On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:01:18 -0800, ray lunder wrote:

Anyone owned a steel hulled sailboat in the 40 foot range and have some
advice on what to look for when buying one? Thanks as always.

My wife and I own a 40' steel hulled sailboat, homebuilt in 1985, that we
bought in 2007. It is the only kind of sailboat we even considered once
we decided to buy. All materials have some problems, be it wood,
fiberglass, steel or cement. The obvious problem with steel is rust. The
obvious advantage is strenght. Do have any boat you are considering
purchase surveyed unless you are very knowledgeable about all aspects of
sailboats. We intend to live on the boat most of our retired life (now)
and wanted a boat we could be confident would not sink if we should
accidently hit a rock or coral reef. Rust is not easy to detect as it
will start on the inside of the boat and work it's way out. You have to
diligently inspect the areas of the boat that are difficult to see, both
before purchase and periodically as long as you own it. THERE SHOULD BE
MANY AREAS IN THE BOAT WHERE YOU CAN GAIN ACCESS TO THE HULL FOR A VISUAL
INSPECTION. My wife has owned 3 previous sailboats, 1 wood and 2
fiberglass and would never own anything but steel now. Feel free to
contact us at our e=mail address if you would like to discuss any other
points or to just start up an ongoing dialogue of mutual experiences
sailing. Ken and Diana