The wonderful thing about a 30 year old
fiberglass boat is the thickness of the
hull. If you aren't
buying steel, then you want as much between you and the sea as possible when you are in the middle of the Pacific. Have you ever bumped into something hard, at night, that shuddered the whole boat? I have, in a
steel ketch. Steel is the best, but over-built
fiberglass to Lloyds standards is the next best. A
new boat, with it's transparently thin
hull, is lighter for sure, but not safer. You can't see the sun through a Downeaster's hull above sea level, which is reassuring.