Quote:
Originally Posted by MicHughV
Coopec43,
I see you are also building a BR boat, A Mauritius no less. I gotta tell you that boat is a personal favorite of mine.
I was looking at some or other video blog about someone building a steel boat, but with modern day autocad and computer controlled cutting technology, all the steel bits and pieces can arrive on your doorstep, precut to precise dimensions. All you got to do is put the pieces together. Sounds easy..right ??
A far cry from my days, when large chunks of steel plate were dropped on my doorstep, form which I had to cut the plates that formed the hull.
Anyhow, my chain-plates were all welded on, which simplified the issue. There is much to be said about steel boats, but simplicity and strength is not one of them. |
Well I would have thought that steel boats are the strongest of the lot. But what puts me off is the
maintenance. One steel boat owner lamented that he has to be very careful the way he handles
gear on the boat as he continually worries about a bit of
paint being knocked off and the inevitable rust.
My "experience" with steel yachts is not good. There were three yachts one was a 42ft
ketch built in Tasmania (Australia). The owner was a photographer by profession which made me wonder why when he wrote a book about his
cruise there were virtually no photos.Then I realized his yacht had no opening
ports and the
cabin lighting was a kerosene lamp (no
navigation lights) I wonder what the
toilet set-up was?
The second yacht was being stripped for
parts (I wanted the
jib furler) and I had to ask if the
deck was safe to walk on.
The third steel yacht had sunk off the coast as it had hit a submerged
navigation beacon (knocked over by a prawn trawler). After the yacht had been salvaged I inspected it and decided it was barely life sustainable. Sad!
The thing that got me was that the three yachts had done a
circumnavigation (or a near circumnavigation)!
And where is my yacht?
You say "A far cry from my days" I'll say! Apart from Autocad now they would use "Inverter welders" to weld their yachts. (Apparently far easier to use than stick welders and quite cheap)
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