Currently available on Amazon.com
Ballast, Society of Boat & Yacht Designers:
"Brings it all together in an organized and thorough volume that's loaded with userful information and practical advice... I give it a thumbs up for anyone interested in aluminum boat construction!"
Boatbuilder:
"This is the reference text the backyard builder and small-scale professional builder have been waiting for."
WE WROTE THE BOOK!
Aluminum may be the best possible boatbuilding material: it's economical, light weight, maintenance-free, nearly impervious to corrosion, less easily damaged, and more easily repaired than any other material used for building boats. It can be cut and worked with conventional woodworking tools, and, using the author's special techniques, can be welded with readily available equipment using standard household current. Only a lack of information has kept aluminum from becoming the backyard boatbuilder's material of choice. In Boatbuilding with Aluminum, readers learn aluminum fabrication, welding, and lofting through the construction of a 14-foot McKenzie River drift boat. More advanced aluminum-forming techniques and large-yacht construction are covered in detail, using specific examples, to enable readers to build aluminum boats of any size. And they will learn from a master of the craft. Stephen Pollard has built hundreds of aluminum boats-from large ocean racers to water-jet river boats-and has pioneered many of the techniques used in modern welded aluminum boat manufacturing.
Table of Contents:
Evolution of the Aluminum Hull
Advantages of Aluminum Boat Construction
Characteristics of Marine Aluminum
Designing the Welded Aluminum Hull
Fabrication Techniques
Welding Aluminum
Laying-Out for Aluminum Construction
Construction Sequence
Propulsion Systems
Fuel Systems
Electrical Systems
Woodwork and Insulation
Aluminum Hull Painting Systems
Appendices:
Calculating a Camber Curve
Forming Aluminum
Modifying Lines for Developable Surfaces
Line Fairing with a Flexible Batten
Installing Conventional Propeller Drive Systems
Estimating Construction Costs
List of Aluminum Boatbuilders