HYDROFOIL MATERIALS

Aluminum

Aluminum is quite light for a metal and offers some good characteristics with a very useful strength to weight ratio. For hydrofoil, grades 6061 and 6063 are most often used. These are higher grades offering advanced mechanical characteristics which is why they are used in structurally demanding applications such as in aircrafts for example. Metals normally yield at some fraction of the breaking load. These two grades offer a pretty high yield point which makes them particularly useful. Finally, they offer good corrosion resistance and are easy to anodize to work in the marine environment.

Aluminum is an isotropic material, which means it has the same mechanical properties in any direction. It does not matter whether you’re trying to pull or bend it, the material will behave the same and this makes structural design a little easier.

Aluminum parts can be extruded, forged, cast or milled.