Steel motor boats

[scoty]

Have already put this to the river and canal cruisers,
Anyone tell me why or why not, to buy a steel motor boat to live on board while cruising the rivers and canals of europe.

Maybe there are problems I have not thought of or good reasons for buying a steel boat.

 

[chinita]

Have already put this to the river and canal cruisers,
Anyone tell me why or why not, to buy a steel motor boat to live on board while cruising the rivers and canals of europe.

Maybe there are problems I have not thought of or good reasons for buying a steel boat.

Thousands of Dutch steel motor boat owners can't be wrong!

 

[TonyMS]

They are cheap and strong.

Tony

 

[Sandyman]

Hello Scoty

This is probably the best place for your post as more Liveaboards own steel boats than the weekend plastic loving sailors and you are more likely to get the answers you are searching for.

Nothing wrong with steel boats. Do not allow yourself to be frightened off by the comments,
often seen on here, about the terrible perils of rust. Many moons ago it was a real problem but not today as long as you keep up with your maintenance and if the boat is well prepared in the first place this is no more a chore than work involved in maintaining an AWB.

Having said that and if you have limited experience of what you are considering in your purchase, then do ensure you get a full survey done by a surveyor with experience of steel hulls.

 

[scoty]

steel boats

Thanks everyone, so it·s not not so bad as the many have been telling me, the temperatures in side, well after cruising a sail boat for ten years in 40 degree plus,

I saw people with dark hulls that suffered most of all ,,but then we all know dark colours
absorb heat and white reflects it away,

Rust well, wood ,,,,,,,grp.....I prefer to paint than do grp or wood repairs,

The saving in having one engine, will pay for a correct paint job every few years,

 

[shaxi]

hope that your choice will make you have happy tour ! good luck !

 

[Swagman]

Steel actually is perfect

Hi Scoty,
We've a steel hulled but wooden superstructure Klassens built 1964 and the hull is still 4mm thick despite the age. The cheaper the original build and the less well maintained boat might not last quite so well but in our limited experience, the steels easier to maintain than wood, and a lot more resilient than GRP.
I know you're not planning to hit anything, but we learnt this past year, inland waterways does involve a lot of lock work in company sometimes with commercial craft, sometimes with hire boats. It all means lock work can turn into knock work quite easily. And the dirt levels exceed anything you'd experience on the oceans.
iMHO that's why GRP or wood is not as suitable as steel.
But despite how much you like what you see or hear - you'd be daft not to get a surveyor to look over any boat before buying it.
Cheers
John

 

[binch]

European canal boats

I would strongly recommend a good steel boat as the best for this. One always riskes the odd hard knock.
The best boats are converted from small Benelux commercial barges. These are available in an active market and usually sell for rather lass than asked. Some are badly converted rubbish, some are Rolls Royce standard. Sizes vary from 15 metres upwards. and the smaller are proportionately more expensive. These are so popular that there are firms building replicas.
The DBA publish a booklet on how to buy a barge.
They have a website www.barges.org It's worth a look.