living on board

[scoty]

Hi,
I·m changing from sail (meditereanean) to motor boat, mostly for canal and rivers in
europe,
Living on board fulltime, presently looking to buy dutch steel motor boat, anyone have
experience living on a metal boat, I would be interested to read any comments,

thanks in advance

 

[oldgit]

Hi,
I·m changing from sail (meditereanean) to motor boat, mostly for canal and rivers in
europe,
Living on board fulltime, presently looking to buy dutch steel motor boat, anyone have
experience living on a metal boat, I would be interested to read any comments,

thanks in advance

The liveaboard forum on this site may be the best place to go.
Main problem will be finding somewhere to semi perm more your boat.Sites are at a premium
and most marinas simply do not want liveaboards at any price.

 

[scoty]

thanks

I will mostly be on the move, stopping just to enjoy each place and eventually arrive in the
Med, living on board in the Med, no problems just need to respect the locals and fit in where ever one stops,

I had hoped some one would come forward with some reasons , that I have not thought of, for or against a steel boat.

 

[maby]

I will mostly be on the move, stopping just to enjoy each place and eventually arrive in the
Med, living on board in the Med, no problems just need to respect the locals and fit in where ever one stops,

I had hoped some one would come forward with some reasons , that I have not thought of, for or against a steel boat.

Alright - I'll give you an "against" - there's a mean looking steel yacht in our marina, but it's always got brown streaks down the sides - it's a bit like painting the Forth Bridge! Could do absolutely nothing to our AWB and it would still clean up pretty easily in a few years!

 

[Cashbuyer]

Hi Scoty
We have a steel boat which we use on the river, which has been great for the lower speeds needed and for manoeuvering into locks etc. Very stable and solid and does not get blown around becuase she has a good solid keel.
Try and get one with a bowthruster - It's a big bonus with the single engine.
My only concerns for you for using in the Med -
Our rear deck where we helm gets very hot in the sunshine, even in England, so make sure you have plenty of shade.
You'll notice that plenty of steel boats have little in the way of opening windows. We are lucky to have have a rear door and two side doors to open, together with two hatches and a lower helm centre window.
It is steel so it will get warm. Warmer than glassfiber I cannot say. The window areas are large compared to a sports cruiser so you will need shade on these.
We keep ours in a salt free environment but I suspect you will have to keep up with exterior maintenance ie painting/washing often. Commercial ships have a constant painting maintenance programme due to the salty environment
Think about the smaller single engine which will be invariably fitted. You'll only get 7-8 knots. It could be a slow slog across a big expanse of water...
Apart from this - well built, cheap to run and good use of space

 

[Wavey]

Earlier this year I sold my 40ft steel motor cruiser that I bought 19 years ago as an ex-demo. It had been a liveaboard for 18 years. I found the main issues were:

1. Heat in the summer. With rather a lot of glass the saloon in particular became like a sauna. Even opening all the windows and hatches seemed to have limited success in cooling.

2. Cold in the winter. Having had much of the boat re-insulated in the last couple of years it was still a pig to heat. The problem lay in the actual structure of the boat getting cold. Getting the air temperature up was no problem but if you let the boat go cold (say during the day while at work) the heating had to go into overdrive to get the actual structure of the boat warm.

3. Condensation. In the winter the windows literally ran with it, even with de-humidifiers on board.

4. Rust. As the boat aged the rust issues increased until latterly it became a bit of a running battle keeping up with it. Nothing major in terms of the boats structure but just little pockets of it breaking out on the decks, flybridge etc. I was at the point just prior to selling it of considering having the whole lot taken back to the metal (windows, hatches etc removed) and re-painted from scratch. A very big (and expensive) job, not to mention the problems of finding someone competent to do it.

No doubt technology has moved on since I acquired my steel cruiser, particularly with regard to insulation, so these may not be such an issue on newer boats. The above were however my experiences. I should mention the boast was UK based and almost never saw salt water.

Jim

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

In the Med' it would pay to have decks and topsides in a very pale colour to reflect heat, definatly not dark colours!
The usual bimini type covers and even simple white drapes will help reflect the suns heat before it gets to your boat,
If on mains power or with a genny, a small air-con unit could be a treat. Fans too could help in the evening and first part of the night, but to stop the boat heating up in the first place is the aim.
Lots of open hatches can help if the inside temp gets as hot or hotter than the outside amb' temp, but it can be better to keep all shut until that happens.

Steel boats and rust is a problem but keep on top of it is the aim. Condensation in cooler times too unless the inside is well insulated.
Sound.. travels well through steel hulls. Again insulation on much of the inside will dampen.
Galvanic isolators may be a good idea on your electrical system.

 

[ChrisHanley]

Scotty,
I have some experience of living in a steel boat and know a little bit about dutch cruisers and barges. If you would like to contact me via e-mail I may be able to help you with some of your more detailed questions.
Chris
cm_hanley@hotmail.com