Steel hull

[barreldriven]

I'm in the very early stages of buying a cruising sailboatt and am looking for advice. I am interested in a steel hull as they are sturdy and would easiest of all of the types to add a fishing platform/modifications to. What are the better manufactures of these type? Thanks for any and all info...

[James S]

Welcome.
Can you explain what type of fishing platform/modifications you’re talking about?

There are some pretty compelling reasons why most cruising boats are fiberglass.

Don’t get me wrong...If I had it to do over again I would consider steel....but your justification may not be well founded.

Do you have any pictures of the type mods you want to make?

[DeepFrz]

Waterline yachts in BC.

Designers and builder's of fine metal boats >> Waterline Yachts

[gbanker]

see if the owner will throw in his 55 gallon drum of Ospho.

[cooper]

You may wish to have a look at MetalBoatbuilding.org - Welcome to the Frontpage a new , not for profit volunteer group interested in metal boats.

[Boracay]

If you want to fit out a steel hull there are three main places to get one:-
1) Have one made. Expensive given current high labour, site, material and parts costs.
2) Buy a "failed" project. You may be buying a lot of mistakes but the price might be right.
3) Buy an older complete boat. It may be serviceable, but be coming up for major steel work repairs.

All of the above options involve years of work, lots of money and the use of real estate/hardstanding.

Or my preference -= buy a cream puff. Don't worry about what the hull is made of, just buy the best kept, best equiped, best maintained and nicest boat that you can afford.

[Brent Swain]

Do a search under origamiboats and pick the first one ( yahoo groups)
A great source of info.
It only takes a week or two to pull a 36 ft hull and decks together, far less trouble than it takes to find a hull, negotiate, buy it, and move it to where you want to finish it. Hulls and decks are the easy part.
Brent

[over40pirate]

I remember running into some friends in a Yard working on their steel sloop.
They had bought a boat and gutted the inside and redid it. After a year of cruising and chipping and painting, one of them was in a locker chipping, and chipped thru the hull!
In the boat yard, the boat was in the process of having at least 30% of the bottom replated.
The bottom, had a LOT of bondo in it.
It was a smooth chine boat, which you would expect to have a fair amount of fairing compound on it, but the fairing shouldn't be done over rusted away metal.
LET THE BUYER BEWARE

[Hiracer]

Originally Posted by barreldriven

I'm in the very early stages of buying a cruising sailboatt and am looking for advice. I am interested in a steel hull as they are sturdy and would easiest of all of the types to add a fishing platform/modifications to. What are the better manufactures of these type? Thanks for any and all info...

Some of the best boats are made of steel. Some of the worst boats are made of steel. You had better be able to tell the difference.

The quality of the original paint job makes a huge difference. If you can't assess the paint on the inside, either by physical inspection or by reputation of the professional who applied it, pass on the boat. Too much risk.

Also, check the SA/D ratio as there are many, many steel boats that are slugs on account of being under powered in the sail department.

I have a steel boat. The truth is, most steel boats I wouldn't buy. But I love mine.

[Hiracer]

Originally Posted by cooper

You may wish to have a look at MetalBoatbuilding.org - Welcome to the Frontpage a new , not for profit volunteer group interested in metal boats.

I overheard a conversation at a boatshow to the effect that the Metal Boat Society my fold on account of some sort of infighting. FWIW.

[DeepFrz]

Hiracer, I believe that you have just propagated a rumor.

[Hiracer]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Hiracer, I believe that you have just propagated a rumor.

Precisely.

And the guy I overheard was very animated about it.

I used to be a member, but dropped out a year or so ago.

[DeepFrz]

Actually, I checked the Forum and found it alive and well. There was a post that outlined some "shenanigans" and plans for the website including the Forum.

[Les Bechdel]

I've owned several fiberglass sailboats and presently own a South African custom built 34' steel cutter. It is a multichine construction so appears fair. Inspect every inch of the inside of the boat, that's usually where the problems lie. Many steel boats have blown insulation, so that can be problematic. A good surveyor can do ultrasound to make sure the metal is consisently sound throughout the hull. One does fight surface rust issues, but you never have to worry about gelcoat blisters!

[barreldriven]

thanks everyone, food for thought...