To Steel Hull or Not?

[s/v michaela]

https://scontent-dft4-2.xx.fbcdn.net...7b&oe=59B6985E

75 foot 50 year old steel ketch that is my cruising home..... pretty much bullet proof with a little maintenance...

[svseachange]

Pluses - you get much more boat for your money; much stronger (less worry around docks or other people driving boats).

Minuses - you need to spend about a day a month chasing rust; slower; and if the any of thr previous owners have not maintaned the boat properly you could be buying a huge headache.

Much better in cool freshwater than warm saltwater!

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

......... Steel is the toughest material to build a boat out of there is a lot of comfort in rough weather at sea knowing the boat is absolutely 100% solid, and not much is going to be able to punch a hole through the hull or decks.

Hi! It's also the heaviest I remember Patrick Van God, a Belgium sailor who fell in love in Tahiti with a west coast American girl He wanted to show her Rangiroa, one of the biggest low lying atoll north-east of Tahiti. Since they've been together for less than a month, I guess they didn't sleep a lot... all this to say, when finally they fell asleep, they were approaching Rangiroa. Patrick had underestimate the strong counter-current on the lee side of the atoll... Their sailboat, banging furiously on the reef, woke them up but it was too late! The waves & tide pushed them high & dry When they try to pull it back in the water, the very well built & very heavy steel sailboat refuse to budge... They empty it from the engine to the last shackle & flew back to France to have a light displacement full centerboard 11 meter fiberglass (GRP) sailboat built they used to sail around the world including Cap Horn & Patagonia Cheers !
PS: You can get his books from Amazon.com

[Cyrus Safdari]

There's a safety factor from steel, in case you bash into things.

There's a greater safety factor in lighter weight fiberglass, so you can avoid bashing into things.


Plate wear is an issue -- older boats may be ground down to paper thin hulls

What's to gain from steel even in high lat waters? I guess a steel hull would be nice if there are things floating around you could bump into, ie: ice, logs etc but that's really the only benefit of steel I can see. It is heavy, therefore requires much more sail/boat/power -- and all that is also additional maint. and expense, plus painting and keeping up with the rust...

I get that steel is good if you bash into things, but 1- you're really not supposed to be bashing into things at all, and 2- lightweight fiberglass means more maneuverability so you don't bash into things in the first place.

The insulation hides corrosion too

[Terra Nova]

If you're OK with motoring most of the time, a 36' steel motor sailor is one way to go. It will likely be heavy for its size, slow and unwieldy as a sailboat. Also it will more than likely have poor resale value.

A survey from the seller is probably worthless.