Once upon a time aluminium was not the material of choice in the transportation, building and aerospace industries. This was before the world’s metallurgical materials engineers discovered the numerous advantages of durable, lightweight, malleable and corrosion-resistant aluminium alloys. In our industry, largely thanks to innovations by the Structurmarine crew – it was in fact Structurmarine President Yves Lépine who introduced aluminium marina technologies to North America, in the late 1970s – aluminium has become the industry standard in high-performance floating structures. Its principal advantages: EASE OF INSTALLATION. It’s quick to install, requiring minimum manpower, material and handling equipment. STRUCTURAL STRENGTH. Aluminium’s flexibility can withstand waves of up to 2 m (7 ft.). Consider aluminium’s record in the aviation industry – think of the stresses that modern airliners’ wings undergo in turbulence; think of how rapidly an aircraft climbs from the hottest tropical air mass to the freezing conditions of 30,000 ft.
RESISTANCE TO CORROSION. Marine-grade aluminium alloys, even unprotected, do not corrode in the aggressive, hostile environments of saltwater and sea air – the metals’ natural oxide film neutralizes the effect of corrosion. Aluminium can withstand decades of continuous marine use. That’s why it’s so widely used for the hulls of megayachts. Aluminium is known to experts as “the modern era’s metal of the sea.”
SIMPLICITY OF ANCHORING. Aluminium structure systems allow unlimited types of anchoring, including flexible anchoring (chains/polyester ropes or elastic lines and anchors). Additionally with rigid anchoring, aluminium structures require fewer piles than other systems – no piles at all required at finger-dock ends for boats of 18 m (60 ft.) and under.
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