Think I'll stick with glass. I've heard that 'rust never
sleeps'.

What is the biggest fiber glass boat built?
Is it conceivable that a large ship could be built of glass?


--
Scott Vernon
Plowville Pa _/)__/)_/)_


"DSK" wrote in message
...
Well, that's an issue for another discussion. Steel
boats
have their disadvantages from my point of view, too


Scotty wrote:
Besides the rust, and being heavy and slow, what are the
disadvantages of a steel boat.


Well, there's the rust. Then there's the fact that it's
not
as easy to repair as fiberglass. And it rusts.

It can never be as strong as a well-engineered and well
built fiberglass hull & deck, much less carbon fiber. The
biggest disadvantage is the rust, howewver, which once it
starts will never stop and eats away at every part of the
boat, especially the inaccessible crevices which are
structurally critical.

Then there's the issue of galvanic corrosion, not as bad
as
aluminum but a dropped wire can eat right thru it, as can
a
penny in the bilge. The rust is also a constant problem.

Because the galavanic corrosion, if lead ballast is used
it
must be very carefully insulated from the structural parts
of the boat (usually done with fiberglass, which was
originally invented as electrical insulation). Alos
because
steel is so heavy, it is difficult to design a steel boat
that can carry a high proportion of ballast. Don't forget
about rust.

Almost every steel boat will have slight ripples in the
metal from welding, and it will look crummy or else be
filled with Bondo. This isn't really a bad problem as long
as the putty doesn't fall off from rust under it.

As a Navy veteran, I can tell you that infinite man hours
and oceans of red-lead primer are not enough to keep a
steel
vessel from rusting away beneath your feet. The first ship
I
was on actually had fiberglass patches on the hull where
the
rust had eaten thru. What does that tell you? Something
like
"Build it out of fiberglass in the first place!"

But if you're going to get shot at, a couple of steel
plates
between you & the bullets is very nice. The only thing
better would be some Kevlar or some of that new fiberglass
tank armor.



DSK

Scotty wrote:
Think I'll stick with glass. I've heard that 'rust never
sleeps'.


I heard that too. In fact I've heard it several times, real
REAL loud!

What is the biggest fiber glass boat built?
Is it conceivable that a large ship could be built of glass?


Dunno about the biggest, the new super-yachts are being
built of fiberglass (well, "composite" but it's basically
fiberglass) upwards of 200' and 700 tons. The Navy had a
class of minesweeps built of fiberglass, don't think they
were as long but they were likely more tonnage.

There's no reason a big ship couldn't be built out of
fiberglass. Nobody's doing it because the facilities are
already in place to build them of steel. It would be
interesting to see if fiberglass commercial hulls could have
a longer service life.

DSK

I wonder what the weight difference would be, say if Red
Cloud were fiber glass instead of steel.

As a steel boat rusts, does it weigh less?

Scotty


"DSK" wrote in message
news
Scotty wrote:
Think I'll stick with glass. I've heard that 'rust never
sleeps'.


I heard that too. In fact I've heard it several times,
real
REAL loud!

What is the biggest fiber glass boat built?
Is it conceivable that a large ship could be built of
glass?


Dunno about the biggest, the new super-yachts are being
built of fiberglass (well, "composite" but it's basically
fiberglass) upwards of 200' and 700 tons. The Navy had a
class of minesweeps built of fiberglass, don't think they
were as long but they were likely more tonnage.

There's no reason a big ship couldn't be built out of
fiberglass. Nobody's doing it because the facilities are
already in place to build them of steel. It would be
interesting to see if fiberglass commercial hulls could
have
a longer service life.

DSK

DSK wrote:
Scotty wrote:
Think I'll stick with glass. I've heard that 'rust never
sleeps'.


I heard that too. In fact I've heard it several times, real
REAL loud!

What is the biggest fiber glass boat built?
Is it conceivable that a large ship could be built of glass?


Dunno about the biggest, the new super-yachts are being
built of fiberglass (well, "composite" but it's basically
fiberglass) upwards of 200' and 700 tons. The Navy had a
class of minesweeps built of fiberglass, don't think they
were as long but they were likely more tonnage.

There's no reason a big ship couldn't be built out of
fiberglass. Nobody's doing it because the facilities are
already in place to build them of steel. It would be
interesting to see if fiberglass commercial hulls could have
a longer service life.


The Navy typical sells it FG hulls at 10-15 yrs, were it's steel
vessels last an average 30-50 yrs. Check out the surplus auctions.

Fiberglass is way to expensive, fragile, and would have to be 1/2 a ft
thick to match the strength of a steel hull ship. Then the upkeep,
polishing, core rott, scratching, cracking, ect ect ect make's it a
maintance nightmare.

Joe


DSK

On Thu, 3 Aug 2006 09:20:27 -0400, "Scotty"
wrote:

Think I'll stick with glass. I've heard that 'rust never
sleeps'.

What is the biggest fiber glass boat built?
Is it conceivable that a large ship could be built of glass?


Minesweepers for the Navy were/maybe still are built in a yard in
Gulfport, MS. Can't remember what the length is. I worked at that
plant when it was under different ownership and had a different
product line (offshore production platforms).