Steel vs. GRP

[masca]

Hi! I am, unfortunately, still very much at the "thinking" stage of planning the big move afloat, and have recently turned my thoughts towards the pro's and con's of steel. I am therefore wondering how many of you are currently living aboard, or planning to live aboard, steel yachts? Do you have any regrets or recommendations? Thank you in advance.

 

[Alastairdent]

I'm on steel.

Pros - it's robust. Repairs are as strong as original - just find a good welder.

Cons - it rusts, and condensation.

 

[mikewilkes]

Every building material you immerse in sea water has its own set of problems. The only way to avoid them is to buy a wee boat in a bottle and stick it on a shelf. Then the shelf could fall off the wall I suppose.
Having said that we live on a steel cat and are very happy with it. OK there is painting etc and "plastic" looks attractive at times when you find a bit of rust but we will stick to steel, thank you.

 

[Sea Devil]

I decided to go long distance cruising and purchased a beautiful 41ft steel ketch - great in a storm but was very slow - too heavy - and rusted like mad - everytime I got into port I had to do maintance... Sailed it back from the canaries, sold it and got a 36ft GRP - best sailing decision I made...

 

[snowleopard]

if you're thinking of cruising the antarctic, the southern ocean or the north west passage, go for steel. otherwise join the majority and opt for virtually maintenance free plastic.

one other benefit pointed out to us by owners of a steel boat was that when the inevitable frenchman anchors half a boat length away, all you need to do is point to the hull and say "acier!"

 

[Ships_Cat]

We have a round bilge steel yacht (40 foot) which was custom built for us 8-1/2 years ago. We have lived aboard it in the past and we usually spend 6-8 weeks away on it each year plus normally another 2 days each week in the home marina.

Alot of effort was taken in keeping the weight down and it turned out around the same displacement as a typical heavier displacement fibreglass boat (say an HR or Hinkley). Much effort was also put into the coatings and materials (use of ss in wear areas, fully faired topsides, deck and bottom, etc) and we have never regretted the decision of going to steel.

As Michael has said, they can be slow if heavy or generous in immersed hull area through being hard chined, etc (but there are vessels with the same problem built of other materials). That speed disadvantage can be gotten over if a heavy boat by going to a longer waterline length (at a cost). In our own case performance is helped also by being fin keeled and semi balanced spade rudder of composite construction, not necessarily common on steel vessels (and skegs and steel rudders, apart from being inefficient are also very heavy).

The owner of the yard that built it was then also contemplating building a steel yacht for himself and used ours to develop ideas on. However, about that time alot of work was being done here in complex combinations of foam, glass, kevlar, carbon composites and in the end his decision was to go down that road (very expensive, of course). If I was to have another boat built I would be undecided between steel, aluminium or the complex composite route - but I think in the end I would go for aluminium where it is now very easy to build a high quality strong and durable boat.

I would still always prefer a well constructed steel boat over conventional fibreglass boat (a well constructed steel boat is as easy to maintain as a glass boat, probably easier in the event of major damage through grounding or whatever) as long as it was not unduly heavy. My thoughts are the opposite if the steel boat has not been expertly built and we went the route we did because we could not find any expertly built steel yachts for sale. I would never buy an amateur built one (or a professionally built one that has been amateur maintained for many years) because of the risk of hidden problems, but I hold that view the same for other construction materials too. Also, I don't think it is possible to build a steel boat of displacement competitive with fibreglass if much under 40 foot.

As always many of these things become controlled by budget, but I hope the above is of some use.

John

 

[absit_omen]

We lived aboard our HR 36 for three years before changing to our Callisto 460, a Dixon designed custom built pilothouse steel ketch.

As a full time voyager, with a young family on board, I bless the decision. There is nothing like well constructed and well maintained steel for confidence. We have not yet reached the point where maintenance of the hull, rig and canvas becomes an issue. Most of my time is spent trying to figure out how to operate the multitude of unnecessary gizmos on which the original owner lashed out unbelievable amounts of money.

Keep it simple, for example, a steel TAHITIANA (even at 32ft) will take you anywhere. Have a look at the one on ybw boats for sale - 32k sterling and already in Canada.

 

[charles_reed]

The majority of serious long-term cruisers I have come across have steel boats - interestingly, frequently self-built.

The first advantage of a steel boat is that it is easy to self-build (in hard-chine form) rugged and it's pretty easily mended and modified.
Usually they're heavy displacement so the overloading that all cruising boats suffer, is not quite such a problem.

However you'll never find a steel flyer and insulation is a major challenge, coupled with the unsightliness of rust as you get closer to the major chore of repainting.
Galvanic corrosion can also be a real threat.

So low capital cost, ruggedness and load capacity are the pros, but maintenance limited performance and environmental discomfort are the cons.

With grp you have slightly easier maintenance (but osmotic blistering is almost certain in a long-immersed cruising hull), you can get a better performance but only if you skimp on loading the boat with spares and home comforts - long keel glassfibre has to be in the same performance category as a steel boat.
They're much less likely to survive a grounding than a metal boat. But they can be prettier and are usually far better/easier to insulate.

So looks, performance (at the expense of comfort) and easy maintenance have to be the pros of GRP.

What you do not seem to be considering is what many would consider the ultimate cruiser material - aluminum.
True there are only 3 countries where the art of building in this material can be said to be adequate. True the risks of galvanic corrosion can be the greatest of all materials, but you can have your cake and eat it - ruggedness, speed, ease of maintentenance.
It's no secret why Jimmy Cornell chose an Alubat Ovni 47 for his extended high latitude cruising.

 

[kliever]

In the process of changing from steel to grp, steel is very good and for most of the reasons already given, I used to calculate that a steel boat required about 7 days a year of extra maintenance. Last year I spent 6 weeks ashore working every single day repainting behind window frames, decks and etc. to be fair before I moved off in 2000 I paid for the underwater areas to be blasted and coated and these have remained problem free. Perhaps the most important thing on any steel boat is good surface preparation and coatings. The grp boat I've just purchased a Hunter Channel 323 has its own set of problems mainly in the area of electronics, heating, nav lights etc. So work will be required
here, presently pondering what to remove from steel one to add to the hunter.
John R

 

[charles_reed]

Refer to reply in Liveaboard Link

Why duplicate?

 

[smee]

I have a steel (future liveaboard) motorsailer. I wouldn't choose anything else for long term cruising. I chose this following my own preferences and after listening to the words of a valued friend who had sailed the Atlantic three times in a steel schooner (and many tmes more in other boats). He said the Atlantic was full of rubbish 20 years ago and steel was a big advantage then, so its bound to be more so now. Afterall steel at least stands a chance of denting first, which GRP doesn't do! It also stands greater chance of surviving in other situations too. Downside is it rusts, but if you are a liveaboard I think that would be much less of a problem as you are on hand to keep on top of it.

 

[mikewilkes]

Traitor

You have finally gone to " Plastic " then John..... well well

 

[Sybarite]

Charles,

A lot of the problems that you refer to could be overcome by "Strongall", a heavy duty alluminium. It would be my first choice for a long distance cruising boat - as it is for Michel Joubert for his own boat.

www.reducostall.com/HTML/pagetwo.htm

John

 

[ianabc]

origamimagic.com

12 weeks

 

[Idlerboat]

hello greetings from Oz!

As someone who owns a ferro 30 footer and is currently building a steel 38 foot roberts offshore l would suggest that if you are a do it your self kind of person then steel can have a lot of advantages. With the rise in steel prices across the world it may even hold its price better ? Check out this fabulous web site. Good bunch of people who know what they are on about. www.metalboatsociety.com

regards Martin

 

[masca]

Thank you all for your advice, opinions and links.

Masca.