Considering a steel boat 😱

[jondseymour]

I'm quite new to this but the idea of steel boggles my mind. I suppose if it's good enough to Aerospace (Aerospace Stainless Steel) then it's good enough for water ha ha.

Would it be a case of powder coating (Marine Powder Coating | CTC Powder Coating) for extra protection?

 

[rotrax]

I'm quite new to this but the idea of steel boggles my mind. I suppose if it's good enough to Aerospace (Aerospace Stainless Steel) then it's good enough for water ha ha.

Would it be a case of powder coating (Marine Powder Coating | CTC Powder Coating) for extra protection?

I have owned a steel boat for 8 years. There is NO WAY I would have any powdercoating on a boat, especially a steel boat.

I have an expensive high quality sailing vessel. It has powdercoated aluminium window frames. After 12 years the powdercoat started to fail.

It is impossible to repair locally, the whole finish must be removed as powdercoat does not 'feather edge' when rubbed back with abrasives and continues to fall off as sheets of plastic material.

With steel, my experience is that if treated quickly, local failure of the surface finish is easy to repair, always with good results.

 

[Tradewinds]

@Sea Change I see you're on the move again. What did you get in the end?

 

[Sea Change]

@Sea Change I see you're on the move again. What did you get in the end?

We bought a Jeanneau. Much more sensible!

 

[Sea Change]

Oh I should add, the steel boat we were considering failed the survey in pretty spectacular fashion.
Funnily enough, several months later we were passing through the harbour where she is laid up, and took a look in the boatyard to 'see what we could have won'.

Talk about dodging a bullet. She has been sold now, and was in the process of having new plates welded in. Months of work ongoing.
More than that, it was a good lesson in why you shouldn't get too attached to a boat you haven't yet seen in the flesh. The actual shape of the hull was all wrong to me. Huge deep canoe body, presumably indicative of a lot of weight. Massive wetted surface area. The whole thing screamed "slow!". Funny that the photos didn't make the boat look like that.

 

[[194497]]

I had a steel boat which had been painted properly when built and looked after since, and it wasn't too much trouble, although you do have to jump on any little scratch or chip and deal with it straight away .
I subsequently had a steel narrow boat which hadn't been properly looked after, and I grew to loathe the hours spent with angle grinder, goggles, mask and ear protectors, always working in some awkward and uncomfortable position.
I'd buy the first type again, especially if living aboard, but I'd run a mile from the second type.

 

[oldgit]

Workboats are (or were?) steel.
My nefew has a steel 13 m double ender for decades and is happy with.

Most of my early boating life involved being on wood and steel small workboats and tugs.
Fine when new (ish).
As time goes on increasing amounts of money and effort will have to be devoted to remedial work until eventually the boat becomes uneconomical to repair. Fine if commercial craft it is earning its living.

Once ,there was in any river a host of boat yards who had the facilities and the knowledge to bend a new plank or rib in all the day long.
Most of the commercial yards could probably on a quiet afternoon, weld "on" new hull plate, providing there was something solid to weld nearbye .
Do know of several older Dutch type boats which were drawing considerably more draft than they started out with due to the amount of added weight.They do corrode from within with a determination to corrode at the waterline.
One virtually had the everything below the water line doubled up to extend its life, again.
These companies have all long gone , you will seach long and hard and pay handsomely for the privilege of getting your boat into a long line of customers waiting for their now specialist talents.
There are no doubt some later steel craft out there which will have been built with the correct plate thickness and correctly coated with whatever stuff is alleged to prevent rust.
Its worth noting just how cheap older steel boats are compared to a similar plastic boat.There is a good reason for this.
Glassfibre is virtually indestructable, any noticeboard in any marina will be covered with cards from people who can mend glassfibre.
Try to find one advertising repairs to steel hulls. ?
Suspect its serious case of sorting the chafe from the wheat before purchase.