Questions About Steel Boats

[Alan Wheeler]

Fibreglass over wood would be a poor choice. Never know what's going on under the glass until it''s too late.

Absolute utter compleate rubbish.
And please, I will not warn you again. STOP PROMOTING your book here. One promotion in the classifieds is all that is allowed.

[colemj]

I didn't see any book promotion in that post.

Mark

[Alan Wheeler]

Mark, note the post I deleted. That's all he did was promote his book........Again!

[Zach]

How does a steel boat do with lightening?

It'd seem like the whole thing is a low resistance ground plane...

[Alan Wheeler]

The steel does just fine. It is the paint that doesn't. It also depends on the severity of the strike. A smaller strike can be contained by the conductive ability of the steel and transfered along the steel to the Anodes and any other bare metal in the water. If the strike is large or at an extreme distance from bare metal objects, then the path to the water maybe shorter through the paint.
As for the paint, depending on several things, such as type paint (has it absorbed any moisture or is it a compleate barrier to moisture) and preperation before the paint was applied (was moisture trapped underneath or between layers), will determin the outcome of damage during the strike. Damage can be from a small pin holes, to great area's blistered and blown off the Hull. The small pin holes are were the current has blown through the insulative layer and the large blow outs can be due to moisture trapped with in or under the paint layer and being super heated.

[anglooff]

This thread has been very interesting…. As I just received today the Final Bill of Sale for my 27 year old steel yacht its been very informative. I crawled all over it before buying and then told a Venezuelan steelworker that if he could find rust anywhere that he would get the job to repair and make good.(Which believe me, is as close as I could get an accurate assessment without using an x-ray). Some problems did exist in the anchor chain locker and the rudder housing box, but they were relatively minor and easily fixed. I had him weld some eyes on deck for ‘jackstays”, which necessitated, removing and replacing the foam insulation in the cabin roof and as this allowed access to some out of the way places I took the opportunity for further inspection. I was pleased to find excellent work quality…so I can add another positive to the steel side of the debate with a 27 year 10month 3 day example.

Now that its mine… I have many questions I wish to post for your advice and suggestions, could someone please inform me of the forum’s etiquette. Do I make a post, with a long list of questions, which will cover subjects ranging from electronics, electrical systems, air conditioning, refrigeration, water heating, best fabrics etc or should I compile them where possible within general categories?

Best regards

Alan

[hellosailor]

Alan, your best bet is to post separate questions in the different areas that would cover them. If items are related, try to keep them in one post, but in general stuffing a thousand items in one post would lead to a lot of confusion.

[Brent Swain]

Grounding is the cure for lightning. You couldn't ask for beter grounding than a metal hull. Lightning becomes a non issue in a metal boat except for the electronics.
Glass over wood is better than straight wood if its done correctly, but go for the older glass hull and forget the dead vegetation altogether.

[Brent Swain]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

Absolute utter compleate rubbish.
And please, I will not warn you again. STOP PROMOTING your book here. One promotion in the classifieds is all that is allowed.

It's interesting that most of the advice given about steel boats is given by people who have never owned one. Before accepting advice about any type of boat, ask the person giving the advice how long he has owned such a boat and how far he has sailed in one.
I've been designing , building and living aboard steel boats full time , in BC and the South Pacific since 1976.
Brent

[Alan Wheeler]

Brent, you have done very well at skewing words once again. The comment I had made and that you chose to Quote was in regards to you stating this

Fibreglass over wood would be a poor choice. Never know what's going on under the glass until it''s too late.

My comment had nothing to do with your steel boat.
Oh and my first trade (yes I have more than one) was a fitter welder and I held an NZ4711 and Marine certificate in Welding. I spent many years working with steel. I don't need to own a steel boat to know about steel boats.

[Brent Swain]

Welding pieces of steel together tells you absolutely nothing about living on a steel boat. It's like a bar room bouncer claiming to be an expert in dentistry.
I remember a fisherman telling me how he welded buldozer equipment together so " I know all about steel boats". Duhhh!
Brent

[Brent Swain]

Jimmy Cornels book "Modern Ocean Cruising "is another good source of info.
In it he interviews circumnavigators about what they liked and didn't like ,and what their next boat would be.He draws no conclusions, just gives their opinions. Out of ten circumnavigators , eight said they would go for metal boats and two had already started them.
Oops, not supposed to mention books here, or is it only one book that's banned ?
Brent

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Louis Riel

... Oops, not supposed to mention books here, or is it only one book that's banned ? Brent

Not only does citing an authority help establish the validity of your arguments, it shows that you're not alone - that you're not a singular crackpot who dreamed up this idea over breakfast. However, our reliance on “authority” needs a more substantial hold on reality and credibility than does the world of marketing.
Citing your own published works, does nothing towards either objective in substantiating your argument.
Notwithstanding, the more relevant the expertise of an authority (such as yourself), the more compelling the argument. Hence, it’s perfectly legitimate to cite your knowledge and experience (in suport of an argument), but not your own published works (which would be analogous to saying “it’s true, because I’ve previously said so.”).

[Brent Swain]

The bottoms of my twin keels are bare steel and have been for most of their 23 year llifespan. No corrosion noticeable. The zincs protect then just fine . The zincs on my last boat lasted 10 years . The surveyor said it was because she never tied to docks with 120 volt cords laying around. The bottom of the keel was never painted. It never mattered as long as the zincs were there. Too much zinc is often the cause of tiny paint blisters.
Bare steel below the waterline can be totally protected as long as the area of bare steel is small enough for the zincs to protect it.
Brent

[Brent Swain]

People come here for sources of info. I'm simply pointing to one that is to long to quote in full here.
Brent