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Hi Brian. Yes, I've seen lots of aluminum boats, BIG ones, and it's the
best choice overall if you treat it with respect and follow good maintenance
procedures. Electrical charge is something we need to watch as we are running
electric boats and it speeds up corrosion but in the case of brackets it's not
too hard to paint them or even replace them if needed.
You should be able to buy aluminum "T" ready made. Keep looking, it's out
there. I searched for brass angle and couldn't find it for the longest time.
Then one day while looking through the stuff at Sim's Metals there was 30 feet
of it on the rack. They sell left-over stuff and the inventory changes all the
time. I'm making window retainer rings from it. I just wanted a little "bling"
around the windows. I was going to use stainless and I still might but I want to
see what a little polished brass looks like. I hope to get the angle rolled this
week and fab the rings in Florida.
Anyway, if you make your brackets from aluminum I'm sure it will be
fine. Welding aluminum isn't all that hard but it requires expensive equipment.
Not really cost effective if you're just doing a few small things. You can TIG
it but the best results I've had was to MIG the stuff. There's small MIG guns
with the wire spool right in the gun that you can rent. Just needs a bottle of
gas and the right power supply. A little practice and it goes good if you
already know how to MIG weld.
Frank D.
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