Richard10002
Well-known member
Most canal boats stay in fresh water, most yachts are in salt water.
The difference that makes is incredible.
And steel with it's slower corrosion in freshwater water has other advantages that make it ideal for inland waterways - the boats are easy to build with simple developable shapes with an acceptable easthetic, the ruggedness of steel is comes in handy especially with the way they handle and stone canalside structures, there's no stability issues with using quite thick gauge hull plates, and it feels like a traditional material for such boats. Win, win, win, win!
Apart from the ruggedness, none of that's the case with yachts.
I take it all on board but, apart from yachts and perhaps "smaller" motorboats, almost every boat and ship on the sea is steel, and they seem to survive.
On the canals, where GRP is the second class citizen, it is often the GRP boats that look neglected and poorly maintained.
I must admit that, if I were to buy a seagoing yacht again, I would prefer GRP, but I wonder if it is more to do with perception and tradition, as against real issues, (rather than different issues). e.g. Osmosis is a word to be feared in a survey of a GRP boat, but did any boat ever sink due to a bit of osmosis?
I guess "we are where we are", and I'm not going to change it