steel versus fibreglass hull

[columk]

I saw this steel motoryacht from Van der Valk which looks a bit old fashioned but I like it. Its a 50ft boat with twin 280hp engines. Now any of the fibreglass motorcruisers I have seen have much more powerful engines than that and a much higher cruising speed, this one only travels at 10knots or so. I am curious to know why the company builds steel hull cruisers, and even aluminium, but don't offer fibreglass unlike most of the other manufacturers. Why would someone choose a steel cruiser? What are the advantages, if any, does it travel better in rough seas than a fibreglass, I assume being steel it takes more fuel to move it. Is steel longer lasting (rust)? The steel boat also seems pricey compared to the fibreglass rivals.

And why does the steel boat have to have such small engines in comparison to the rival cruisers? I see it has a long range, is this the only advantage? Will it be more comfortable? Van Der Valk do have larger engine options but only on their aluminium hulls, I though aluminium was a poor second best to fibreglass for a faster cruiser in the open seas. What would happen if they offered the larger engines on the steel hulls, would the boat perform ok at a higher speed.

Obviously I am new to boats so appreciate any insights. I like the look of these Van Der Valks, but the cruising speed does appear quite low, what cruising speed would a fibreglass 50ft expect to do in the open choppy seas, presumably alot less than on calm water. Incidentally, what is the cruising speed of the big ferries that cross the Irish sea for example. Thanks, Colum

http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/85954/

http://www.wimvandervalk.nl/

 

[Wiggo]

All sorts of answers really, because there's more than one question here.

1. The Dutch have a long tradition of building in steel and are the acknowledged masters of it.
2. Much of Dutch cruising is done on the inland waterways and displacement speed is fine.
3. Some of the builders also build in aluminium to reduce weight where they offer higher performance boats for the 'export' market.
4. It's easy to adapt steel building skills to aluminium: the shift to GRP would be a huge step for them.
5. Steel allows much more customisation. On a relatively small boat, the steel hull provides all the structural strength meaning the builder can move the internal bulkheads around pretty much at will to suit a buyers requirements.
6. The Dutch boats tend to be full displacement hulls which won't go much faster no matter how much power you throw at them.
7. The flip side is that while they will roll a bit, they will be better able to take rough weather than a GRP/planing boat.
8. No idea what speed the ferries do - 20 knots maybe? - but that has no bearing on what you can do in a 50' boat displacing 20 tons.

 

[Imperial One]

I saw this steel motoryacht from Van der Valk which looks a bit old fashioned but I like it. Its a 50ft boat with twin 280hp engines. Now any of the fibreglass motorcruisers I have seen have much more powerful engines than that and a much higher cruising speed, this one only travels at 10knots or so. I am curious to know why the company builds steel hull cruisers, and even aluminium, but don't offer fibreglass unlike most of the other manufacturers. Why would someone choose a steel cruiser? What are the advantages, if any, does it travel better in rough seas than a fibreglass, I assume being steel it takes more fuel to move it. Is steel longer lasting (rust)? The steel boat also seems pricey compared to the fibreglass rivals.

And why does the steel boat have to have such small engines in comparison to the rival cruisers? I see it has a long range, is this the only advantage? Will it be more comfortable? Van Der Valk do have larger engine options but only on their aluminium hulls, I though aluminium was a poor second best to fibreglass for a faster cruiser in the open seas. What would happen if they offered the larger engines on the steel hulls, would the boat perform ok at a higher speed.

Obviously I am new to boats so appreciate any insights. I like the look of these Van Der Valks, but the cruising speed does appear quite low, what cruising speed would a fibreglass 50ft expect to do in the open choppy seas, presumably alot less than on calm water. Incidentally, what is the cruising speed of the big ferries that cross the Irish sea for example. Thanks, Colum

Colum,

Hello, I am the UK agent for Van der Valk and would welcome the chance to talk to you properly and answer all of your questions as fully and accurately as possible.
It is far too big a subject to answer them all here on the forum!
Please call me on 01202 826800 and I will be happy to talk to you and explain all things steel/alu to you!

For example, the reason we build in steel and Aluminium is that steel is perfect for displacement boats and Alu is perfect for the higher speed boats. As we have no interior bulkheads to consider we can build exactly the interior you want, unlike GRP where you need to have fixed bulkheads in every boat to stop them flexing too much so, for a really individual interior on every boat you need to have no constraints of fixed bulkheads - hence steel and Aluminium.

I look forward to your call.

Mike.
www.imperial-motoryachts.com