Into the ice with plastic or 100% ONLY with metal?

[Sailing August]

There are plenty of Bruce Roberts design steel boats out there that would fit your budget in the 40 to 45 foot range.
Good luck. Have fun and be safe.

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by Ibetitsthisway

..........

Steel rust is an honest thing. Even osmosis is better than alu corrosion...


All commercial vessels Atem Made of steel...must be a reason.

Here in WA (west Oz) most commercial (fishing) vessels are in alu, a few in GRP and very few in steel. Have not seen a steel boat built here over last 20 years. Many large ferries are now built in aluminium.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/comp...28-p50095.html

However all things being equal, an alu sailing boat would be 5 times (or more, but this number is just a guess) the price of steel.
As it has been said before, to carry alu welding gear on board for those really remote places is very feasible.

When I was boat shopping, I looked at 2 alu boats that were in my price range. Both were 25-35 years old, both hulls in very good condition, other issues stopped me from buying. Look for a reputable builder and how the boat is wired!!! And wiring not botched by subsequent owners.

[Pauls]

Check this one out. It has most of what you are looking for, including a wheelhouse, and a very good price:

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/bo...018924750.html

[Ibetitsthisway]

Wow! Ironclad is a realy cool boat! We love this type and living Athmosphere althoug it might be a Bit cramped...it is so very costs and "traditionell ". Great!

But we want a closed Pilot house. The absense of the pilot house ...or Decks house with 2nd Helm...is a Show Stopper.

And ketch would be Good.

About alu...maybe my feelings about alu are wrong. Maybe it is a viable Option...but so far i am not convinced as i do not have the budget for a professionell New boat. Thus i feel i better Stick to a material that forgives mistakes better as on an old boat mistakes are very likely.
I will get some more Info in that topic.mybe i am wrong.

[double u]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Aww, come on... Those are pretty sophisticated places that you have named. Just going a couple of hundred miles up to say Raroia or Kauahe (sp?) might get you into the Aluminium twilight zone, let alone the Solomons or northern Vanuatu or...

But the clever alloy boat owner will learn basic aluminium welding and carry a small MIG unit on board if going to remote places.

Jim

lots of (french...) aluminium cruising boats out there, in the Raiatean yards one saw mainly condomarans & aluminium centerboarders...

[Scorpius]

Lots of talk about suitable boats, not a lot about logistics. I spent last evening with Captain Ken Burton who has been into and through the Northwest Passage 44 times in everything from a 65' aluminum catamaran RCMP patrol boat (in which he circumnavigated North America. 27,000 miles in 169 days demolishing the old record) to a big aluminum sailboat, to many cruise and "expedition" ships aboard which he acted as a guide, lecturer, and all-round arctic expert.

Ken says that, if he were to do it in his own boat it would have to be steel. Nothing else can withstand repeated contact with multi-year ice. And surprisingly there's a lot of multi-year ice in the passage these days as the ice pack further north breaks up due to global warming and drifts south.

You will have to register with Arctic Vessel Control and fill out their questionnaire. Based on that they will assign you an ice rating. Throughout your passage they will tell you when it is safe to move or not. Going against their advice is risky and will invalidate the your insurance. Ken has a picture of the survivors of a 55' aluminum sailboat, which proceeded against advice, and was crushed and sunk by ice in Bellot Strait.

You will need permits to go ashore and for other activities - from both the government of Canada and the government of Nunavut.

Polar bears are a real problem. With shrinking sea ice interfering with their traditional hunting of seals, they're hungry - and humans are a very tempting food source. As one Inuit gentleman laughed when asked how to hunt polar. bear "You don't hunt them. They hunt you. Hopefully before they get too close you get a chance to shoot them". If you are not a Canadian citizen with a Canadian firearms permit I believe you will have to hire an Inuit guide to accompany and protect you.

Good luck. It's not a casual undertaking.

[double u]

& btw: never needed welding work during 2 rt.w/7years...

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by hpeer

The pilot house is killer. It is nice in the Arctic, not necessary. But may be a huge liability in the tropic or just in summer, heat load.

There is another option - a cockpit enclosure. Not quite as warm as a pilothouse, but very nearly the same thing, with the huge advantage that you can roll up the walls or remove them entirely in warm weather.

[Breaking Waves]

A lot of “plastic” boats have safely “gone into the ice” - eg like NWP and Peninsula trips.

I personally would only “insist” on metal if I was intending to winter over. I know a small wood boat that has wintered in high latitude ice (wanderer iii) but am not aware of a plastic one (probably one has somewhere sometime).

Don’t buy a boat design based on a perceived need for a quite low probability dream. Buy it based on what you actually intend to do.

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

A lot of “plastic” boats have safely “gone into the ice” - eg like NWP and Peninsula trips.

I personally would only “insist” on metal if I was intending to winter over. I know a small wood boat that has wintered in high latitude ice (wanderer iii) but am not aware of a plastic one (probably one has somewhere sometime).

Don’t buy a boat design based on a perceived need for a quite low probability dream. Buy it based on what you actually intend to do.

To keep the dream alive, buy a boat that leaves the door at least a bit open, conditions allowing