Buying second-hand steel yacht: What to watch out for?

[Wielingen]

Hey All!

I'm planning to buy a steel sailing boat (+-30 ft). The boat was built in the early 1950s. On first sight, it seems well maintained but I've already bought and sailed two second hand polyester yachts and they too have their issues.

I'm going to visit the boat and take a look. What should I watch out for? What are typical steel yacht issues?

Thanks for your input and Merry Christmas!

Wielingen

[skipmac]

Short answer, rust and corrosion. More likely on the inside of the hull than the outside. Look around frames, under lockers and anywhere else water could accumulate.

[CharlesKerr]

Good luck with the viewing.
Steel boats rust from inside out (mainly)
Check bilges and stringers where water can accumulate and carefully check for corrosion.
If there is a level tank, does it have any water in it.
If localized, plate can always be replaced, it does make it a lot cheaper and easier if you can do the cutting and welding yourself.

[Woodland Hills]

The boat is over 50 years old. Have the hull sonically gaged in as many places as you can afford in addition to a thorough visual corrosion inspection.

[TeddyDiver]

Check also underside of the keel as sometimes on a yard the timber blocks lie same places every time and thus it might be without any paint and rusting away. I know of one steel schooner allmost sunk becouse of this..

[redhead]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

The boat is over 50 years old. Have the hull sonically gaged in as many places as you can afford in addition to a thorough visual corrosion inspection.

This. We bought our own gauge. The calculations to get to hull thickness were pretty easy as I recall It was about US$3000 20 years ago, don't have a clue what they cost now, perhaps more, perhaps less. I think with a boat that age I'd want to know the thickness everywhere I had a question.

A pricey suggestion I know, but peace of mind follows. Also, I think people used to charge US$5.00 a ping, so maybe you can justify it.

Good luck!

[Wielingen]

Thanks Woodland!

[Reefmagnet]

I always like to post this link up for those asking this or similar questions....


https://www.thecoastalpassage.com/rust.html

[Stewie12]

Apart from the obvious, if there is a holding tank, there is probably rust in there.

[Paul Howard]

Depends on how carefully the boat was built. You do not say if it was a professional build or a home build. As per earlier comments, depends on how well drain gaps were placed in the stringers, etc. and if they were in the correct place. Sometimes they are correctly placed for a flat waterline as per designers instructions, but as built the boat sets stern heavy from perhaps larger engine than suggested or more tankage or heavy stuff in cockpit lockers, etc. and water collects in a different place and stays there.

Other places to look would be where seawater might leak in and set. Check under the head and under the mast step, chain locker, etc.
Look at the through hull fittings. Some steel hulls had welded on pipe nipples on the inside and seacocks threaded on, some had bolted on, supposedly isolated seacocks. Welds bleeding rust are suspect.
Rust flakes are roughly 20times the thickness of the steel that has corroded away, so some rust flakes reveal only minor pitting.
Bubbling of paint, especially along the waterline or near thru-hull fittings and rudder and propeller shaft are signs of electrolysis and can indicate poor placement of anodes or too few. There are no hard and fast rule for placement or number of sacrificial anodes, so just depends.
all steel boats will have some rust streaks and flaking and pitting, but that does not mean they are in poor condition.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by redhead

This. We bought our own gauge. The calculations to get to hull thickness were pretty easy as I recall It was about US$3000 20 years ago, don't have a clue what they cost now, perhaps more, perhaps less. I think with a boat that age I'd want to know the thickness everywhere I had a question.

A pricey suggestion I know, but peace of mind follows. Also, I think people used to charge US$5.00 a ping, so maybe you can justify it.

Good luck!

A good surveyor that specialises in steel boats will have the correct gauge to determine hull thickness and also go over the boat , IMHO it would be mad to buy a steel boat without a good survey done by a professional on steel boats .
Good luck with it , I was trying for a steel boat but eventually went for FG the maintenance and volatility of steel boats just became to demanding for my bones .

[hpeer]

Having steel boats, having had several sonic surveys, having bought my on sonic tester (not the cheapest) ultrasonic surveys are pretty worthless.

Serious rust often forms in small pockets that are very easily missed by a survey. Surveys often concentrate below the water line but the rust often occurs in the chain locker or lazarett above the water line. Ultrasonic is great to further investigate the extent of a suspect area once identified by other means or which is difficult to access by other means. If buying your own meter get one that will measure BOTH the first return pulse and (different setting) the second return pulse. Measuring the second pulse more easily allows you to measure through a thick layer of paint.

Your best asset is a bright flashlight, strong screwdriver, hammer, and bad attitude. Do a through investigation using the above OUT OF THE WATER.

I’ve never found a surveyor who was truly competent with steel boats. And the time it takes to do a really good hull investigation would be cost prohibitive. Any good surveyor will do an adequate job of the common systems and rig. If you are in the Chesapeake area I would recommend Waldron to do a rigging only survey.

But let’s face it your looking at a 1950’s steel boat. It’s resale value is almost nil. It’s unlikely you will spend any great amount of money on professionals.

Personally I would be very suspect of a steel boat of that vintage because the really good coating systems were not available until latter 1980’s. I may be wrong but that’s my sense. My gut says that unless the boat received extraordinary care it’s probably got a “boat load” of issues.

Buy this book.

https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/metal...her/1113670733

Best of luck, please report back.

[CharlesKerr]

I've had the misfortune of trusting a 'professional' ultrasonic test. I have a certified report that my 40 year old 5mm hull plates were between 4.3 and 4.6 mm. I've ended up cutting out about 2sqm of steel plate on the bottom where a screwdriver went straight through. After 1.5 years on the hard I have eventually gotten to the stage of sandblasting the deck and epoxy paint. At least I can say I did most of the work myself and 'mostly' enjoyed the experience.
With an old boat, be prepared for a lot of work. I ended up totally gutting her internally and replacing a lot of the superstructure

https://m.facebook.com/charles.kerr....1276883397704/

[CharlesKerr]

https://m.facebook.com/charles.kerr....1276883397704/

[SVPP]

I wouldn’t buy a steel boat that is 70 years old no matter how good it looks.

If you must, look inside the black and grey water tanks. Bilges around the stern gland. Gussets under the mast. NDT areas around chain plates. Inspect inside rudder if possible. Anchor well. Structural high load ares.

Once you are satisfied, walk away.