Eric asked what the differences are between two different marine grades of aluminum alloy. Aluminum alloys are divided into "Series". Each series is designated by the first number (in thousands). For example there is the 1000 series, 2000 series, 3000 series, etc. The 5000 series is commonly called the "Marine-Grade" series. With magnesium as the main alloying metal this alloy has tremendous corrosion resistance when used for saltwater boatbuilding and other marine applications. The most commonly used alloy in the sheet metal boat market (ie: Lund, Mirrorcraft, Lowe, etc) is 5052. The most commonly used alloy in plate boatbuilding is 5086. Thus the question about the differences between the two! The answer is that 5052 is usually seen as an inferior alloy for hull building. It is about 30% less strong than 5086 (a sizeable difference!) It is less expensive than 5086 and easier to bend and work with. Thus the difference between 5052 sheet metal boats and 5086 plate boats is enormous. If you are building one boat out of 1/8" 5052 and another out of 1/4" 5086 the difference in strength is huge (twice as thick and 30% stronger for a given thickness).. Hope that this answers your question even if it is very late! Jay |
Black Lab Marine, Inc. 72 Lafayette Street Yarmouth, Maine, USA 04096 Email: info@blacklabmarine.com Phone: 207-400-7404 |