Whats The Score With Steel!!!!!!!!!!

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Assassin

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Having embarked on designing and building a new boat as a long term project i am finding much criticism because it is being built in steel, but why? what is so special about plastic that people villify me for building in steel.
 
Assassin said:
Having embarked on designing and building a new boat as a long term project i am finding much criticism because it is being built in steel, but why? what is so special about plastic that people villify me for building in steel.
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You're hanging around the wrong people. Steel has many advantages over other building materials and if properly painted inside and out will provide a hull anyone can be proud of. Good luck with your project.
 
Perhaps the broad perception of corrosion, from neglected/poorly prepared examples in the past.
Proper steel boat construction has come a long way in the past 20 years, and the finished product would make a great cruising boat.
 
Fibreglass + salt water does not equal Fibreglass Oxide.

If you use enough steel such that some oxidation doesn't result in an artificial reef, then you end up with something that is very heavy, and won't plane easily.

If properly prepared and painted, fine for barges, slow dutch style cruisers, aircraft carriers etc. Not sure which of these you are planning to build.
 
FlowerPower said:
Fibreglass + salt water does not equal Fibreglass Oxide.

If you use enough steel such that some oxidation doesn't result in an artificial reef, then you end up with something that is very heavy, and won't plane easily.

If properly prepared and painted, fine for barges, slow dutch style cruisers, aircraft carriers etc. Not sure which of these you are planning to build.
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OP didnt say he wanted a planing boat, he may be happy with a heavy displacement vessel....... many are.

Fibre glass and a sharp bump equates to sinking feeling, all materials have advantages, fibreglass isnt the panacea most think it is.

There are different steels for construction and some great epoxy paints available to protect.

Tom
 
The Dutch build some fabulous steel boats. Have a look at http://www.botentekoop.nl/ for example. Type in 'staal' in the 'snel zoeken' box and you'll see as many examples as you want.

The biggest advantage of steel is that it can be repaired anywhere by local labour, at relatively low cost. This is why it has been favoured for blue-water cruisers.
 
My 26 year old steel boat looks a lot better than many pox ridden GRP vessels of the same age and is still rust free. Forget the idiots and go ahead. Steel planing vessels are also not unusual these days,
 
I would agree that not getting crushed in the lock is a major advantage, but are there really many steel planing vessels that aren't huge yachts ???
 
With the ever increasing cost of fuel, many planing boaters are now having to compensate by slowing down to displacement speeds for economy.

So displacement vessels, wave piercing designs, multi-hulls and ASV's may well be the future - scoff at your own risk.

If you're going to travel at displacement speeds anyway, better to have a vessel designed and built for it surely? And steel is as good as or better than GRP for these boats.

OK so steel rusts, but it doesn't get osmosis..:)
 
FlowerPower said:
Not scoffing - I just haven't seen many steel hulled vessels that can do 20kts+ that aren't aircraft carriers.
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We build steel and aluminium motoryachts up to 25m and many of these do well over 20 knots. The Aluminium ones will do 34 knots or so.
Steel is a great product to build with as the strength of the hull is in the structure NOT as it is in all the stuck together GRP mouldings acting as strengtheners on GRP boats.
Before I am torn to shreds, there is nothing wrong with that method of building at all and many fine GRP cruisers to prove that. Many of which we have sold and continue to sell.
BUT, if you want totally individual interior layouts with no constraints of "you have to have that here else the hull will bend" then steel is the way to go.
Look at what we build on our website. Even if I say so myself, they are pretty special which may be why we get nominated for awards so often.........blows own trumpet!:rolleyes:
I was bought up on wooden dinghys then to GRP boats and have come to Steel and Alum more recently but if I had to make a choice I think it would be steel for it's comfort, solidity and ability to have what I want below decks as opposed to a choice of two or three layouts only.
Apply proper paint sytems like Awl Grip and you cannot tell the difference between them and GRP except on the bigger boats where there are no ripples on the finish of the painted steel unlike many of the moulded larger boats.
Right, I am off to the fall out shelter now!:eek:
 
Well Imperial One.
Nothing wrong with that at all so no need for the fallout shelter IMHO.
Love your boats just the budget is not going that way at the moment, but who knows? Maybe one day. :-)
Cheers
 
FlowerPower said:
Not scoffing - I just haven't seen many steel hulled vessels that can do 20kts+ that aren't aircraft carriers.
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It is true that steel planing hulls are not as common as ubiquitous GRP planning hulls, but there are many fine examples that are not aircraft carriers. If going fast at 85 decibels while towing water toys is the agenda, then why have steel? However, if you want a vessel that will last as long as you or your children or grandchildren wish to take care of it, and that can take you anywhere in the world in comfort and safety, then steel is not a bad choice. Done correctly, steel is indistinguishable from the best GRP, without the joy of gelcoat cracks and osmosis.
 
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First of all, thank you for your support.

I may be a company director, but by profession i am an engineer with many years of experience, and such a project is just the way i push myself to excel at something while still "keeping my hand in" so to speak.

This will be a planing boat with an estimated top and cruising speed comparable to modern GRP hulls, it will be constructed of thinner high strength carbon steels to keep weight down and strength high. It should be around the same weight, or slightly lighter than a comparable GRP hull, and as Imperial One has stated, structurally efficient in the hull alone and allow a wide open plan design.

It will be visually comparable to a modern GRP hull, and yes i am aware of the work involved in doing this, and have the equipment and capability to achieve this, although i have no time limit i have to work to. It will not look like the traditional slab sided metal boats.

What i hope to achieve is to do something different, not radical, but show what can be done with steel, and push the boundaries a little, and hope commercial manufacturers take a little of what i hope to achieve onboard.
 
Assassin said:
..........i am finding much criticism because it is being built in steel, but why? .
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Their sheer ignorance.

As already said every construction material has its pros and cons but steel is one of the better options for many types of boats.

Unfortunately a great number of UK boaters have not clicked to its value in leisure craft

A few years back I had a guest on board a steel yacht who spent lunch telling us how he could never imagine stepping on a yacht made of steel, we smiled and let him continue. Before he stepped ashore later I explained he had been sailing all day on a steel yacht, he left not sure if I was telling the truth.
 
Assassin, When we build the boats in steel or alum we always acid etch inside the hulls to get them clean and then immediately spray them for protection against rust.
Interesting choice of materials, why not Alum? As I am sure you know, as long as you isolate any steel fittings from the alum you get no problems and it is as light, if not lighter, than GRP with all the strength of steel.
Of note and perhaps, imho, worth doing in your own project, is that we also spray all the hull and superstructure interior surfaces with insulating foam as this stops any condensation, keeps in heat and pretty much eliminates any sound resonance or vibrations being transmitted through the boat. Sure it's a hassle but it does work. It makes the boat bl**dy quiet when cruising along, especially if it's a night passage.
Do let us know more of your project, it sounds very interesting.
 
SovereignDiver said:
Well Imperial One.
Nothing wrong with that at all so no need for the fallout shelter IMHO.
Love your boats just the budget is not going that way at the moment, but who knows? Maybe one day. :-)
Cheers
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Thank you for your kind words. There are some cracking pre-owned boats about at the moment, lots of folk in Holland are changing to Alum from steel as they all seem to have caught the speed bug which means we have a few very good steel boats......we look forward to showing you over our boats at a show, we never pressurise anyone into buying, all are welcome to look and see over our boats, how else will we spread the word?:)
Roll on the recovery we have all been promised:rolleyes:
 
Assassin said:
This will be a planing boat with an estimated top and cruising speed comparable to modern GRP hulls, it will be constructed of thinner high strength carbon steels to keep weight down and strength high.
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That sounds like an intriguing project indeed! All the very best, and keep us posted on the progress.
Though I must say that given your target, I'd give also aluminum a thought.
And mind, I have nothing against steel personally, but I rather consider it for battleship-style trawlers than anything else.
 
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