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ALUMINUM OR STAINLESS STEEL

a1mudpuppy

a1mudpuppy

Well-known member
lOOKING TO GET RID OF MY METAL CAGE AND GO WITH ETHER SS OR ALUM. I'VE GOT SOME BUDDYS OF MINE THAT MAKE T-TOPS AND WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE WHAT I WANT. THEY BOTH TOLD ME THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY PROBLEM WITH ALUM AND IT WOULD BE LIGHTER THAN SS. I'M RUNNING A 14' GTO HULL AND A 500 CADDY. HAS ANYONE HAD A PROBLEM WITH ALUM. WHAT WOULD THE PROS AND CONS?
THANKS
 
Well this oughta stir up a few good ones LOL I like stainless myself, I have seen aluminum develop stress cracks as it gets brittle from flexing and vibration. I was an aircraft mechanic for the usaf and worked in the phase docks where we looked for stuff like that and always found plenty of it. So I run STAINLESS. Conduit rusts from the inside out so that is no good to me. Ok let the fun begin
 
I love my SS. But try finding someone to weld up the breaks after a hard hunting season can make for a different story.
 
Stainless gets my vote, would go to mild steel for my second vote.

cntry - I agree about the aluminum, seen to many cracks myself (and have seen what the motor does when the mounts fail - look out).

Ace - Sound like you and me both need to learn to run a mig or tig gun.
 

Aluminum by far gets my vote. Take a look at my member pics and look at the 12ft camo decked boat that my dad built. It features a solid 3/8" aluminum Rod Cage, al welded, and there has never been any problems with it breaking, plus it was also very strong and built to last. It was also used in one of probably the most harshest swamps in Louisiana and took years and years of abuse, had several branches from trees, in a 1-2ft fiameter fall from bumping to hard and do nothing to affect the cage at all. But i've never seen a really heavy duty SS cage. But aluminum is just alot more cheaper and its easier to weld. You might wanna take a look at my pic of the 12ft boat with the cage my dad built and also note the cage was all tig-welded, so you can just imagine the time that went into it. Thanks
 
A solid rod rigging would be different. I had only seen tubing and was not impressed. I think the custom made also makes a difference. Have seen lots of popular name boats that were nice, but a rigging someone custom makes and spends time doing it right is ussually going to last the longest on the hard trail.

I wish I could use a tig-gun, just not enough time to learn these days.
 
i think is built right a aluminum cage and rigging will be just fine.....i have seen a few new diamond back with aluminum riggings......me personally i would stick with that.....cheaper and lighter
 
evary boat that i have seen that has aluminum has had alot of problems keeping it clean and the engine stands crack alot.
 
I have stainless rigging now but I run a fair amount in saltwater so I love it. Aluminum is brittle, those towers that they put on offshore boats do get stress cracks. The motor mounts on your rigging would make me a little nervous if I ran it hard in some ruff country for any length of time.
 
I am an aviation stuctural mech in the USN aluminum is great because its light but we are constantly fixing cracks do to stress i would not make an engine stand out of aluminum i think a cage or rake would be ok though. Another thing is corosion sucksyou cant use steel hardware becuase disimilar metals corode quick . thanks thats all i got
 
A1,

On my boat that is the only thing that I would change right now! Jay,Jay is right...The aluminum is nice and shiny when new! Take it for a couple of night time rides and oww!!

The bugs down here in Florida actually do have an acidic composition that destroys aluminum. (Got buddys that have had to replace radiators 2 yrs old from crossing the "Alley" at night so much). My new aluminum rigging already looks like crap even though I pressure wash as soon as we leave the swamp, (the bugs acidic make-up permantly etch the metal). Only way to remove this I would guess is to hand scrub ever square inch.

You should have CCHardt build it for ya' as he is really good!

Basketcase
 
Well I just can't hold back on this one any longer... If you run an aluminum engine stand you are playing with your life, plain and simple. It is great in the beginning but over time the vibration and corosion will cause cracks to occur. Now if you do a "phase" inspection on the rigging at some certain time interval ... closely looking for cracks and broken welds then that may be different .. but who does that on their own except for airplane owners, ever tried to pull over on a cloud and weld up a crack. Aluminum will fail there is a junkyard full of planes in arizona that will back this up. I had an aluminum engine stand I bought from a guy and I bought it at night and loaded it up and the next day I almost crapped my pants ... the thing had been welded back together numerous times and it had fresh cracks in it that were not fixed. I didn't complain to him he had been running it and went to a differnet engine setup and I looked at it but not close enough .. it was my fault not his so I threw it away. Aluminum might can be made to be a strong and dependable stand but not for what I run and where I run If you demand a lot from your boat then go with stainless steel.
 
I don't think I have ever seen an aluminum airplane engine mount. They are steel.

Jim
 
The second ad down from the top....

Note it mentions Aluminum engine stand and rigging on a Silver Dollar Airboat. Maybe that's why the owner traded it in on an Air Ranger.

http://www.americanairboats.com/abot-inv.htm

silverd.jpg

I love those absurdedly high sides though!!!!! I thought the photo was distorted at first. Looks like it'd do really well on Lake George after an afternoon thunder shower.... or the open ocean. :shock:

It's the only aluminum motor stand I've ever seen.

matt.
 
I have spoke with everyone in the industry Panther, diamondback, GTO,hamant, and Alumitech and got to know them pretty well over the years. They all told me that alminum rigging weighs more than stainless steel rigging but it looks really kool thats the only advantage.


.. Mike..
 
Go with stainless and you wont have any problems. I ran stainless on my old boat for 10 plus years and it was 10 years old when I got it.
 
Just another opinion, nothing more.

I chose anodized aluminum for my new 6 cyl aircraft rigging for a few reasons. First, Diamondback guaranteed their workmanship for as long as I own the rigging or boat. Similar metals seemed like a really good idea. So far, no broken welds here.

Second, and probably strongest, no marine manufacturer that I know of uses stainless for T-tops, towers, radar arches or any other saltwater application that involves high performance fishing boats that take a continuous and heavy pounding.

Have I seen busted welds? Of course on both SS and Aluminum. It is the person drawing the bead and the strength gussetts that determine whether or not breaks occur.

SS is definately more popular with small rigging builders and definately more popular with auto engine airboats.

Confidence in the rigging builder and his comfort level with the metals he favors working with are worth consideration, too, maybe.
 
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