To Steel Hull or Not?

[Grungy]

I'm thinking of buying a bigger boat a motorsailer with a steel hull. I'm up in the North Channel of Lake Huron if that's any help. Plus's, minus's?

[UNCIVILIZED]

There are a lot of other threads on the topic if you do a search, but this is a decent place to start.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ll-170179.html

[barnakiel]

MAINTENANCE.

Send some images btw. It usually helps to see what we are talking about.

Can you weld?

b.

[Grungy]

Thanks for the replies. I'm waiting on a survey from the owner. I can weld but I don't have a heavy duty welder only a flux which is good for 1/16" welds.

[indiana_ct]

I am of the "love steel" camp but also of the "love painting" persuasion. My OH is also a competent welder as I would like to be. For us steel is the strong, go anywhere option as long as it is well maintained and insulated.

[Grungy]

Originally Posted by indiana_ct

I am of the "love steel" camp but also of the "love painting" persuasion. My OH is also a competent welder as I would like to be. For us steel is the strong, go anywhere option as long as it is well maintained and insulated.

Insulated? Please explain.

[indiana_ct]

You need to insulate steel or you will cook in summer and freeze in winter. Uninsulated steel will drip with condensation. Our choice is Armaflex sheet glued on the painted inside but people also spray on insulating foam or use polystyrene (Styrofoam) sheets. Don't use polystyrene. It's quite flammable!
So check what insulation your boat has and how easy it would be add or change if needed.

[Grungy]

Thanks for the explanation. I wasn't sure of what type of insulation but now I'm leaning toward spray foam since I have experience of applying it myself in a house build. Thanks again.

[indiana_ct]

Originally Posted by Grungy

Thanks for the explanation. I wasn't sure of what type of insulation but now I'm leaning toward spray foam since I have experience of applying it myself in a house build. Thanks again.

You are welcome. I hope I wasn't too pedestriansi but I wasn't sure how much explanation of 'insulation' was required.

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by Grungy

I'm thinking of buying a bigger boat a motorsailer with a steel hull. I'm up in the North Channel of Lake Huron if that's any help. Plus's, minus's?

Steel rusts,
Aluminium turns to powder,
Wood rots,
Fiberglass just waits...

Good luck in your search

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by indiana_ct

I am of the "love steel" camp but also of the "love painting" persuasion. My OH is also a competent welder as I would like to be. For us steel is the strong, go anywhere option as long as it is well maintained and insulated.

Pretty much this. It's go-anywhere, not go-anywhere quickly, but if you wanted that, you'd be an astronaut and not a sailor.

Steel (properly designed, ventilated and maintained) can last decades and can save you where other hull materials cannot. It can also be repaired anywhere. We are in Lake Ontario heading out next year. We launched on the weekend.

[GrowleyMonster]

Another thing is if you stay in fresh water, maintenance on a steel hull is not quite as bad as it is in salt water. I favor stick welding myself but that's just what I'm used to. If you have a large battery bank of at least 32v, (i got 48v) you can do light noncritical welds with the batteries. You just need a stinger and a ground clamp and cables enough to reach. Love those auto darkening helmets! For critical stuff depending on your skill level you might want to call in a pro anyway.

Check your compass regularly on a steel boat, on a range if near shore and by azimuth or amplitude at sea. A skill well worth knowing and practicing. Changes in your boats magnetic field can be significant, on a steel hull.

On a steel boat, a jug of ospho can be your best friend. You may want a compressor and a needle gun.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Probably the biggest issue is whether or not the coatings have been kept up, & then once you get her, keeping them up. Since they're the armor that keeps the steel alive.
Snowpetrel has a few good writeups on caring for steel boats & their coatings in his excellent blog.

[Mike Banks]

Steel comes into its own when the vessels are larger. Small steel vessels are heavy maintenance as are timber. Glass is the only way to go for small vessels--steel or alloy is the best for larger vessels. There are advantages and disadvantages to all materials--but if you encounter anything hard at sea such as a floating log or drum of fuel--you will be glad you are in a steel hull, or if you inadvertently find yourself on a reef with a falling tide--steel will see you afloat with a few dents or scratches when the tide returns.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Grungy

Thanks for the replies. I'm waiting on a survey from the owner. I can weld but I don't have a heavy duty welder only a flux which is good for 1/16" welds.

You don't need a heavy duty welder to do most of the welding you would ever need to do on a typical steel vessel. A small 120-180 amp inverter MMA (stick) welder will cope with welding steel up to 3/8 or so if you run multiple passes.

These units are small enough to chuck over your shoulder and climb a mast, I have done so on a few occasions to do some stainless welding on the masthead crane. They do a good job of welding stainless as well, have a great duty cycle and run well off crappy power supplies like at the end of a long extension cord run from a dodgy socket on a decrept old wharf.

If the paint system is a good two pack system, and its looked after and not allowed to be damaged plus the interior is well painted with dusty bilges a steel boat will be pretty easy to look after. If the paint is failing, especially inside the boat it can be very expensive to properly deal with. The interior paint system is every bit as important as the paint system outside.

Reasonable costs and places that allow sandblasting seem to harder to find these days. Not sure what its like in Canada? One big downside to steel is that it is antisocial to work on in yachtie places. Anglegrinding and welding are not much liked in marinas or fancy boatyards, and it doesn't take much anglegrind dust to do a lot of damage to a white fibreglass yacht, or your own boat if you aren't carefull!

Steel is the toughest material to build a boat out of there is a lot of comfort in rough weather at sea knowing the boat is absolutely 100% solid, and not much is going to be able to punch a hole through the hull or decks.