Hull Material and Designs Old Weather Cruising

[samson]

hey guys. i have been reading over planes and information on several different boats. and was wondering what your thoughts are for decent cold weather boats. i am not looking to cruise the north west passage or anything crazy but to live in and work in Alaska in the winter and maybe cruise around in the winter. i have been looking at several of Bruce Roberts designs because i am looking to build my own. for the most part i have been looking at steel hulled boats with displacement or semi displacement hulls is there a certain hull design that makes it better to deal with the cold weather maybe some ice and snow.

in your opinion what materials deal with cold weather best. aluminum, steel or maybe fiberglass?.

my thoughts are metal because the design of a steel boat the hull deck and superstructure are one piece after it has been welded no seams for water to get in and expand. i am not looking to ram anything or even touch anything with the hull but my guess is that steel would best deal with an accidental hit or bump

i know that all hulls are insulated or should be but with a cold weather boat would you insulate more then a normal boat?

thank you guys for taking the time to read and answer my questions ill be posting a few more questions as i find my notes!

John

[barnakiel]

steel
steel
steel
alloy
that's probably it

[ConradG]

for mainanence, strength and longevity
aluminum
aluminum
aluminum
steel

(But perhaps this is a loaded question? sort of like mono hulls vs multis? Different strokes...)

[wolfenzee]

There was a study done once by a structural engineer comparing all of the materials used to build boats: wood, fiberglass, steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, composite, etc.....and after everything was said and done the best materiel turned out to be wood....
My boat can best be described as composite, the builder over built the boat as a strip plank (Honduras mahogany strip plank, top nailed with 3" nails then screwed onto 2"x3" sawn paired (two 1 1/2" x 2")frames at 12" centers with a solid 3/8" cieling on the inside then and fiber glassed it on top of that. Which except for the fiberglass is the way they used to biult fishing boats in Alaska.
Though personally when it comes to ice I prefer steel and alot thicker than you would want for a boat the size of what you want.