Steel boat – heaven or hell?

[worldwidenaviga]

Dear all,

First of all , İ would like thank all of you because of your comments which you were share. Unfortunately in my country peoples are not prefer to use steel boats.

This post opened a long time ago, thats why maybe non of you will not respond. Anyway İ need your advice and comments too.

İ would like to buy a boat. The hull is steel and accommodation is aliminium. Its made on 2005. Lenght is 12m. Builder was owner of the boat. He is engineer of ship contsturacter. Since over year.

It stayed on Shorebase about 5years. The seller advised me that, they did maintenance hull. But bilge area needs maintenance.

And unfortunately they covered deck surface with teak:/ But as ı ready nobody advice teak surface.

I’m looking forward to get good news and advices from your sides.

[psk125]

The boat was out of the water (ashore?) for five years? Why? And the bilge needs maintenance? Why wasn't it taken care of? The bilge is where water collects and where rust starts. Even if the boat was exceptionally well built to start with, lapses in maintenance can create huge problems in steel boats. The pictures look nice, but you need to see what the bilge looks like, not how comfortable the seating arrangements are. When you hire a surveyor to check the thickness of the remaining hull plating try not to use the one the seller suggests. Is the builder the seller or is the seller the second owner? Why are they selling it? Lots of questions need to be asked.

[worldwidenaviga]

Originally Posted by psk125

The boat was out of the water (ashore?) for five years? Why? And the bilge needs maintenance? Why wasn't it taken care of? The bilge is where water collects and where rust starts. Even if the boat was exceptionally well built to start with, lapses in maintenance can create huge problems in steel boats. The pictures look nice, but you need to see what the bilge looks like, not how comfortable the seating arrangements are. When you hire a surveyor to check the thickness of the remaining hull plating try not to use the one the seller suggests. Is the builder the seller or is the seller the second owner? Why are they selling it? Lots of questions need to be asked.

Unfortunately yeap, as İ understood they left it in their summer village for a long preiod of time. Most probably once his father (who build that boat) past away, they left the boat over there. Most probably they chosed that because of abnormal marine prices.

İ fully agreed your comments, hull and bilge condition is important then the how is it. They are first owner, his father build it.

I think they are selling it because of the financial issue and high prices of marina and or its a bit big for a small family.

Actually we would like to exchange our boats. İ offered that to him. Because my boat is not big enough for commercial usage. At list in those daya.

[MicHughV]

I built my own steel boat back in the late 70's, launched in 1980.

Prior to tackling that project, I had never welded in my life, and for that matter, barely knew which end of a screwdriver to hold.

But I learned. Made many mistakes, but learnt from those.

I had that boat for 15 some years and it took me safely to wherever I pointed the bow. Owner #2 had the entire boat sounded at the time of purchase and nowhere was there any loss of material anywhere.

That boat is still around, now over 40 years old, and is now on it's third owner, who plans to take it to Antarctica, a place I never got to.

Steel gets a bad rap because there are some shoddily built boats out there, as most are built by your average homebuilder, but there are equally many nicely built boats.

And steel is immensely strong, and a little bit of rust here and there should not be a deal breaker. A good ultrasonic survey will tell the story. You can buy a good ultrasonic tool online for around $300. There are cheaper and more expensive models, but around $300 should get you a good one.

With this in hand, sound out the entire hull, making notes on a diagram of the boat as you go. If you find a bad area, remember that steel can throw off a tremendous amount of rust before it gets to be paper thin.

A really bad area is easily repairable. Any good handyman can cut a bad piece out and weld in a new piece.

There are a variety of paints on the market now that can do a good job of protecting the steel. While sandblasting remains the # 1 choice in preparing metal for painting, other options also exist.

In all the time I owned my boat, I did have to do the odd touch up and repair here and there, but it was mostly routine work.

A lot of people that diss steel boats have never owned one nor know much about them, so take comments with a grain of salt.

I particularly chose steel as I planned to see far off places and the inherent strength of steel was a deciding factor for me and a welder can be found at most any port should the need arise.

I throw this all out there to give you something to think about.

[worldwidenaviga]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I built my own steel boat back in the late 70's, launched in 1980.

Prior to tackling that project, I had never welded in my life, and for that matter, barely knew which end of a screwdriver to hold.

But I learned. Made many mistakes, but learnt from those.

I had that boat for 15 some years and it took me safely to wherever I pointed the bow. Owner #2 had the entire boat sounded at the time of purchase and nowhere was there any loss of material anywhere.

That boat is still around, now over 40 years old, and is now on it's third owner, who plans to take it to Antarctica, a place I never got to.

Steel gets a bad rap because there are some shoddily built boats out there, as most are built by your average homebuilder, but there are equally many nicely built boats.

And steel is immensely strong, and a little bit of rust here and there should not be a deal breaker. A good ultrasonic survey will tell the story. You can buy a good ultrasonic tool online for around $300. There are cheaper and more expensive models, but around $300 should get you a good one.

With this in hand, sound out the entire hull, making notes on a diagram of the boat as you go. If you find a bad area, remember that steel can throw off a tremendous amount of rust before it gets to be paper thin.

A really bad area is easily repairable. Any good handyman can cut a bad piece out and weld in a new piece.

There are a variety of paints on the market now that can do a good job of protecting the steel. While sandblasting remains the # 1 choice in preparing metal for painting, other options also exist.

In all the time I owned my boat, I did have to do the odd touch up and repair here and there, but it was mostly routine work.

A lot of people that diss steel boats have never owned one nor know much about them, so take comments with a grain of salt.

I particularly chose steel as I planned to see far off places and the inherent strength of steel was a deciding factor for me and a welder can be found at most any port should the need arise.

I throw this all out there to give you something to think about.

Thanks a lot to share your experience with me. Actually İ like give effort to do something if İ want something to much. İ can spend a time for small details.

Actually our country a bit famous with shipyards especially with repairing and bulding of commercial vessel. So İ can able to find who is well experiance with tickness survey. Then After that İ can decide should İ buy it or not.

But first of all , ı need to see and check by myself. Peoples are excatly behaving like you Said in my country. Thats why İ joined yours communitiy.

By the way sorry for my poor english knowledge. Sometimes İ couldn’t find correct words while İ was writting.

[Bowdrie]

I've only had a little experience with steel but have learned that it's the water on the inside that gets you.
Making sure that there are no places where water can get trapped or collect goes a long way in preventing problems.
Dry/clean/well-ventilated is very good, (like any material).
The use of higher nobility metals along with wiring and scrupulous control of electron flow(s) take on especial importance.

[worldwidenaviga]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

I've only had a little experience with steel but have learned that it's the water on the inside that gets you.
Making sure that there are no places where water can get trapped or collect goes a long way in preventing problems.
Dry/clean/well-ventilated is very good, (like any material).
The use of higher nobility metals along with wiring and scrupulous control of electron flow(s) take on especial importance.

Thanks a lot for your good advices 🙏 I will be carefull, if I’m going to have it ☺️

[barcoMeCasa]

A book for you to read
Discusses what to look out for if buying used.

https://www.amazon.com/Metal-boat-ma.../dp/0958294135

https://www.google.com/books/edition...f/peIEMVOvOIQC

[MicHughV]

True, most steel boats rust from the inside out, and this is where an inspection gets hard, as boat furniture, etc is in the way. Many steel boats also have some or other insulating material on the inside of the hull, making a visual assessment of the hull problematic.

An ultrasonic sounder here is your friend, as it will give an indication of a problem that can otherwise not be seen.

However, water inside a hull invariable collects along a frame or longitudinal bar and not the steel plate itself. My frames, etc, were 1/4"...about 6.3 mm thick, and even if half was wasted away, would retain a lot of strength.

Nonetheless, you need to allow yourself a lot of time to do a thorough inspection, and wherever possible, remove stuff to allow better access. Also have a bright light at your disposal, one that can throw a beam of light to a spot not accessible otherwise.

Naturally, the low point of any boat, the bilge area, will require careful scrutiny.
Fuel tanks can be another problem area for inspection, depending on how the boat was built.

Just take your time, focus on one area at a time before moving to the next. A really good boat surveyor will spend all day on a steel boat survey, but that doesn't mean, you, yourself can't take a look.

Most boat owners take relatively good care of their boats, and if you can get to know the owner, you can quickly tell, if he/she is the type of owner that took pride in his boat or not.

At the end of the day, rely on common sense. Boats have this uncanny ability to make people go blind. People "fall in love" with a boat, clouding their vision and brain, often to their detriment.

[barcoMeCasa]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

True, most steel boats rust from the inside out, and this is where an inspection gets hard, as boat furniture, etc is in the way. Many steel boats also have some or other insulating material on the inside of the hull, making a visual assessment of the hull problematic.

An ultrasonic sounder here is your friend, as it will give an indication of a problem that can otherwise not be seen.

However, water inside a hull invariable collects along a frame or longitudinal bar and not the steel plate itself. My frames, etc, were 1/4"...about 6.3 mm thick, and even if half was wasted away, would retain a lot of strength.

Nonetheless, you need to allow yourself a lot of time to do a thorough inspection, and wherever possible, remove stuff to allow better access. Also have a bright light at your disposal, one that can throw a beam of light to a spot not accessible otherwise.

Naturally, the low point of any boat, the bilge area, will require careful scrutiny.
Fuel tanks can be another problem area for inspection, depending on how the boat was built.

Just take your time, focus on one area at a time before moving to the next. A really good boat surveyor will spend all day on a steel boat survey, but that doesn't mean, you, yourself can't take a look.

Most boat owners take relatively good care of their boats, and if you can get to know the owner, you can quickly tell, if he/she is the type of owner that took pride in his boat or not.

At the end of the day, rely on common sense. Boats have this uncanny ability to make people go blind. People "fall in love" with a boat, clouding their vision and brain, often to their detriment.

THIS!!!! ^^^^^^

Every single word!