the alloys used for – usually 5000 series – are very good at resisting corrosion. Aluminum are made by a number of companies in the USA and Canada, and in France and Australia.

Overall, aluminum have many advantages over other in the over 30 foot range – they are rather expensive for small sailboats. They do have some disadvantages, and the main one is galvanic corrosion, which is caused by contact with metals such as copper. Usually, aluminum have extra anodes built in to absorb this corrosion.

Even, so you need to be careful not to let any copper wire drop on to the hull, and to make sure your anodes are in good condition. It is also preferable to leave most of the topsides – the hull above the water – unpainted, as paint does not always bond well to aluminum, even with the special primer you need to use. Epoxy primers, which are not expensive nowadays, do bond well, and should be used before applying paint.

I have sailed an aluminum boat for seven years, and covered over 5,000 miles in that time, mostly in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and have found the material to be excellent. I highly recommend aluminum sailboats.John Hartley has been sailing for over 20 years, and has owned three sailboats – one small one and two cruising yachts, and gives helpful information about sailboats and yachts at http://www.sailboats-yachts.com. He is the joint author of “The Leisurely Route to the Med”, and has written over a dozen other books.