Questions About Steel Boats

[44'cruisingcat]

Here's an article that shows that just about anything in steel can be repaired if you are willing to put the work in.

The saving of WhiteBird

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

..just about anything in steel can be repaired if you are willing to put the work in.

Yo Cat,

great find! This is quite a nice example of someone really blowing it bigtime. This boat was simply too far gone.

best, andy

[brian and clare]

Um... WOW... I would be dropping the f-bomb a bit myself. At least they got through it.

[Ex-Calif]

I suppose that's what I admire about steel. That boat was obviously neglected and clearly not surveyed properly. Some of the stuff not seen was absolutely criminal but...

No need to haul it out and dry it for a year before wrking on it. Just start cutting crap out and welding now stuff in. Find out what's underneath and when you are satisfied, prime it, epoxy it and paint it.

That boat will likely give 20 years of trouble free running now.

[cooper]

Thats what you call a "project boat" Yep sharp pointy object is a good way to check for rust . It is a problem when some owners worry about you scratching the paint. You say " If the boat is solid then Im going to buy it, and therefore fix the scratches, if it is not solid then other people should know too !!" I wouldnt recomend spending so much time fixing as in the case of white bird, but l dont think they had much choice. What it does show is that it can be done, and remember this guy started with NO welding experience.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by brian and clare

Um... WOW... I would be dropping the f-bomb a bit myself. At least they got through it.

Yep, Bob got rid of it and is not far off starting an Oram cat in Duflex me think's.

Dave

[ssullivan]

Yep...

We looked at a 40-something foot Burmeister in MA which I think sold recently. An absolutlely BEAUTIFUL boat in its say. Only problem? About 50 holes in the hull below the waterline spread everywhere and rain pouring in through the decks. All wood was rotted, all steel was rusted mostly, and a lot of stuff missing. The boat could be bought for $8K, but I felt learning to weld and buying all the materials and stuff would still be out of reach financially.

I was going to post a link to it here, but... looks like it sold!


I'm going to kick around the idea of zincs vs. electrical protection. I'm designing a HUGE power system in this time to have a few more of life's creature comforts - like re-heating leftover food in the microwave after a hard day's work without running a genset.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I'm sorry, Steve.

I may not have been clear in my original post:

My options are:

1) Buy a steel boat

2) Buy a wooden boat that has been glassed over

3) Buy a wooden boat that I will glass over properly


Looking to find pros and cons of each.

Sean,

Sorry to get back to you so late in the discussion as my daughter's wedding got in the way. (Sarcasm ladies! sarcasm!) Sean, I was just kidding about the steel/wood/fiberglass mix.

I hope to quickly catch up on the thread(s).

Steve B.

[noelex 77]

Dear Steve
I would consider a "cold molded epoxy" hull a good option. ie a male mold of wood with glass and epoxy sheathing designed to be constructed this way, but a wooden boat that has been glasased over would be my last choice. If I understand your options correcly I would therefore vote for a steel boat.
Cheers John
See my blog at “Amzer Zo” Yacht Blog

[Zach]

I've got a lot of faith in fiberglass over wood.

I'm doing some work on an 83 foot coast guard cutter... built in 1942.

We've carried out her frames in buckets. Every bulkhead was rotted out... Yet when its out on the rail it doesnt sag down in the middle to touch a few of the cars! Theres a picture somewhere... the previous owner had her out with a travel lift!

She was fiberglassed 20 years ago, with half inch marine grade plywood screwed to the planks. (About a million of them by my guess... about as many cutoff wheels to get the bilge painted!)

Talking to the surveyor thats been looking her over, it sounds like if you do plywood then glass its fine... but if you try to just glass over the old hull, the glass will never bond with the paint/oil soaked wood.

[ssullivan]

Right, Zach. The technique is the most important part. Glassing over wood will result in delam problems in short order if it isn't done properly.

The techniques used in the North East seem to work exceptionally well, in that the fiberglass is mechanically fastened to the timber. Makes all the difference in the world, since the epoxy resin won't hold the wood forever.

[southernman]

Can someone enlighten me as to where exactly in the world could you not get some steel welding done? I found extremely good welding facilities while riding my bike through most of Asia and India which most people would consider countries without 1st world facilities. I really don't see the point of having a welder on board these days. Maybe so a few years back but today? The fact that steel is unlikely to hole easily makes me wonder why you would need to carry a welder? Small steel boats are heavy enough without extra clutter. The weight of a decent welder = another 10m or so of good chain!

A fairly well know yacht inspector in Wellington a few years ago nearly blew himself up and his boat by welding his yacht up whilst still in the drink.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by southernman

Can someone enlighten me as to where exactly in the world could you not get some steel welding done? I found extremely good welding facilities while riding my bike through most of Asia and India which most people would consider countries without 1st world facilities. I really don't see the point of having a welder on board these days. Maybe so a few years back but today? The fact that steel is unlikely to hole easily makes me wonder why you would need to carry a welder?

I guess the reason I'm looking at having one aboard is more a matter of convenience than antyhing else. (and for some random emergency or project)

Rather than hauling the boat, or paying any marina fees, I would like to be able to mess about with random bits of the boat without leaving anchor. My "welder" is to be a diesel powered welder, which is really a very powerful alternator set up for welding. It's a pretty slick little unit. It's built as a welder first, and an alternator second. I plan to use it primarily to charge the batts (with 3 stage smart controller) and as a welder second.

So I'm not having any additional weight I wouldn't already have (my DC genset IS my welder).

Hope that makes sense....

[Zach]

Makes a lot of sense to me.

Shoot, an enterprising person could make everything from bow rails to fishing rod holders... custom... for anyone anchored up near them. Sounds like a promising business to me.

I'd try to get certified for underwater welding if I had that kind of rig.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Zach

Makes a lot of sense to me.

Shoot, an enterprising person could make everything from bow rails to fishing rod holders... custom... for anyone anchored up near them. Sounds like a promising business to me.

I'd try to get certified for underwater welding if I had that kind of rig.

Yo Zach,

at first thought, perhaps this seems reasonable. But consider how much (heavy) material one would have to carry aboard his small yacht. Think about all the various tools also needed besides a welder (grinders, buffers, clamps, etc). Add to this the fact that metal-working is just about the dirtiest job one could imagine doing aboard. And where would you work? Right on your foredeck? How will others in the anchorage appreciate all the noise?

Practical it is not.

best, andy