All,
I am faced with a conundrum. I have an aluminum boat that I received for free. The metal part itself is not in bad shape, just needs some cleaning. The problem is the wooden gunwale. It's very, very rotten. I could replace it with wood, but I was thinking of making the whole think aluminum. A wise decision, as the aluminum would not rot.
I have 2 issues- 1) I can't find anyone in my area to do aluminum work on such a small scale; 2) is it even worth it? The boat is 13 ft long, unknown make (it, and the homemade trailer, is older than me i.e pre-1968). I have talked with others who have worked in aluminum and they said the cost of the materials and the equipment needed (probably have to rent) to bend the aluminum may be cost prohibitive. For a few $ more, it may be better to buy a new or slightly used one and trash the old one.
Any advice is welcome.
Thanks.
Doug