History of Welded Aluminum boats

[kevinmc]

Hi Guys,

Awesome forum, I have been reading and reading for days…..

I am a new member and was interested to learn the history of smaller welded aluminum / alloy boats say in the 10-30 foot range. My knowledge of boats in general could be summed up in a few sentences but I have to start somewhere. I searched here and on google and could not really find any formal history.

It seems they are much more prevalent on the west coast and was wondering why that is as well, although I suspect the history lesson will answer that question.

Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

Kevin

[kmorin]

Kevinmc,
I'm not sure there is a formal history online? Glen Woolrich's family's history and his posts are a seriously one-of-a-kind history as his family pioneered several types of welded aluminum boats in the PNW. One reason the welded boat is so present on the West Coast is partly due to builders like Glen and his family; they needed boats that were quite literally bulletproof and nothing they found fit that bill like welded aluminum. They have a book that is history of mainly the river running boats, but is well worth a look and purchase.

Dave Gerr (pronounced like bear with a G) has a series of fine books, (Gerr Marine http://gerrmarine.com/ ) and he does include a narrative that features aluminum boats in several contexts. (the late) William Garden of Toad Harbor & Puget Sound has a couple of good books with brief mentions of aluminum boat history. .

About the time the Woolrich's were pioneering the river runners so did Alco,Valco, Duckworth, Hewes, just to mention a few in that overall genre. The commercial fisheries had a change in the 1960's about the time MIG welding (the most commonly used welding method for long hull seams) where fresh fish in smaller quantities but handled well, cooled fast, semi-processed on the fishing grounds and then delivered in high speed boats (relatively high speeds) to a fresh fish market dock along the Pacific Coast- was a change from the older model of leaving fish in the slow displacement boat for days!

So the convergence of low cost, reliable and decent quality MIG, combined with an emerging fresh fish market meant builders were asked for offshore boats that went fast, could take a beating and bring home well cared for seafood. That lead to most of the basic development and the Alaskan Cook Inlet Salmon market made some contribution to this movement in the commercial fishing market for welded boats. By the 1970's Japan's wealth boom and the outer continental shelf 'territory' and 200 mile limit politics meant Americas Pacific N.West had a gold mine of seafood just off shore if they could get out there, land the fish, and get them to the processing plant fresh and cold.

So regardless of the area, from Alaskan's Coastal Salmon fisheries south to shell fish off the Southern Ca. coast, lighter, faster and more durable boats were justified by the seafood prices of the time. By the mid' 80's lots of the demand for commercial boats had died down but guides began to haul hook and line fishermen out in sprint fashion, run out, fish like the Dickens and run in- hard. Designs, layouts to accommodate the different commercial gear type from long lines to hand held, hook and line reels- in the Puget Sound and just N. on Vancouver a bunch of builders began to provide boats for that offshore recreational market and the guides who hauled day trips. Many of these builders got their start in the commercial fishing boat business and when a lull came in sales, looked to see if they could adapt to the recreational market- and they have.

During the late 80's and into the 90's continuing on today outboard engines became what they historically had not been: reliable. They also became big. So like the technology of welding improving allowing alloy welding, so to did compact, reliable and big size outboards allow builders to skip the tradition inboard and shaft, which is a generally slower propulsion for the same hull and installation compared to outboards. Outboards are inherently faster than shaft boats, fitting into the lowered cost of install work, final hull costs and allowing faster boats as a result. Further, as builders solved the various design issues to provide a series of similarly successful designs; they woke up one day and realized they had finally begun to provide a series of boats that could safely take you 100 miles out and bring you back - from the Port of "Town's End"

So... a plastic resin and glass fiber boat of this size will weigh from 2x to 20x's the same welded boat so the running speed and cost are pretty high when compared. The metal is more durable in the rough and tumble offshore fishery, and the hull will bounce off 'dead heads' (logs floating end up in the water not really visible) even at highest speeds. The metal, if cleaned well will last for longer than any other material; all the above added up to a locally designed and built boat that was super successful.

Born of the commercial fishing solution of a light weight but durable material that was easily cleaned, traveled fast due to newer and newer engine technology and buoyed up by the welding industries new (1960's) MIG processes accompanied by lowered prices of those new power supplies and torches, coupled with an expansion of the aluminum mills using the Pacific N.West's hydroelectric power to affordably smelt new 'marine grade' alloys of aluminum financed ( 5052's successors 5086 and 5083) research by the USNavy... well it was a perfect storm of circumstance that allowed the commercial fishing exploration of new boats to become recreational vehicles slowly over 30 years.

Not a real history but I think lots of high points are here for a sort of summary history of the welded aluminum boat in the PNW.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK

[gandrfab]

I'v read a few books on boat building.
I could be very wrong on this without finding where I left the book.
I think this one has a nice section on the history of building with aluminum.

[dennis]

Hello,
I don't think the Lund people are going to like this.....
df

[kmorin]

dennis,

I didn't know that Lund was in the plate/welded/heavy scantling aluminum boat business? I thought they made stretch and press formed sheet metal boats that were riveted? Lund, Gregor, Starcraft, Monarch and the other press formed boats are not really in the same class of boat - are they?

Maybe I don't understand your post?

Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK