Steel boats: pros and cons

[Fossil]

Came across this while idly YouTubing today. I know there has been a lot (a LOT) of discussion about the benefits of steel as a construction material - and I well recall reading an extensive correspondence on the forum including one rather opinionated poster from the northwest of America (or possibly Canada) who reckoned that for long term cruising it was the only material worth considering. But since I, like a lot of people am not contemplating traveling huge distances away from my home, one characteristic that assumes a bit more importance is the longevity of the hull when kept under normal marina conditions. This video is made by a surveyor and details his survey of an 'eighties steel yacht in which he discovered that four large flakes of rust holding hands was the only thing keeping the boat afloat! The video goes into interesting detail about how the surveyor goes about checking the hull thickness on steel boats (should he choose the hammer, or the meter?) and confirms that corrosion on yachts tends to start from the inside. Worth a watch, if you're interested in this sort of thing.

 

[rotrax]

Steel boats rust from the inside, not just the outside.

I have owned a steel boat. It was cheap, so not a problem to improve it and maintain it properly.

However, during Covid we could not access it-it was in Wellington, NZ-and were let down by our volunteer 'caretaker' who despite several reminders failed to get it lifted to change the anodes. When I got someone else to do it, the anodes were gone, as was two pieces of corten steel, one on the hollow rudder, one on the bulb keel. These were repaired, new anodes fitted and all was good. I did find some rust in the interior, but of little consequence fortunately.

A potential steel boat purchase needs a VERY thorough survey and every possible nook and cranny explored in the search for corrosion.

From direct experience.

 

[Wansworth]

The builder from the NW of Canada has a point as the inner passage and waters around Vancouver etc are littered with half submerged logs ,some times floating vertically.The LateJonathan Raban recounts some very near misses with trunks that would have sunk his yacht.I had a steel boat which from new I treated with car underbody liquid ,waxoyle…..kept the inside perfectly,The outside was treated with a rustconverter which was ok for few years but ended up shotblasting and epoxying.The continentals like the Dutch and Belgiums through traditional lack of wood have mastered the art of steel preservation as demonstrated by the immaculate yachts and working barges.Having worked on old coasters a pastime was scraping the rust off and red leading.Almost all the deck structure could be maintained by constant titivating