Steel Boats

[Guest]

Re: PS Greg

Bitch thats all in the past and anyway it will happen to you one day mark my words

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[boatone]

Re: PS Greg

You seem to be repeating yourself......................

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[Guest]

Re: PS Greg

Waddaya mean Waddaya mean Waddaya mean Happens to all of us

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[boatone]

\'ere Clive...........

.........any truth in a rumour that you're trying to sell your boat?

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[Guest]

Re: \'ere Clive...........

Not at all Not at all Not at all (am really)

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[kimhollamby]

Steel boats actually better in water all year round; exposing the keel (which is the most likely area to have lost its paint) to oxygen just encourages rust.

You'll still get condensation but in my experience that only happens when aboard, in cold weather, on any exposed metal sections such as window frames. That said both of our boats had plenty of ventilation that could be left when unattended and the boat breathed very well in the winter.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[kimhollamby]

Don't worry about steel if looking for semi-displacement performance; a GRP cruiser would be better for that.

There were a few boats called Waverunner 38s (Bruce Roberts design) built in NE a decade or more back that claimed such speeds but unsurprisingly never made them. Linssen also produced the SX range for a while and they had faster pretensions; some of them made reasonable speed but only with a big fuel bill attached.

Quite a few steel boats are like icebergs, dragging as much structure through the water as above, but many of them are very seaworthy. Run about 18,000 miles or so in Pedros back in the early 1990s, at least 15,000 of those at sea and quite happy. You'll get used to working tides and it's worth carrying plenty of coffee but the cruising is relaxed.

In terms of quality I'd be careful regarding DeGroot (many were home builds) and unfortunately I cannot help you much with the other make.

To search for boats directly in the Netherlands try <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw-boats.com>http://www.ybw-boats.com</A> and select Holland (Netherlands) in the country section.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[tcm]

Re: Steel Boats - the awful truth

The awful truth about steel boats is that they are dog slow. Oh god, i mean very slow indeed. Hence nice cheap engines, hence look a total bargain. It wil cost a fistful of dollars to put in and run an engine able to get one near semidisplacement speeds like 15 knots. They often quote 10knots - but that is downstream with germans shooting at them! (hence why they love steel, i bet)

 

[traceyandsteve]

Hi Greg

Why am I not surprised to see this posting? Mandy will relent if you find the right boat, I'm sure!

Don't know anything about steel boats so can't comment on them, but if you do consider picking one up in Holland, Steve and I would be very happy to come over and help you bring her back.

Having been present on your first open water trip, we'd be delighted to help you with your first crossing!

Tracey

 

[goingdutch]

Greg,

Don't be too put off by the horror stories. We've got one of the Linssen SX models that Kim referred to- this is their "performance" model and top speed is about 15/16 kts if you can get her to lurch rather than climb onto what a semi-displacement regards as the "plane". If you want to roar about at 25+ kts don't even think about steel! This one cruises at 10kts - if you try to be a sportsboat you just watch the fuel disappear! However, the upside cruising at 10 kts with two TAMD41s is a fuel consumption around 27 litres per hour, and a range of 30 hours.

Ours rolls a bit in a cross tide sea with 2 metre waves, but what doesn't. Get the sea in front or behind you and she's as good as gold. As someone has said, if you are cruising around in rather than over the sea at a stately 10 kts you would be wise to work the tides, if only to avoid wasting your money driving throiugh a moving medium!

As Kim says, you've got to maintain the boat, and it's just different disciplines. Yes you'll get rust spots, wherever the surface gets compromised, but if you touch up properly with modern paints you should get 3 to 5 years out of the repair. You'll probably need an angle grinder rather than bits of wet & dry.

A properly built boat (includes all the factory built Dutch boats I've seen) should have proper insulation on all the interior surfaces, so condensation is not the problem it might otherwise be. We keep food in our forward bilge! The only area where we suffer is around the aluminium window frames - when it gets cold outside they will start to condense out the moisture. Otherwise, it deosn't seem to be an issue.

I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory of leaving it in all year round. There's probably enough free oxygen in the water to start the corrosion process if you've got any areas where the surface is damaged. But unlike fibreglass, you don't need to dry it out to prevent the dreaded osmosis, so if you do leave it in there's probably not much harm done.

Hope this helps?

 

[Greg2]

Hi Tracey,
Be careful...we might just take you up on that!! Not sure how the family would face the prospect of crossing the North Sea - Lowestoft to Gt Yarmouth was a bit of a tester!
Apart from the lack of speed I haven't heard much that really puts me off - the prices appear good for what you get. Kim seems to think that you get used to chugging around the ocean and I suppose for the next few years we will do more on the river than at sea so it would be a sensible option...but since when was owning a boat the sensible option? The ability to thrash along at speed, even if rarely used, is still nice to have. Bizarre!!!!

 

[Greg2]

Thanks, thats really helpful. I would be more than happy with 10 knots - it's what I get from my Princess 32 at the moment. The fuel consumption sounds good too - I never was too keen on seeing my hard earned going up in smoke. Have you had any problems with internal corrosion i.e. bilges etc? I looked at a De Groot over the weekend and saw rust streaks under the decking.

 

[andyball]

Worst rust we saw ,looking a loads of steel boats, was inside,down in the bilges, often under a shower compartment.

Beware anything just repainted imho, saw some fine examples of "professionally blasted & painted" coming off in pieces of 2sq ft. +.

Re degroots.....couldn't find any in Holland at all, at least not by that name, maybe they're called something else there?

If you're after a typical dutch boat, I'd recommend looking in Holland.
judging from our recent visit, prices would easily allow for road transport back, and then some...I'd only look at those described as "perfect", and still expect to see some duffers. But overall, condition (esp, outside) seemed much better than those I've seen on the thames.

Insulation is much better on later boats

 

[JEG]

I have recently returned from a trip to Holland. De Groots are sometimes called Beachmaster & are all home built or possibly proff. shell owner finish [according ot one helpful broker] Wolfrat.nl had two last month. I found the brokers in Holland to be decent people with one exception - I would not deal with euroyachts of Loosdrecht.
Happy hunting

 

[goingdutch]

Sorry for delay in getting back.

We've got no problems with internal corrosion or rusting, but then again I don't think the float switch in the bilge has ever activated! In areas where you do get water (stern glands weep in this as in any other boat) the internal insulation coating deals with it, and you just wipe it up. Now this might be a product of Mr Linssen's build quality, but she is 14 years old and the only area which needs attention is in the anchor chain / gas locker, which at some time has had a blocked weep hole allowing rusty water to run down and gather.

But again, it's simply a matter of grinding down, priming and painting.

Our greatest problem is in the "scuppers", if you can call it that on a motor cruiser, where water lies on the deck trapped by the base for the midships bollard. But again, it's only cosmetic and no big deal to have to touch in every 2/3 years.

 

[andyball]

Linssens are good quality!: we recently looked at a lot of boats around that age & none had insulation in the bilges/sterngland area....just (lightly) painted steel.