Quote:
Originally Posted by bcarli
Hi
we spent six years cruising on a 48 foot steel Ted Brewer cutter. Never spent much time welding...but spent one hell of a lot of time fighting rust. One steel boat was enough for me... |
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Did you ever get around to sandblasting her and painting her properly?
If not, then you were the source of the
maintenance problem, not the steel.
My
current boat is 26 years old with the original
paint job on her, as good as the day I first painted her, except the few places where it has been chipped . I started with
wheel abraded and primed steel, covered with 30 gallons of
epoxy tar, on a 31 footer. Maintenance since has averaged about an hour a year. Never had to worry about welded on fittings working loose ,a major problem on non metal boats . Nothing ever breaks on her, unlike on non metal boats.
After nearly 35 years on steel boats , I'll never consider going to sea in anything else. Too much stuff floating out there which can sink a non metal boat , but not a steel one.
With so many very successful steel cruisers under 34 feet, some under 30, when anyone says, according to his calculations , steel is impractical under 30 feet , his calculations are way out. Every successful smaller boat is proof he is dead wrong.
Outdated, imitation wooden boat building methods are usually the source of the problem.
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