As someone who takes pretty good care of his health and also works with
steel every day as my full time occupation i have to take a bit of exception
to this....

Cutting can be a health hazard, but it doesnt have to be. With adequate
ventilation, it can actually be a pleasant experience, if you've got a mind
for it ;-)

Cutting is a skill just like any other though, and one that takes time to
learn. If you have a lot of cutting to do, take the time to learn how to do
it properly. Plasma is still pretty pricey, and ive seen a lot of variation
in the quality of plasma machines. I still wouldnt consider using a single
phase machine just yet, and the consumables sure do cost! cheap plasma
machines give pretty poor results regardless of price, and once you arc out
the tip of them they are abysmal. you will arc the tip out a lot unless you
have a set of wheels to keep it off the surface of the material. plasma is
nice though in that it will cut a broad range of materials.

Oxy cutting is still the way to go i think, and i generally choose oxy
cuttiong over other methods unless i have to cut aluminum or thin
sheetmetal, in which case plasma is by far faster and neater.

Oxy cutting can be fast and clean, but there's a fine line to adjusting the
torch correctly.... I still dont get it perfect all the time. You can use
LPG/oxygen for cutting if you want to save money. When you mark out the
plate, use a centre punch to mark the chalk line, so after you cut it and
the chalk line is gone you'll be able to see if you hit your mark, and if
not, y how much. Start with a good clean tip, adjust it correctly and move
at the right speed and you can cut through 1" 1/2 plate cleanly with no mess
to be grinded.

the biggest fear of cutting your own plate is making a mistake when you mark
it out. That can *really* cost you some big money. If you can use CAD you
can get your plate cut at any plasma/profile cutting/laser shop for not a
lot of $. If you have other things to be cut as well then this can be worth
your time... laser can cut timber and plastics as well as stainless and
pretty much anything, so you could have most of your boat cut out in a
single run and save a bit of money on materials if you take your time and
work out what you can fit on a sheet. Id probably go that route if i was
going to get my timber and windows all done...

If it was just steel, i'd just it myself. you can cut a *lot* of steel in a
week

On top of this, the oxy needs no power, can be carried with you just about
anywhere, can be used to braze/solder and fusion weld, is useful for freeing
seized nuts/bolts and good for bending. can also be used to heat up a cup
of coffee in a pinch ;-)

Shaun

2) Try to get one of those pointy boats designs that offer the
possibility of buying already cut plates. Cutting plate is boring,
unhealthy, expensive and time-consuming. If I had to start again I'll
buy the already cut kit and, probably, I'd have saved money. The gunk
left by a plasma cutter would make a lead mine worker choke. The other
methods are dirtier.