could you build a boat out of stainless?

[noelex 77]

No boatbuilding material is perfect. I am not sure stainless steel is a great material for a yacht hull.

There are a few stainless yachts. I had dinner many years ago on an all stainless yacht (sorry I forget the manufacturer, but it was a large Dutch? custom motor sailor). Interestingly, the company produced about half their models in mild steel and half in stainless steel.

The other guest at dinner owned a near identical mild steel version of the yacht. The two owners were good friends and there was a constant friendly banter all evening about which material was better.

The steel owner pointed out he had experienced fewer hull problems than the stainless owner. It was an interesting evening.

In terms of cost, while stainless is dearer, the bare hull is only about 1/3 the total cost of the boat. So increasing the cost of material will not have as much impact on the final cost as might be expected.

[Mr B]

If the stainless is thick enough, There are no problems with it, But the costs go up for it and the boat becomes a lot heavier,
No painting negates the cost of of the stainless, So it would work out the same price for both, Approx,

Its only a shell to displace water, So can be made out of any thing if its strong enough,

[double u]

ideally a mild steel hull should be sandblasted INSIDE before painting - which is not going to be free too, wheras the ss hull would require no treatment inside.
The workhardening problem is imho only relevant if the ss-plating is substantially thinner than the mild-steel one would be

[DsquareD]

Originally Posted by Mr B

If the stainless is thick enough, There are no problems with it, But the costs go up for it and the boat becomes a lot heavier,
No painting negates the cost of of the stainless, So it would work out the same price for both, Approx,

Its only a shell to displace water, So can be made out of any thing if its strong enough,

Please read the brief article that I shared. It will explain why it is a bad hull material better than I can.