I recently found out that I have a leak in the bottom of my boat. I brought it to a boat repair shop and they told me that the boat was corroding due to a possible gasoline leak. Over the years, it has just been corroding the bottom and it will only get worse over time. It is an Alumacraft and they told me that they have seen this issue before in these boats.
Has anyone had heard of this before?
Did you see it? Do you have pictures? I am leaning towards a stress fracture more than gasoline eating aluminun. Should be easy to tell from an actual picture. Either way, you need a repair
Yes, I can see it. It looks like rust spots and it is in several places under the where the gas tank would be. I would have thought a stress fracture as well but I can see where the holes are. I do not have pics.
I find it hard to believe that a gasoline leak would result in corrosion of the aluminum hull. Most of the Tankers that transport gasoline are aluminum tanks without any special coatings and are similar aluminum alloys to what is used in the marine industry.
If gas eating away at aluminum is truely the case then the grade and alloy composition of the aluminum must be inferior. I have gas tanks on motorcycles made out of aluminum, one is almost thirty years old. I would think moisture is more the culprit being low and possibly trapped causing corrosion, again possibly enhanced by sub grade aluminum. I have a metal warehouse in s.e Wi called Speedy Metals and one of their aluminum products listed in their catologe is rated and formulated for marine use. Short of scapping the boat, could you weld some replacement pieces in?
From what I have been told, this has been an issue with some models from Alumacraft. I did some research about this and found multiple converstations including one on IDO regarding the same issue in 2007. It is a combination of gasoline and electric current running through the metal. I can get it fixed but there is no guarentee it will not happen again…
Needless to say, I am frustrated and disappointed and I will never purchase another Alumacraft.
Thanks for the input, fellas.
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