Steel yacht advice

[alsail]

Hi everyone.
I've been searching for my next boat for a year now. I thought I settled on Amel (Supermaramu, Santorin), but Supermamramu is too expensive and Santorin are not that common in New Zealand.
I have read hundreds of forum posts, I talked to many owners and saw hundreds of boats....My budget is maximum 300k (nzd).Don't know if is the best decision but I want to buy a Ganley, steel yacht.
I narrowed down to 3 boats:
-2005, 48 ft Ganley Solution in NZ
-2005 52 ft Ganley Tambay Trader with lifting keel in NZ
-2009 Adams Radford 45ft-for sale in Australia

The 52ft with the lifting keel would be my first choice, but Adams Radford looks very appealing . All these boats look immaculate inside and out. I have seen only Ganley solution so far. I am going to survey them anyway but the agents tell me that they are absolutely with no fault. Assuming this is true, I have a few questions please:

1. Anybody knows anything about Adams-Radford designs, particularly in steel?
2. What do you think about the lifting keel, is it going to be a problem, maintainance wise?
3. Ganley Solution has ply cored decks and cabin on a steel hull. I am not sure if that is the best . Lighter, but I am worried about the hull/deck joint.

[alsail]

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Lis...?id=1036845067

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boa...f61b3b6d56e8f8

https://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/d...AD-15079250/?c

[Snowpetrel]

Those Adams/Radford steel designs sail extremely well, and are very nicely engineered.

I raced against a R450 pilothouse recently and was very impressed by the speed and layout.

[gjordan]

Dont trust any agent that says a boat has no fault. Locate a professional surveyor that has experience with metal boats, and get your surveyor recommendations from someone other than your agent. Search a few of the threads on this forum about surveyors and you will find lots of information, both good and bad. I dont like to sound cynical but too many people have been burned by less than ethical agents. Good Luck, _____Grant.

[Pelagic]

Good advice from Grant.

Remember, steel boats rust from the inside out, so the inside shell, should be your focus.

The nice thing about steel, is that rust, or rust "cover-ups" are easy to find and not hidden as you would have with fiberglass osmosis or delamination.

Crawl thru every bilge space where water could sit and check for rust or repairs. Same with a mirror to see bolt on parts for improper bedding.

Empty the chain locker and look underneath, same at stern sections where welding is more constrained.

Definitely get a good surveyor but do the crawl thru yourself to see how good the original paint coatings on the inside are

I love steel but the experience of the builder is critical, so beware of home built ones.

My own Dutch built Corten steel boat was professionally built and protected properly, so any deficiencies is a result of poor maintenance on my part.

[Reefmagnet]

I always like to resurrect this link when it comes to "buying a used steel boat" question.

The saving of WhiteBird

It may not apply to the vessels you are considering, but the point is that steel boats rust from the inside and this might not necessarily be evident during th ebuying nd survey process if you don't have the right expertise available.

[alsail]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Good advice from Grant.

Remember, steel boats rust from the inside out, so the inside shell, should be your focus.

The nice thing about steel, is that rust, or rust "cover-ups" are easy to find and not hidden as you would have with fiberglass osmosis or delamination.

Crawl thru every bilge space where water could sit and check for rust or repairs. Same with a mirror to see bolt on parts for improper bedding.

Empty the chain locker and look underneath, same at stern sections where welding is more constrained.

Definitely get a good surveyor but do the crawl thru yourself to see how good the original paint coatings on the inside are

I love steel but the experience of the builder is critical, so beware of home built ones.

My own Dutch built Corten steel boat was professionally built and protected properly, so any deficiencies is a result of poor maintenance on my part.

Thank you, I will do that. The vessel I am looking at is built in corten steel and it's got a swing keel. I don't know if you have the time or willing but this is the vessel : https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boa...6cb21e0404393d

Also another one :https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boa...df8f817cbbb2ab

Thanks for your advice mate.