aluminium vs stainless steel rub stips ?

[roam]

Looking at sourcing rub strips for the keel and edges of a Catspaw 8. Would aluminum be a suitable replacement for stainless steel in these applications? Much cheaper and easier to work with than stainless.

 

thanks,

Hugh

[Steve W]

Personally, I think they are both a bit aggressive. If you have a dock they live against, maybe. But if you bump up against another boat and there is no fender, your going to leave a mark. I wish I had used the firehose like rub rail but I used wood that has held up well and is a bit kinder than metal.  If you do use metal, aluminum is softer and easier to "dent" or distort on impact. 

 

Link to taylormade rubrail:

 

https://www.westmarine.com/taylor-made-1-1-2inch-premium-gunnel-guard-3-4-round-173460.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITVf0FZHA5FU-VbSsbTg1jNKZzJLmn6NdYvSsGG1k5abP7NDMTEBqYgaAoVREALw_wcB

[Aphers]

I used plastic for my keel strip. Cheap, light, doesn't do any damage to anything. I don't expect it to last forever but then again I don't drag the boat around on its keel. I just fixed it with sealant so it'll be easy enough to replace when the time comes. We're one year in, full time use as a tender to a liveaboard yacht, and only showing light wear.

[Don Silsbe]

I agree about using fire hose or other rub strip.  On the keel, somebody here suggested gluing a strip of 3/4” nylon webbing onto the keel.  You soak it in the epoxy before applying it.  Wears like iron!  I might do this to mine this winter.