Steel 36' Roberts Sailboat

[Rick S]

Looking for any and all information on a Roberts steel sailboats. It was built in 1998 and has been sitting for over 1 year. Is it better to stay away from steel? Also looking at resale? Thanks Rick

[kydivemaster]

Resale here in the states ... you need to have Fiber glass or the right buyer the get any return on anything else.

[Boracay]

For me the key question is "Has water pooled inside the boat?"
Look along the stringers, down the frames etc.
If the boat has been "foamed" is it possible cut away the foam (get the owner to do this!) along the stringers, particularly in the bilge areas and around hatches/portholes.
If salt water has sat inside the boat this is much worse than fresh water.
Some Roberts have been built with full width steel bulkheads. If this has happened then the bottom of these bulkheads can be a real rust trap.
Now check if water can drain freely through limber holes to the bilge.
Bad rust can be a deal killer unless you can take the boat from the water and cut and weld it for a reasonable price.
Now it becomes a judgement call. Look at the price, how much it costs to fix and the level of equipment/fitout/finish.
Some steel boats have been built very cheaply so remember that the hull is only about 40% of the complete boat.
Once you have done this look for a surveyor with experience in steel boats.
If you can find someone who has owned a steel boat for a while the their comments may well be worth listening to.

[Pblais]

Steel on it's own isn't a deal breaker. Problems with a steel hull could be. I would agree with Chris31415. You need a good going over the hull on the inside and out by someone trained in what to look for. Really not unlike purchasing any other boat. I would look it all over, consider the price and only then hire a surveyor that is experienced in steel. Just don't fall in love just yet.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by Rick S

Looking for any and all information on a Roberts steel sailboats. It was built in 1998 and has been sitting for over 1 year. Is it better to stay away from steel? Also looking at resale? Thanks Rick

Be vewy vewy careful !! Reality is you would need to get a seriously low price. If she's been sitting for over a year you'll probably need a complete in and out paint job which may well entail sandblasting back to bare metal, how old is the rigging, has the engine seized up , condition of other gear etc ? Make sure that the cost of getting the thing into sailing trim isn't going to be more than simply buying a decent 2nd hand vessel that has been looked after. Rectifying someone else's neglect can be an horrendously expensive operation, not to mention the time involved. Unless she has been professionally built resale value will be dodgey at best I'm afraid. As others have advised get a very through survey done and watch out for internal rust.