The Stardust houseboat hulls are build from a high quality 5082 marine grade aluminium,suitable for fresh water . If you stay in brackisch or salt water we recommend you upgrade to alloy BS 5086. Both kind of aluminium have a great toughness. It will survive impacts that neither steel nor fiberglass will survive .In cases of heavy impact steel or fiberglass will rupture while aluminium will merely dent . It has one third the modulus of elasticity of steel, thus it absorbs the energy of any impact over a greater distance than steel . Considering its strength and durability ,an aluminium boat with adequate zincs and a proper electrical system will last indefinitly .

Aluminium is not only an ideal material for building a light weight boat but it lends itself to a new advanced computer aided design and manufacturing method ( cad cam ) of fabrication , which reduces cost by simplifying construction and the elimination of excessive man-hours ,traditionally experienced with boatbuilding . Furthermore additional cost savings are realised because there is no need to work with moulds etc, therefore both the high cost and long lead times required to develop these moulds are eliminated and the savings can be passed to you, the customer .

What about corrosion resistance ?

Aluminium corrodes a lot less than a steel hull , even left unpainted . Stardust boats are , if they are painted , only painted for decoration, whereas steel boats must be painted periodically in order to try to slow down the rust proces .Aluminium however forms a thin layer of aluminiumoxide which is resistant to further corrosion . Salt water corrosion resistance of the 5000 series aluminium alloys is excellent . Corrosion problems with alloy boats can usualy be traced to either galvanic or electrolytic corrosion , all of which may be easily eleminated through proper material selection ,proper wiring and isolation procedures .

Electrolytic reaction

Stardust fitted their boats with an isolating diode on the ground circuit for extra safety in combination with a corrosion monitor . This monitor will tell you if there is an electrolytical reaction around the boat . Allso a fasefault indicator led is fitted ,which warns if the shorepower is incorrectly wired . A breaker will trip in that case . Last but not least : The zincs need to be checked periodically . This depends largely on what kind of water the boat is in . This can vary from never to every five years .