Steel boats what advantages ?

[Madhatter]

What are the advantages (if any) of having a steel boat rather than fibreglass please ?

 

[daveyw]

More likely to survive contact with rocks

 

[Madhatter]

More likely to survive contact with rocks

Now that's a good reason

 

[Tranona]

Tough, relatively easy to repair, "cheap" (possibly) to build, flexibility of construction allows one offs and unusual designs.

Attractive in some applications such as canal boats (tin boxes filled with the contents of a bedsit), long distance sailers, particularly those cruising in areas where there are lots of rock or coral to hit.

Dowsides, maintenance, looks (some), weight, interfaces with other building materials (eg teak decks), condensation. Many of these can be reduced but at a cost which makes well built steel boats more expensive than GRP.

Clearly benefits are not appreciated by many people as they represent only a tiny minority of boats built except in the two categories suggested above where arguably their advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

 

[Slipstream 34]

Pros

They are generally cheaper to build/buy. Stronger and easier to repair ie damaged area can be cut out and a new plate welded in place.


Cons

Constant battle with rust. Condensation down below if poorly insulated as most home builds are. ..more rust. Stray currents in marinas can cause havoc with eletrolysis. Did I mention the rust...!


We had a steel yacht for a few years, but the constant maintenance became too much for us and we went back to GRP.

 

[TQA]

If a whale leaps on top of you as happened to at least two boats recently or T bones you the hull will survive.

You can spend a night on a reef then get pulled off with a good chance of still havng a boat, albeit dented, that floats.

In almost any corner of the world you can find someone who can weld a plate over a hole.

 

[Sybarite]

Tough, relatively easy to repair, "cheap" (possibly) to build, flexibility of construction allows one offs and unusual designs.

Attractive in some applications such as canal boats (tin boxes filled with the contents of a bedsit), long distance sailers, particularly those cruising in areas where there are lots of rock or coral to hit.

Dowsides, maintenance, looks (some), weight, interfaces with other building materials (eg teak decks), condensation. Many of these can be reduced but at a cost which makes well built steel boats more expensive than GRP.

Clearly benefits are not appreciated by many people as they represent only a tiny minority of boats built except in the two categories suggested above where arguably their advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

For me the ideal expedition type boat material is Strongall. Super thick aluminium.

The problem with thin aluminium boats (say 4mm, density of 2.65) is that they are very difficult to weld and welding faults if any, are not picked up by radiography or ultrasound tests..

Steel with a density of 7.85 is easy to weld but rusts.

With Strongall, which is 2.5 to 3 times thicker than traditional aluminium, welding is no problem; they support a very high intensity of current which would melt traditional thin aluminium, and does not lead to hull deformation. The hulls are sand-blasted and zinc-ed inorganically with silicate which renders them free from electrolysis.

These hulls are as strong as steel but are virtually maintenance free. They also give rise to hulls which are so solid they don’t need internal bulkheads – which frees up internal layout possibilities.

(Facts picked up from a communiqué from Michel Joubert (architect) and Chantiers Meta the patent holders.)

The principal disadvantage is that you can not have round hulls.

 

[chinita]

They will survive a lightning strike.

They make you look 'dead hard'.

 

[Seadog17]

Corten steel is a very good product for boats. Very good corrosion resistance and stronger, size for size, than standard steel plate.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

For me the ideal expedition type boat material is Strongall. Super thick aluminium.

The problem with thin aluminium boats (say 4mm, density of 2.65) is that they are very difficult to weld and welding faults if any, are not picked up by radiography or ultrasound tests..

Steel with a density of 7.85 is easy to weld but rusts.

With Strongall, which is 2.5 to 3 times thicker than traditional aluminium, welding is no problem; they support a very high intensity of current which would melt traditional thin aluminium, and does not lead to hull deformation. The hulls are sand-blasted and zinc-ed inorganically with silicate which renders them free from electrolysis.

These hulls are as strong as steel but are virtually maintenance free. They also give rise to hulls which are so solid they don’t need internal bulkheads – which frees up internal layout possibilities.

(Facts picked up from a communiqué from Michel Joubert (architect) and Chantiers Meta the patent holders.)

The principal disadvantage is that you can not have round hulls.

The French certainly seem to make some good Aluminium boats but am I missing something here? If you want to make a boat using a thicker alloy why not just specify a thcker alloy? Fewer ribs etc and I suppose that the detail design will differ but what is so special about this material?

Just curious.

 

[Conachair]

What are the advantages (if any) of having a steel boat rather than fibreglass please ?

Quite a few advantages if you don´t mind getting a bit regimented about maintenance. Possibly more suited to bluewater cruising. A few in no particular order..

Completely dry. If the hatches are watertight then cross a pounding ocean for weeks and still have dust in the bilges at the other end. Sprayed insulation above the waterline means zero condensation. On my boat anyway

Tough as old boots. Every other boat in Portland harbour in the storm of 1987 sunk apart from mine. Though it did look pretty awful, but still afloat. Which can be a big comfort offshore on a night watch not knowing what your going to run into.

Also if you want to add any kind of deck fitting then just weld a bit a steel in place and paint.

If you´re close to other boats then it´s like owning a landrover, doesn´t matter too much who bangs into you, they´ll come off worse. Just a lick of paint afterwards.

Biggest downside is you need to keep on top of the maintenance, little and often ain´t too bad, but leave it then you´ll get yer bum bitten. This I know

For pottering about the coast then if I was buying again I´d prob go for grp. But cruising, gimme some sort of metal. Which means steel cos it can´t afford ali

 

[TimBennet]

The raw material cost of the hull is only a tiny part of the finished boat price. When you add in the blasting, painting, and insulation costs, a steel vessel with a 'yacht finish' and long life expectancy will cost far more than a production GRP boat.

Aluminium boats from a professional yard (left unpainted on the interior and topsides) will probably be as cheap as a professionally built steel boat, but the maintenance of an aluminium boat will be a fraction of a steel over ten years. The resale value will be poles apart.

Corten Steel was touted as being superior in the Seventies, but despite building several boats in it, we found no long term advantages. It does rust and there can be problems with the weld zones.

The only advantage of steel boats is their 'abrasion resistance' (not impact, or strength, etc) It therefore makes no sense except in things like a canal boats which are basically floating dodgems. Even people like Jimmy Cornell who used to be huge advocates of steel 35 years ago have changed their tune: we had to cut huge chunks of rot out of the transom of his six year old Adventurer and he never touched steel again.

GRP for the masses and aluminium for the select few who can afford the luxury of having something a little bit better. Steel is only for the paranoid and those home building an edifice in their gardens which one day may, or may not, ever reach the water.

 

[Madhatter]

I would like to thank you all for your contributions it has been most helpful.
For those that are interested I have been looking at a Dennis Ganley designed Hitchhiker 27 ft , looks like a tough little boat.

 

[Tranona]

I would like to thank you all for your contributions it has been most helpful.
For those that are interested I have been looking at a Dennis Ganley designed Hitchhiker 27 ft , looks like a tough little boat.

The advantages of steel diminish in smaller sizes because of weight issues and the difficulty of getting it to look good if you use thinner steel. Ganley is of course a great advocate of steel as he focuses on selling plans to dreamers! The hours involved in building are not proportionate to size. As you will see in many old yards, home made steel boats have a habit of never being finished because people are seduced by the low material costs and seriously underestimate the time (and cost) needed to build. Much easier to compromise and buy an older, sound GRP boat of similar size for not much more than the cost of a steel hull.

 

[TQA]

They will survive a lightning strike.

.

However the strike may turn your boat into a powerful magnet rendering all compasses useless. Ask me how I know this.

 

[Marmalade]

We had a steel yacht for a few years, but the constant maintenance became too much for us and we went back to GRP.

A friend who has a steel 30 footer says that steel is the same level / commitment to maintenance as wood.

 

[Madhatter]

A friend who has a steel 30 footer says that steel is the same level / commitment to maintenance as wood.

That's what I wondered , and a wooden boat is usually prettier

 

[robertj]

However the strike may turn your boat into a powerful magnet rendering all compasses useless. Ask me how I know this.

How do you know this?

 

[panthablue]

I own a steel boat, she's a 30ft hard chine sloop. She was built in 1980 and still going strong.

We had her lined with polyurethane foam when she was built, so she's warm, dry, and quiet inside. Her displacement is about 5 1/2 tons which is not over weight for a boat her size. She sails at a reasonable lick too. the downside of course is the maintenance. She always needs painting, and never looks as good as a fibreglass boat. On the other hand for a boat of her age, she's in far better nick than many fibreglass boats of a similar age. And osmosis - what the hell's that?

All in all I love my boat, she's strong, rugged, and has a great feel to her.

 

[Conachair]

A friend who has a steel 30 footer says that steel is the same level / commitment to maintenance as wood.

Again another reason why it´s more suited to a cruising boat. Keep on top of the maintenance on a little by little basis and it´s not so bad. Let it slip it´s a búgger.