hull material choice for blue water

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tim_ber

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I am sure this has been covered before, so please point me in the right direction if you can find the thread or forgive the question.

Is there a preferred material for boats that go serious cruising.

Now I know Jonic (just as an example) on here has been all over in a fibreglass boat.

I know ferro-cement is considered very good if one knows the boat was made properly.

Forget wood.

Steel can be welded (even in mid-ocean via welder and generator can't it?)
Fibreglass can be repaired using underwater epoxy too.

If you wanted to be secure and go anywhere, what is the best material to go for?
 
No experience of world cruising (not in a yacht anyway) but in the days when I did consider it I reckoned steel would be better than grp.

Reasons:

a] strength

b] more likely to be bent in an accident than fractured

c] more chance of finding a welder when you need a repair done than a grp fabricator or a wooden boat builder. If you couldn't find a welder you could make a repair using a piece of plate and bolts/rivets.

d] easy to modify the hull if you found you wanted to
 
Don't know why you want to forget wood; many have sailed perfectly securely and successfully in wooden yachts - Tilman, Lewis, Hiscock, Pardey...... need i go on?

However, steel is the answer to your question.

Unfortunately, to have that 'go anywhere' security you need to make some aesthetic sacrifices. For example, i had a 14m round bilged, epoxy coated, teak decked steel ketch which was to die for. She was also very high maintenance.

If you want proper steel, keep it simple. Hard chine, no fancy finishes, simple paintwork, simple rig, no teak decks etc.

All IMHO of course.
 
Carbon fiber sandwich.

just like the Volvo ocean 70's, arrive at your destination in half the time but with the thing held together with duck type and bolts.
:)
 
Yes, I understand that. Steel must be a nightmare for condensation and always looking for rust.

But is there a general opinion on what is safest for crossing oceans? I'm thinking containers, whales etc.

If safety was your main concern, is there a best material?
 
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chinita said:
Don't know why you want to forget wood; many have sailed perfectly securely and successfully in wooden yachts - Tilman, Lewis, Hiscock, Pardey...... need i go on?

However, steel is the answer to your question.

Unfortunately, to have that 'go anywhere' security you need to make some aesthetic sacrifices. For example, i had a 14m round bilged, epoxy coated, teak decked steel ketch which was to die for. She was also very high maintenance.

If you want proper steel, keep it simple. Hard chine, no fancy finishes, simple paintwork, simple rig, no teak decks etc.

All IMHO of course.
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This is the way I think too. I have seen a hard chined steel yacht for sale. I did not take into account your points on maintenance though. I like function and form comes later.
I heard of a substantial wooden boat hit by whale and went down in seconds and it turned me off of wood - although they look beautiful of course.
 
parsifal said:
Hate to say so but if safety is the 'main concern' is it a good idea to go at all?

The chances of hitting anything are very small.
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What are the chances? Are they small? Is there any data? You are probably quite right and I am probably too cowardly to do it. And yet I drive every day - statistically much more dangerous - yes, buy a moody - you are probably right.
 
You have not mentioned the best - aluminium.
Metal deforms rather than splinters when it hits something, so it's more likely to remain watertight following a collision or grounding.
Aluminium combines many of the advantages of steel and fibreglass.
 
There are many 'sound as a pound' designs in each of the main materials.

Safety at sea is not so much about what the boat is made of, but what the owner/skipper is made of. You could do worse than consider a Hans Christian, or an Ovni. Have a look here.

I'm not one of those who pines for ferro-concrete. The arguments for and against this have been well aired, and I'd rather not have one. The same goes for steel.

Well-built GRP, ply or cedar strip/epoxy/grp sandwich, aluminium.... 'floats my boat'. Well-designed, well-built, then well-sailed.

;)
 
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Flapjack said:
If you had an unlimited budget is it possible to build it from stainless steel and if so is it just the cost that stops people doing it?
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No - stainless steel is not a good idea for boat hulls though I believe the very first British Steel challenge yachts had stainless decks.

The best material is GRP. Its easy to repair for the unskilled labourer and it can be made as tough as you want and can afford. It cannot corrode and is maintenance free by comparison with steel.
 
consider an 'unsinkable' etap with its positive bouyancy it can still be sailed when flooded. GRP with foam core also gives great insulation so no condensation.:D
 
Is aluminium *really* as good as it sounds?

People say that if you drop a coin in the bilge it will corrode through faster than you cna pick it up. Fortunately I am far too skint to ever actually have coins in my posession.
 
tim_ber said:
What are the chances? Are they small? Is there any data? You are probably quite right and I am probably too cowardly to do it. And yet I drive every day - statistically much more dangerous - yes, buy a moody - you are probably right.
Click to expand...

If there was much chance of hitting a whale or a container we would have heard of many instances of it happening. Either that or there would be many yachts disappearing without trace.

I did not say that you were cowardly, or imply it. You wrote about having safety as "your main concern".

As for buying a Moody - steady on!
 
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