On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 07:25:45 -0400, Scout
wrote:

Check out Scientific American (Oct 2003) article "Alchemy of a
Supermetal" A new process for wresting pure titanium from ore may
soon make the affordable titanium hull and other sailboat components a
reality.

If I remember my technical resources (some Tom Clancy novel), titanium
is very difficult to work with. Any money saved by lowering the price
of the raw material may well be eaten up by what companies will charge
to mess around with it at all.