# For Aluminum Salvagers, a question.



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

How much, i.e. how many pounds of aluminum might one expect to get from a 14 foot aluminum boat? 

Is this something that salvagers should be looking for to buy cheaply and to sell?


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## ericjeeper (Feb 25, 2006)

you pick it up and guess how much it weighs.


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## moopups (May 12, 2002)

If you can pick it up with ease I would guess in the neighborhood of 75 pounds, if its difficult to lift - over a hundred, assuming your in normal physical shape. A 55 gallon drum weighs about 52 pounds if that helps make a comparison.

Salvaging aluminum is a tricky part of metal salvaging, there is about 20 different categories. Such as extruded, plate, painted, old, abrasive resistant, annealed, mill finish; the list is long. The important thing is that it must be only aluminum, any other metal present lowers the value at the scrap yard.

Money in scrap metals comes from the separation of the metals, example; an electric motor that weighs 100 pounds, may bring $3.00 (market varies daily), if it is sold as #2 iron. But separating out the copper and you have 3 times or more that value. Old style vehicle radiators, all metal, are worth more if the brass fittings are torch removed from the copper base.

Whom does the labor is the value control.


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## DenverGirlie (Dec 22, 2005)

Like moopups mentioned there are numerous grades of metal. Likewise each scrap yard will have different procedures for how to break it down. You can haul it in like it is and get "dirty" prices, or you can spend some time and take it apart. 

We have numerous buckets and piles in the back yard, we sort to get the most money back from it. 

We have extruded, cast, sheet, wire and cans for aluminim that we keep and sort. We also collect copper wire, turn it in as both insulated and if it's worth our time we will strip it and get another $1 a pound for plain copper. Disasemble motors for the copper. Brass and gold is kept separtely as well. We set all steel out in the alley for serious metal receylers, it's normally gone in 24 hours, if not sooner. Steel is only a few cents a pound, so it's not worth it for us.

FYI - If a magnet sticks to it, it's not aluminim, copper or brass. Only ferros (iron, steel) metals will stick to a magnet.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I've never seen a worn out aluminum boat. Worth far more as a boat than for scrap.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

Thanks for all of the replies. I finally found an on line source that gave approximate weights for boats.

The old Vee bottomed speed boat would have a weight from 300 to 500 pounds. For strictly salvage the seller is probably asking more than the boat would bring as scrap--assuming that the boat scrap would even sell decently as aluminum.

As to being worn out----the newer designed boats of fiberglass are much more stable in the water as well as a number of other factors such as looks. Yup, kind of outlived their life as a boat someone would want. Lots of them from the 1950s still around just setting in yards.

Again, thanks for all of the replies.


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## comfortablynumb (Nov 18, 2003)

if the boat is put together with steel rivits, its almost worthless for scrap, since the steel males it "dirty" or "iorny" aluminum and worth very little compared to clean.

if the rivits are aluminum then your good, but you need to get a rough weight on the boat... then do the math at current mid grade aluminum scrap price.

for example figure @ .60 cents a pound, thats 60 bucks per 100 pounds.

if the boat weighs 200 pounds thats 120 bucks in scrap, but if its solid and useable, its worth more than 120 bucks as a boat.
I paid 200 for a old aluminum jon boat that weighs @ 70-80 pounds, and thats only about 50 or 60 bucks in scrap.
I can sell it easy for 200 again.

now if the boat you have is deanted and leaky or crushed then.... scrap is all it is.

I'd still try to sell it, some people are willing to buy a metal boat and do some sheet metal work and make it good again, for more than scrap price.


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