Cleaners for Aluminum
Looking for aluminum boat care products? Everything you might need is right here. Our regular visitors and clients know that topRik experts only recommend proven yachts and boats, as well as products for their care.
Since we already examined various aluminum boats, such as XO from a Finnish manufacturer and Viking from a Polish manufacturer, we know exactly all the features of this material in the marine environment, what its advantages are, and what kind of care the aluminum hull and aluminum parts on a yacht require – keep reading and we’ll share some of our tricks.
If there is something you still don’t fully understand, contact our marketplace experts. These experienced sailors will answer all your questions absolutely free through the feedback form or by phone. You can also use the email address [email protected], as well as the phone number.
Features of Aluminum Boats and Yachts
Aluminum has at least two significant characteristics that make it an excellent material for boats and motor boats. Firstly, it does not rust or deteriorate in aggressive water environments, including sea water, which will contain salts that corrode other metals.
Secondly, it is quite light: this feature allows aluminum boats to stay afloat, and airplanes (their fuselage, wings and tail are also made of aluminum alloys) to soar into the heights.
Many manufacturers of aluminum boats actually use so-called military aluminum with improved characteristics, such as the Finnish company XO.
Advantages of Aluminum Boats
In boat manufacturing process, a special alloy of aluminum and magnesium is used, which is called magnalium (this alloy is also called marine or boat alloy). Benefits of magnalium are:
- •
- increased resistance to corrosion; •
- mechanical strength; •
- resistance to most acids and precipitation; •
- unlike wood or fiberglass, it does not absorb water, which means it does not become heavier and does not deform.
All this ensures aluminum boats safety in river and even sea water environments and ease of storage.
In addition, marine aluminum is an almost ideal production raw material. Magnalium is easy to machine. This allows you to cut the metal without problems, give it different shapes by pressing, bending, polishing, etc. With all this, it responds well to welding, which, firstly, is convenient during initial assembly, and secondly, greatly increases the maintainability of aluminum boats.
Moreover, being very plastic, aluminum does not break upon impact, but only stretches, that is, at the point of damage, you get a completely harmless and easily removable dent instead of a hole (which is dangerous, especially far from the shore). This way, it’s not as dangerous to go out alone in the middle of the ocean. Therefore, the world famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov ordered an aluminum yacht for his next “around the world” trip.
Aluminum Boats: Areas of Application
Such vessels are often used for fishing or hunting in hard-to-reach areas. They easily pass through shallow water and thickets - where its rubber or plastic counterparts (we're talking about cheap homemade polymers) risk cracking or chipping. And on an aluminum boat, you can run into underwater obstacles dozens of times a season and still get away with only scratches or small dents on the hull, preserving both the loot and the vessel itself.
For single fishermen, for whom the process itself is important instead of the size of the catch, a lightweight open motorboat weighing about 40-45 kg is quite sufficient. In addition, it is inexpensive and efficient to operate. And for those who like multi-day or all-weather fishing, a boat with an awning or hard roof over the cabin is more suitable.
Motor boats made of aluminum can also act as a “workhorse”: transporting cargo and passengers, delivering mail and provisions to remote settlements. Models with high sides, additional space for luggage and a semi-open hull design successfully cope with this task.
Aluminum boats are also good for the sea or river. In this case, the best option is a comfortable cabin boat, where the captain and passengers are protected from wind, splashes and bad weather.
How to Care for an Aluminum Boat using Cleaners
The simpler the model, the more unpretentious it is. At one time, design innovators even came up with “camping” aluminum boats. The motor was easily removed on them, and then, through simple screwdriver disassembly, the vessel was turned into several flat parts that could be carried in your hands and placed on a garage shelf. The other side of the coin is a minimum of comfort and safety during operation.
With closed aluminum boats it’s exactly the opposite. They give a feeling of security and retain heat inside the cabin. If you equip the boat with a heater, a comfortable temperature is ensured even in early spring or late autumn. But caring for such a boat is much more difficult.
It is not advisable to leave it in the sun: overheating of the metal can damage the dashboard and trim. The problem can be avoided by covering the vessel with an awning or placing it under a canopy. In winter, it is advisable to store the cabin boat in a closed heated box or, in extreme cases, in slightly frosty conditions, under a thick awning.
Aluminum boats have a lot of advantages with a minimum of disadvantages. Therefore, they firmly hold third place after fiberglass and combined (fiberglass combined with aluminum) small vessels.
The already long life of an aluminum boat can be extended if you properly care for it. Here the process largely depends on various factors, in particular on the type of aluminum alloy from which the boat hull is made, and, as a consequence, on the method of this manufacture.
If Your Boat Is Welded
This means it is made of aluminum-magnesium alloy. These alloys are slightly susceptible to corrosion even in sea water. You should pay attention to the presence of dents. They are straightened through a wooden spacer, having on the other side a steel, rather heavy support. A steel pad on which the rails are laid works very well.
In this case, the painting is more decorative than protective, so this process of protecting the aluminum hull depends on the boat owner's ideas about aesthetics.
But if you have to resort to protecting the body from fouling, then before applying anti-fouling paint you will still have to thoroughly clean the surface of shells and algae, and then treat it with additional cleaning agents. For example, Forte cleaner from the famous Italian manufacturer BRAVA Srl. is ideal for aluminum surfaces, tackling even the most stubborn dirt.
If Your Boat's Hull is Riveted
This means it is made of duralumin. Alloys of this type are susceptible to corrosion and therefore require special attention. Signs of corrosion are small pits in the form of dark spots, as well as gray and whitish spots. Particular attention should be paid to those places where steel parts are riveted.
Some metals create a galvanic couple, and in this case corrosion, especially under the influence of salty sea water, develops especially intensively. There are known cases when the clavicle was torn from the body by swollen aluminum oxide. It is a whitish-gray mass that easily crumbles into powder.
All detected areas of corrosion are cleaned to a metallic shine. For this, there are special products that not only remove traces of corrosion, but also create a protective film on the treated surface. Rust converters such as RIMOX Rust Converter from CFG, the oldest manufacturer in the chemical industry, or metal reducers from Iosso, which are presented in the topRik marketplace, will effectively cope with the task.
Oxidation
Oxidation, as is known, occurs when a metal comes into contact with moist air. Despite the properties of aluminum to actively resist corrosion, the surface layer of aluminum oxide covering the aluminum parts of the yacht’s hull also tends to collapse under the influence of salt water.
In such situations, the best way to avoid possible corrosion of metal parts of the body and mechanisms is to regularly apply primer to cleaned surfaces, followed by painting problem areas.
Galvanic Corrosion
This type of corrosion occurs due to an electrochemical reaction in which current flows between two different metals. Let's say a ship with aluminum composite hulls is moored to a pier with steel supports. Both the vessel and the pier's supports are in salty seawater, an excellent natural conductive solution. In this situation, steel (a less active metal) becomes the cathode, and aluminum, accordingly, the anode. The process of aluminum electrons flowing through the salt water to the cathode begins. The final result of the reaction is the dissolution of aluminum. Galvanic corrosion occurs unnoticed, and its manifestations can appear over a long period of time, measured in weeks and months.
Excellent protection would be the use of zinc coating. Zinc, as a more chemically active metal, acts as an anode, consuming itself, but saving the aluminum of the body. At the same time, measurements taken in the most popular yacht moorings showed a dangerous concentration of harmful toxic substances released during the destruction of zinc. The problem is still under development, but the aluminum alloy anodes now offered have become an alternative to zinc.
In the meantime, the problem has not been resolved at this level, the topRik marketplace offers the use of protective agents and coatings, and if traces of corrosion are already appearing, then we will select for you aluminum reducers from well-known manufacturers.
Corrosive Current
Like galvanic corrosion, this current can cause serious damage to subsea fittings. It does not arise from the contact of two dissimilar metals, but from the poor condition of the yacht’s circuit, wiring on a neighboring boat or at the dock. In this case, the destructive effect occurs in a matter of hours.
In order to avoid the occurrence of corrosive current, it is necessary to constantly monitor the cable connections and the condition of the vessel's electrical circuit, eliminating damage, with the obligatory replacement of worn waterproof insulation.
All types of corrosion create many problems, but based on the above, preventive maintenance on a yacht will help keep the vessel in perfect condition for a long time.
Periodic treatment of the bottom of the yacht, timely replacement of used anodes, maintenance of electrical wiring and batteries in proper form are simple but necessary requirements. The cleaning and replacement of rusted elements, as well as painting with fresh paint, is carried out by the economic skipper without any instructions, taking care of the cleanliness and dryness of the deck.
topRik marketplace is always ready to help such caring skippers. We offer some of the most advanced means of combating corrosion of all types, as well as proven compounds for its prevention. Our experts will select for you an effective set of aluminum boat care in exact accordance with your requirements and characteristics of the yacht. All consultations are free.