Advice on Buying Steel

[xymotic]

Thanks you guys; my boat had some fairly major corrosion topsides in the house; but so far the hull looks to be in *really* good shape

But a good chunk of the keel is a diesel tank and inaccessible from inside

[hpeer]

That's a good thing, I would not worry about that tank.

I had a built in, not integral tank I had to remove, ended up cutting it out with a grinder. There was no rust. I'm now converting my keel to fuel tanks.

[Rustic Charm]

I've had my steel ketch for three years now and still doing the 'rust' finding thing. I only do my renovations when it's laid up for the winter months like now. I've just about got the hull sorted out. I'm 100% with those saying you need to concentrate on the inside. There is absolutely no point looking for imperfections on the outside bottoms. If there is rust in the hull you will find it on the inside.

My insurance assessor came and went over mine with a little gauge thickness thing. It simply measured the microns. But his main concern was simply measuring if I had too much anti foul on the hull, which I do and he's concerned about. Personally I can't see any point in the 'light beam test' thingy on the outside. Just use your eyes and your fingers, find the rust on the 'inside' and scrape and treat it. If it's obvious that the rust after sanding has lost some of your depth, then when the boat is out of the water try to put a screw driver or chipping hammer through the rust. If it can't be holed like that, then consider, treating, priming an using an internal two part filler to thicken the area. Unless it's a large area then consider cutting and patching.

I too have a fuel tank in the keel. When I bought the boat in 2011 it had just a 15 ltr bladder as a fuel tank as the previous owner didn't see the need for the 160 ltr keel tank. Unfortunately for me it had sat unused and largely empty for six years when I re-instated it it. I'm still having problems with rust and gunk blocking filters. I'm now trying a product called 'Fuel right', which is meant to treat the gunk and protect the steel walls. The product was recently voted the best 'anti corrosion diesel fuel additive' in some US nation wide petroleum survey. Anyway, I'll see how that goes over the next few weeks. I'm also adding a self made fuel polisher to keep the fuel kleen when sailing.

The biggest problem with all steel boats, is to keep the maintenance up or create a nightmare. Neglect is as usual the worst type of seamanship

[xymotic]

Thanks for the replies guys (and sorry for the threadjack)

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by xymotic

Thanks for the replies guys (and sorry for the threadjack)

How have you gone with the keel tank?

[builder dan]

Keel tanks are fine as long as you use your boat and dont leave them empty condensation is the killer.My steel yacht is 50 years old and has in the keel cooling water which is fine as the antifreeze is a rust inhibitor and my keel also holds some of my fresh water I always keep this full and have had no issues.

[HVYJimmy]

my keel also holds some of my fresh water I always keep this full and have had no issues. Builder Dan

Hello Dan
there's no rust inhibiter in the fresh water keel tank , so I think it may be slowly rusting on the inside . I don't know how long it would take to break though , some years I guess .if its been like that for 3 years or more , I would suggest that you might undo the hose at the tank and have a good look for rust
I agree that condensation is a killer , however ,I belive freash water on steel is just as bad . does any body agree , or am I missing something ?


cheers

jimmy

[hpeer]

Ameron makes a potable water epoxy paint for the interior of steel tanks. 133 IIRC. Our integral tanks were showing some blistering in the original epoxy. I wacked out blisters with a grinder then coated with zinc primer (302) then a two part primer, then the 133. Tastes just fine, no odor. Haven't looked at the tanks inside.

[builder dan]

Hi jimmy I will look into my tank one day when I am bored its not hard to do I sail a lot and use the tank a lot both my other tanks run into the keel and the water is drawn from down there so I would think my cups of tea would taste funny if there was any rust lurking down there as its always getting stirred up.Salt water is the big killer of steel boats getting in where you cant see under linings etc,got caught in a storm on a mates steel yacht and had the main door blown in with about 2 tonnes of water sloshing around down below,we stripped out all the linings we could and hosed it down with fresh water when we got to port and up till now no issues,also most of the problems I see on steel boats are where some muppets try and have nice wood trims around everything it looks great for a few years then out seeps the rust wood and steel big no no.

[xymotic]

I looked in the tank(s) when i first got the boat and they looked very good visually and fairly clear diesel.

However the boat sat for 2 years before i got it and has now sat on the hard for a year and a half while I'm working on other things.

I did chip off a fairly significant chunk off the top aft of the tank

I'm fairly certain that spot was accumulating rainwater and I'm also fairly certain that has been addressed but now you've got me worrying abou it with condensation etc.

I Really dont want to think about cutting or welding steel that's held hydrocarbons for 78 years

[ausnp84]

Whilst the OP has already purchased a grp yacht (a Cheoy Lee is an excellent choice btw), I thought I'd add in my 2c.

Adelaide born, moved to the UK, owned a 34ft grp boat in the Bahamas, sold up and took on a steel motorsailer in the UK. No previous experience of boat maintenance, welding, painting, grinding, etc etc. That was 3.5 years and countless ££ ago .

Frankly, most people rubbish steel boats having never owned one. They rust a bit, they're heavier than FRP and some marinas don't like them. Boo hoo. I had a "well known" surveyor come past and tell me he'd "never seen a steel boat to be worth more than £40k". Riiiiiight.....

Steel boats are tough as nails, they can be very easily repaired and modified, and paint systems these days go a long way to helping stave off the rust.

Case in point - my boat had a bath tub in the aft cabin, underneath which was a veritable rust nursery. Bath tub removed, holes drilled in stringers to ensure water couldn't pool anywhere, no more rust.... (for that matter, surface rust never sunk a boat. If it looks odd, hit it with a hammer and if daylight doesn't shine through, it's not going to sink).

Another case in point - circumnavigator mate of mine recently hauled out and found four stringers had separated from his hull (FRP boat). Cause? Two light groundings and a whale. Would a steel boat have had the same issue? No siree.

For anyone looking to buy a steel boat;

- Get a steel boat surveyor but also use your own eyes. Eyeball v1 goes a long way to telling you whether the boat is ok.
- If it smells mouldy / damp inside, you might want to walk away. There's a pretty good indication right there you could have a big problem.
- Anything other than a steel deck, be very cautious about leaks.
- Talk with other steel boat owners (or read their blogs - here's my boat build bluecalypso), rather than those who have a mate, who has a mate, who has a great-uncle with a steel boat

-n