Steer me away from a steel hull?

[DutchTreat]

Originally Posted by hpeer

If you have a while to kill check this out,

Alloy lapstrake

Manaslu Stoves

Is that the correct link, or am I missing something?

[micah719]

I gave aluminium serious consideration, because it does have some good points....corrosion resistance (just keep the stray currents away, they'll eat it alive), and excellent strength/weight. The killers on the idea were: abrasion & impact resistance is poor, and the as-welded strength makes the theoretical tensile strength moot. Also, fatigue, failure modes, repair/modification, all problematic....so I went for steel. Wood would have been my second choice, but I'm a sucker for woodwork.....but so are worms and rot, and rocks, containers, boats, wharves and dinghies eat it too. Steel me up all the way! With modern coatings and TLC for the beloved mistress, can't go wrong...and after three pastic boats in excellent condition and also tlc'ed and no trouble, I still choose steel! Maybe it's the stink & itch of glassing, or the boat I saw burn merrily down to the waterline, or the osmosis blues I've seen...and yes, I've chipped enough rust to know what steel is like too. Sry, won't steer you anywhere but steel!

[Surfer Girl]

Originally Posted by Dulls

I think when you come down to it a good boat is a good boat......

Exactly!

If you can find a top 10% professionally built steel - beautiful, strong, sea kindly. Some beautiful examples posted above. Problem is these boats are far and few between.

Even a top 10% pro built Ferro Cement (notably Kiwi built in the 70's & 80's) are excellent from this much maligned building material; but they are very hard to find.

Pro built Aluminium? How much money do you have?? And even harder to find!

Well built wooden boat? Beautiful but high maintenance. And really, a category all on their own - hence the many wooden boat show fairs around the world.

Finally, a good solid professionally built GRP boat - they are everywhere around the world by the hundreds of thousands. A buyer's smorgasbord.....


But Dulls nailed it - a good boat is a good boat. They all have pros & cons and it often comes down to (subjective) personal preference.

If you have your heart set on steel and can find one like Dull's or some of the other posters beautiful pro built examples, go for it! But steer clear of the other 90% rubbish, rusting, heavy steel hulks for sale out there....

My last yacht was a 43' Dufour GRP monocoque with very little timber inside or out (unvarnished teak toe rail was about it). Monocoque was thick, well laid and very strong. Very little maintenance! I love pretty, nicely painted/varnished boats but I prefer to sail, enjoy the local culture, enjoy camaraderie with fellow cruisers, swim, snorkel & enjoy the cruising life. Grinding, sanding, varnishing, painting are not my idea of fun and not what I set out to experience when world cruising, except for annual haul out.
That's why I will always own a well built plastic boat with little to no bright work - and a white one to boot. Less maintenance and more fun!

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by hpeer

If you have a while to kill check this out,

Alloy lapstrake

Manaslu Stoves

My apologies guys..........no idea how that occurred. I fixed it once.

It is worth a visit.

alu sailboat buliding - Page 12 - WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts

[hpeer]

We went to closing on an aluminum schooner. But backed away at the survey.

It was a home built deal and while some of the work was top notch, much was not.

And there was much we could not see like the chain plate welds.

It was an intriguing design, and the concept had much merit. But the welding was just not up to snuff. We chose to not take a chance on it. If all we wanted was a coastal boat, then it would have been fine. But we wanted the retain the ability to do big water. Wife was heart broken. I guess I was pretty upset too.

[Mr B]

If the welding looks bumpy and lumpy, run away fast,

All welds should be flat and smooth, on any material,

[xymotic]

All of my welds are perfectly flat and smooth, after 5 or 6 hours of grinding.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by xymotic

All of my welds are perfectly flat and smooth, after 5 or 6 hours of grinding.

They should be flat and smooth with out grinding,

[Willie@VoyagingYachts]

There is a new choice in steel previously unavailable. Check out the Wylo 35.5. There is also uninteresting video of the experiences of a Wylo owner here http://www.thegreeninterview.com/annie-hill-interview

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Willie@VoyagingYachts

There is a new choice in steel previously unavailable. Check out the Wylo 35.5. There is also uninteresting video of the experiences of a Wylo owner here http://www.thegreeninterview.com/annie-hill-interview

Have you ever considered a Sale's Training Course...

[zeehag]

steelies are great--just be smart....

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by zeehag

steelies are great--just be smart....

Leg pulling over typo's aside... steel boats are great... just be aware the same factors come into play..
Material quality and labour skills... personally steel falls into the same category as 'Ferro'... if its not yard built to Lloyds 100 I'm not interested... wood, ply and plastic I'm familiar with... so can do my own survey/assessment...
For the rest... I want build supervision and expertise...

[Coops]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Have you ever considered a Sale's Training Course...

I just took it as a very honest and frank appraisal of the video.

Coops.

[Willie@VoyagingYachts]

Well spotted boatman 61. Proof reading course first.

[Pelikan]

Hi

I have had a good 30+ year old steel yacht with I have owned for 12 years.

There are five things you must take care of.

1 / Ensure A good internal epoxy paint system on the inside is a must as steel boats rust from the inside out.

2 / A good epoxy external paint system above and below the waterline.

3/ Ensure you have a good isolating transformer when on a Marina

4 / Good ground earth attachment internally.. so to minimize potential voltage leakage.

5/ Good quality electrical distribution board with relay's and fuses to protect your batteries and service the boat.

Yes there is a certain amount of boat maintenance required as with plastic boats. If you keep on top of it and and use appropriate paint system you can control rust spots ect.

The boat I have is great and as you can see the life expectancy for steel seem to out way plastic boats.

OH! PS.... this is my third vessel the other two were plastic.

Cheers

David
SY Pelikan