Aluminum boat restoration: the decision

I have lived and worked in the Great Lakes my entire adult life. I have never done an aluminum boat restoration, or any other type of boat restoration. But I have admired all kinds of small pleasure boats from the Great Lakes Bulk Freighters deck that I have worked on since I was fresh out of high school.

Although I am a pilot of motor boats of any gross ton licensed by the United States Coast Guard, or more simply; “A boat pilot” … I have never been at the helm of a small pleasure boat. But I have always admired the lines of motor boats, or motor yachts, as they are sometimes called.

I have wondered, as we maneuver our large commercial ships through the Great Lakes ports; how much work and dedication it would take to restore an old yacht.

Although in my boat restoration dreams I always thought it would be amazing to restore an old wooden boat built around the 1950s, I never made the decision to do so.

The old Cris Craft type wooden yachts I had seen on the Great Lakes had such nostalgic lines and looked like such sturdy and well designed boats after being restored by a dedicated and talented craftsman.

These old wooden boats are certainly beautiful when restored, and the idea of ​​owning and restoring one myself seemed like a very noble thing to do …

But this is how I decided to do an aluminum boat restoration instead.

As I said before, I have worked on boats my entire adult life and have a very intimate knowledge of boats. However, I have very limited knowledge of woodworking and wood finishing, etc.

However, I am quite knowledgeable about steel and the other metal alloys that are shipped to ships.

It was just a stroke of luck or coincidence, which made me see that I could have an old yacht, fully restored and like new, without knowing much about woodworking.

As I said; we were unloading grain at the General Mills dock in Buffalo, NY;

I saw a boat that looked a lot like one of those old Chris Craft “type” wooden boats docked at a marina off the General Mills dock.

Although I admired that ship for several hours while on watch that afternoon, it never occurred to me that it was built of anything other than wood.

I decided right then and there, while looking at the fine lines of that 32 foot cruiser, (which I thought was made of wood), that I was going to do a restoration of the ship myself.

So later, after we finished unloading and were on Lake Erie heading to Detroit, I got talking to my Wheelsman about the boat I saw at the Buffalo Marina and my idea to do a boat restoration. . He had also seen the ship.

My biker had grown up on Harsens Island in Michigan and had worked at a marina while in high school. He pointed out to me that the boat we had both seen was made of aluminum.

I was really amazed. To get started; I did not realize that large cabin cruisers had been built so early from aluminum. And I certainly never would have thought that an aluminum boat could have such fine lines.

So I started researching aluminum yachts, and specifically Marinette aluminum yachts, which my helmsman said was the manufacturer of the yacht that we had both been admiring.

Well one thing led to another and I started to realize that restoring an aluminum canister would be the only thing that would make sense to me.

• Aluminum boats are strong and Marinette boats, according to their owners; “built like a tank” …

• Marinette aluminum boats are easy to come by and have a higher value compared to even a similarly sized fiberglass boat.

• Aluminum retains its strength much longer than wood or fiberglass, and aluminum does not corrode or rot.

• The hull of an aluminum boat, regardless of its age, will almost always be in fairly good condition, with little need for repair to the hull itself.

• Aluminum motor boats and cabin cruisers will generally get better fuel economy than a wood or fiberglass boat of the same size.

And the list of good reasons to consider a more practical aluminum boat restoration is endless.

So that was the day I decided to undertake the restoration of an aluminum ship. My decision was made in 24 hours.

At the time of writing this article it has been less than a week since I decided to own an old aluminum built restorable yacht.

But the more I investigate, the more determined … I am going to take an old and once beautiful aluminum boat, and make it new again.

And I am confident that I will be rewarded with a boat that will provide fun and excitement for me and my family for many years to come. All for a much lower price than a comparable new boat.

In addition, the restoration of the ship itself will provide many hours of enjoyment and bonding for my wife, my son, and myself.