On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 09:57:23 -0500, "Bill"
wrote:

I prefer Al alloy for many of the reasons you like steel.

I once owned a French built Al sloop. I always felt safe with her. In
France, where ocean sailing is almost a national pastime, Al is preferred
over steel.

I have never owned steel, but some say the maintenance is equivalent to
wood. What do you think?

Bill

Bill,

I have owned wooden, fiberglass, and steel. Wooden was extremely
maintenance intensive but sure had that wonderful feel and sound.
Fiberglass has been relatively maintenance free, but is a 25 foot
O'Day on an inland lake -- probably not a fair comparison. My steel
boat is 43 feet and on the North Carolina coast. Nevertheless, I have
been very pleasantly surprised at how little maintenance the steel
boat has required.

For example, the last couple of years have been exceptionally rough
for me on the home front. I have gone for over a year at a time
without even being able to see my boat. Needless to say, she received
zero hull and deck maintenance. In three years the only thing that
has been done to the hull and deck is to wash them one single time.
Yet, they are in good condition. I probably have three or four places
that need to be spot painted on the deck. And I plan to re do the
bottom paint this next spring.

When I bought my boat, people gave me dire warnings about spending all
my time chipping paint and grinding out rust. That has not happened.
Perhaps it is because the boat was well primed and painted before.
Otherwise I can't say why the naysayers were so wrong.

S/V Truelove is built to withstand groundings, which I have done hard
twice, but she also sails remarkably well for a 32,000 pound
displacement boat. She certainly will not stay up with ultralight
boats or multihulls, but she will sail competitively with most
fiberglass boats of her size. And, off shore, where I hope to be very
soon, I am very confident that my chances of survival are
significantly enhanced with steel hull and deck. To each his own, but
for me, I would rather take longer to get somewhere and not worry that
I might fail to ever get there. Better to be a day late in this world
than a day early in the next.

Lee Huddleston
s/v Truelove