses? Do you custom fabricate aluminum through hull strainers and shut-off valves to avoid the dissimilar metals issue?

Are wooden or starboard panels installed for securing pumps, strainers, wiring, hoses, fuel filters, etc.?

Could you direct me to some interior rigging photos?

[Challenge]

Hi Petrel,

Welcome to the site! I've made the switch to alloy from a 23' Grady and will never go back. I currently have a small boat designed by Bill L at Response Marine. Very smart guy who is easy to talk to and has great designs & Ideas. I have also worked w/him on a larger boat about 33' that I am trying to figure out a way to afford!

A few years ago I rode on the 28' Rock Salt which had an impressive ride. PM me for more details.

Since you are a seasoned boater, shown by your questions, You would enjoy the give & take of designing your ideal boat.

Others will give good details about adding accessories...but Tef-Gel will become your best friend.

Cheers

Rick

[petrel]

Rick, It is good to hear from a convert. I will take you up on your offer to share your experiences with the Rocksalt in the near future. Thanks for the lead on the Tef-Gel. That answers some questions.

Peezer, thanks for sharing your build! That is a nice looking rig coming together. If you don't mind my asking, why did you opt for the narrow gunwale cap, instead of covering boards? I see that the narrow cap is more prevalent in AA boats in general.

Gator Trax was the first builder I called when shopping for my mud boat. I even met with one of their local reps. I also took a look at ProDrive boats, Aucoin, Breaux, Excel, and Gator-Tail Boats. They are all fine rigs. I decided to go with Phowler because they ticked the most check boxes on my requirements/wants list.

My experience with Phowler is what brought me here. I'd been duck hunting for almost 40 years, had the same rig for 26. I knew exactly what I wanted. I sent Phowler a want list and, after about a dozen phone calls, they turned my want list into my ultimate duck hunting skiff.....probably the last one I will need.

While I'm rambling on, back to my questions: Are aluminum fishboxes difficult to insulate?

[welderbob]

couple of way to handle insulating the fish box.

Build a double wall box with ridge foam between the walls. We build portable display case for an open air "Green " market like this.

spray foam the out side of the box and if its below the deck you spray the outside of the foam with a truck bed liner coating.

[petrel]

I guess all of the lids are double wall like the display cases?

[welder]

Pacific just did some on a Net Skiff headed for Alaska and I can't find the pictures.

[welder]

OK, here are some Insulated bins, without lids that I know of.
This Net Boat went to Alaska.

[petrel]

Ok, so those are the ones with sheet insulation and bed liner sprayed over?

[welder]

Have to call pacific and check, back soon.

[welder]

My youngest deck hand [Grandson, Tom] washing down the boat. He doesn't like water unless it's on PawPaws boat, I couldn't get the hose away from him until ALL of the blood was gone.

Anyway , these are Standard GUNWALES on a Pacific.

[petrel]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for all the posts. I apologize for my recent lack of responsiveness, but for some reason the site quit notifying me of new posts to my thread sometime last week.

Peezer, my gunwale observation was that they appear quite narrow, more like a gunwale cap instead of covering boards. I also observed that they seem to be standard in the Pacifics, but I was wondering why they opted for that. Where do you install the rod holders?

You are exactly right about coolers. I own at least one of just about everything. I just got my first yeti last year and I'm not ready to put it ahead of Frigid Rigid, but they are fine coolers. To me the icey teks are the most bang for the buck.

Fortunately, I all but rid myself of coolers in the deck when I purchased the EW, I don't want to go back! My current boat has 3 built in well insulated boxes and a Frigid Rigid Cooler (which might as well be built in.)

Welder, thanks for the additional photo (good deck hand in the making there!) That inner structure with the cubby in it and the grip tape on it is what serves as the covering board in the Pacifics?

Peezer, you are right about the 26. That is what I am leaning towards for the trailerability. With the trailer, motors jacked up and guide-ons I am towing 11w X 41l X 12.5h X 11,000lbs up and down the road now with a special permit. I'd like to pare that down a bit.

If Metal Shark is Gravois, I looked at them first. Virginia beach marine police have one and it is an awesome machine. I did not see anything on their site I liked. Their big CC is going in the wrong direction for me.

[petrel]

I've got to put my feet on one or more like a dozen and a half of these boats. I'd like to start with a Pacific 26. I'll try to give them a call and see if they have a customer within a couple of hundred miles who might let me poke around on their boat. I'm not ready to hop on a plane just yet.

In the meantime, Is anyone willing to share some below decks and wiring/rigging photos?

[BWFLU]

Did rocksalt ever make a 28' like the drawings on the website. Seems like that would be what you are looking for.
I know if i was in the market thats where id start.

[BWFLU]

Maybe it was a 26' still looks nice ez to trailer.

[JETTYWOLF]

I haven't read everyone elses replies, but I think you already discussed why "we" own what "we" do.
I'm a a 26' Pacific southern edition "DO-ALL" boat kinda guy, that also fishes 2-3' of water also and frequently.

EZ ownership.

No fuss.

If you were a super offshore kinda guy. I'd even look at deeper V CC's.

If you're looking for a Pacific CC tour, with more ball room dancing room than most (moved console forward 2-1/2 feet)
Here's a tour I did via my Youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0iuGdQb ... 0iuGdQbSIs

I certainly don't consider those Edgewaters "bay boats". If so, my Pacific is a Bayboat then. They're too big, and draft too much. Bayboats are now like SUV's or Crossovers.....hey the first real Bay Boats were types like small 18' rolled edge Bluewaves, and the first Suv's were the old boxy 70's Ford Bronco's.

Opps......soap box alert

I can mount a Trolling motor on my 26' Pacific, put a powerpole on it and yep! I be a bayboat then, at least in todays wacky world of boat marketing.