Buying a used 45 -50 cruising sailboat soon, but what material?
concrete?...seems difficult to get a good one
wood....lots of maintenance?
steel....hot in summer down here in australia
grp....don't know much about it
all thoughts most appreciated!

"aussie" yup wrote in message news:3fb53e58@news1...
Buying a used 45 -50 cruising sailboat soon, but what material?
concrete?...seems difficult to get a good one
wood....lots of maintenance?
steel....hot in summer down here in australia
grp....don't know much about it
all thoughts most appreciated!



I would say steel, from what I can see the upsides are strength, hitting
a coral reef,
the downsides having to lift it out every 1-2 years to sandblast, also
second hand needs exspensive tests to see if any damage to the hull.
This opinion is from an armchair sailor until I start practicing, so
should be ignored pending experienced advice. Also with steel refitting
can be easier, take out
an oversized fuel tank for example by cracking it open and re welding.

I would say steel,

Yes , I have had two steel boats up till now and I am building my 3rd.

the downsides having to lift it out every 1-2 years to sandblast,

You dont need to blast that often if you look after the boat .I repainted my
hulls only once and only because I wanted to change the colour.

second hand needs exspensive tests to see if any damage to the hull.

True, But a good surveyor can tell if its worth shelling out for the
expensive tests.

The heat can be delt with have good insulation and ventalation.I sailed up
the coast from Brisbane to Darwin in the summer of '98. And then up to the
Solomon Islands for 4 months and my boat was pretty cool inside , 30 mm of
spray on foam from the waterline up and accross the deckhead,5mm air space
and then the ceiling keeps everything livable.

Neil C

I agree with Neil. I own a steel boat designed by Aussie Bruce
Roberts-Goodson (now living in Annapolis, Maryland, USA). He has
created several good designs that can be built of steel.

My Roberts Mauritius 43 has about 2-3 inches of foam insulation on the
interior of the hull and the underside of the deck. It makes for a
cool and quiet boat. It also prevents condensation that would
otherwise cause rust.

I have owned my boat for several years and have never sandblasted it.
I lightly sand the bottom and re coat with antifouling paint every
couple of years. The topsides and deck get spot painted when chips
appear and lightly sanded and repainted every few years as needed.
Much much easier maintenance than I ever would have imagined.

I like steel for its strength and safety. I have ridden out seven
hurricanes in the boat -- most at the dock, one at anchor. One
hurricane drove my boat up against a pylon. Wooden pylon was chewed
up; steel boat was not even scratched. Probably good sailors can own
fiberglass boats. For those of us who have a habit of running aground
and into other objects, steel is the only way to go.

Lee Huddleston
s/v Truelove

"Lee Huddleston" wrote in message
.. .

snip

I like steel for its strength and safety. I have ridden out seven
hurricanes in the boat -- most at the dock, one at anchor. One
hurricane drove my boat up against a pylon. Wooden pylon was chewed
up; steel boat was not even scratched. Probably good sailors can own
fiberglass boats. For those of us who have a habit of running aground
and into other objects, steel is the only way to go.

When we started looking for Fintry, steel was a requirement. I hope to
never go aground, but when I do, I want to hurt the ground more than its
hurts me.

During the summer of 1996, when we crossed the Pacific, seven boats went on
the reef (all due to owner carelessness). Four, all glass, were lost --
ground to little bits. Two glass boats came off -- they had attempted to
enter port at night, hit the reef because they mistook shore lights for
leading lights, and were pulled off quickly after a call for help. One,
steel, went on the reef on the SE side of Fakarava -- 30 miles from the
village of Rotoava and 250 miles from Papeete. She spent a week on the
exposed reef and was finally dragged off by a tug -- looking like a kid's
toy pulled across the playground on her side. Horribly battered, she
floated without a leak, and , after repairs to her rudder and shaft,
continued on her journey.


--
Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com


..

Nothing sails like wood or fiberglass under 40 feet. Spend some time
wanting steel as my next boat, but bought fiberglass. Did not have time for
the maintanence of wood. All of the steel boats I looked at were build to
survive groundings. Decided I would spend a better percentage of my time
sailing.

Nothing sails like wood or fiberglass under 40 feet. Spend some time
wanting steel as my next boat, but bought fiberglass. Did not have time for
the maintanence of wood. All of the steel boats I looked at were build to
survive groundings. Decided I would spend a better percentage of my time
sailing.

"Lee Huddleston" wrote in message
.. .

snip

I like steel for its strength and safety. I have ridden out seven
hurricanes in the boat -- most at the dock, one at anchor. One
hurricane drove my boat up against a pylon. Wooden pylon was chewed
up; steel boat was not even scratched. Probably good sailors can own
fiberglass boats. For those of us who have a habit of running aground
and into other objects, steel is the only way to go.

When we started looking for Fintry, steel was a requirement. I hope to
never go aground, but when I do, I want to hurt the ground more than its
hurts me.

During the summer of 1996, when we crossed the Pacific, seven boats went on
the reef (all due to owner carelessness). Four, all glass, were lost --
ground to little bits. Two glass boats came off -- they had attempted to
enter port at night, hit the reef because they mistook shore lights for
leading lights, and were pulled off quickly after a call for help. One,
steel, went on the reef on the SE side of Fakarava -- 30 miles from the
village of Rotoava and 250 miles from Papeete. She spent a week on the
exposed reef and was finally dragged off by a tug -- looking like a kid's
toy pulled across the playground on her side. Horribly battered, she
floated without a leak, and , after repairs to her rudder and shaft,
continued on her journey.


--
Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com


..

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

"Lee Huddleston" wrote in message
.. .
I agree with Neil. I own a steel boat designed by Aussie Bruce
Roberts-Goodson (now living in Annapolis, Maryland, USA). He has
created several good designs that can be built of steel.

My Roberts Mauritius 43 has about 2-3 inches of foam insulation on the
interior of the hull and the underside of the deck. It makes for a
cool and quiet boat. It also prevents condensation that would
otherwise cause rust.

I have owned my boat for several years and have never sandblasted it.
I lightly sand the bottom and re coat with antifouling paint every
couple of years. The topsides and deck get spot painted when chips
appear and lightly sanded and repainted every few years as needed.
Much much easier maintenance than I ever would have imagined.

I like steel for its strength and safety. I have ridden out seven
hurricanes in the boat -- most at the dock, one at anchor. One
hurricane drove my boat up against a pylon. Wooden pylon was chewed
up; steel boat was not even scratched. Probably good sailors can own
fiberglass boats. For those of us who have a habit of running aground
and into other objects, steel is the only way to go.

Lee Huddleston
s/v Truelove

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