hull material choice for blue water

[tinkicker0]

For serious cruising and that mid ocean security you are looking for, might I suggest one of these:



No such thing as security on any small craft while at sea.

[davidej]

For serious cruising and that mid ocean security you are looking for, might I suggest one of these:



No such thing as security on any small craft while at sea.

And it is made of...........err.............steel?

[Tranona]

Don´t kid yourself about that one. Most of the world you are on your own unless you don´t mind hitting the epirb and losing the boat.

Thats the point. Unless the boat sinks instantly (highly unlikely) the chances of getting help - or at least telling people where you are - has increased dramatically since the introduction of EPIRBs. Of course that does not necessarily translate into a successful rescue. So having a self preservation strategy is still essential.

[jonic]

For serious cruising and that mid ocean security you are looking for, might I suggest one of these:



No such thing as security on any small craft while at sea.

Yes but is it VAT paid?

[Conachair]

Thats the point. Unless the boat sinks instantly (highly unlikely) the chances of getting help - or at least telling people where you are - has increased dramatically since the introduction of EPIRBs. Of course that does not necessarily translate into a successful rescue. So having a self preservation strategy is still essential.

Ah, I thought you meant local help. Which isn´t something to rely on in a lot of the world.

Epirb is game over.

I did hear once of a titanium boat, made from left overs out of a Russian sub factory.

[Ben Dockrell 22]

Yes, I understand that. Steel must be a nightmare for condensation and always looking for rust.

But is there a general opinion on what is safest for crossing oceans? I'm thinking containers, whales etc.

If safety was your main concern, is there a best material?

Still think concrete myself, good thick concrete hulled large boat. The outer area would have concrete bars along the hull area. Bit like a car with bull bars but much bigger. not built for speed just for safety unless someone collides with you in a grp of course, if your not awake at the time you,d probably not hear or feel the bump

[KellysEye]

>Steel is a very forgiving material and inherently robust, hence very good choice for long voyages.

I agree but I would because we have a steel boat. We also considered Aluminium and and heavily built GRP boats such as Bowmans. In the Canaries we saw a steel boat with a three foot deep large round dent in the side, it had been hit by the bow bulb of a ship and was dismasted. It only destroyed the furniture behind the dent. On that basis I would choose steel again.

If you go long distance sailing it's only a matter of time before you hit something or something hits you. We got hit twice and only had to repair the chipped paint. One of them would have punched a hole in a lightweight GRP boat, a monster wooden pirogue doing about 15 knots that T boned us because he couldn't get his engine out if gear.

[prv]

>Steel is a very forgiving material and inherently robust, hence very good choice for long voyages.

I agree but I would because we have a steel boat.

I tend to lean towards steel too for long-distance cruising, but I don't have any experience of steel yachts. How much maintenance is really involved?

Pete

[DanBurrill]

As others have mentioned, all materials have advantages and disadvantages, you need to pick the one that suits your needs best.

Personally, I'd suggest that a well-maintained steel boat is probably the most easily available and cost-effective option. If you can find a good ferrocement one (and they do exist), then that's another good option. Although both methods of construction can produce heavy boats, if you're looking at anything 40 feet or longer, the difference between heavily built GRP and either steel or ferrocement gets increasingly small and irrelevant. You've already discounted wood, so I won't try to change your mind, although if somebody wants to do blue water in a wooden boat, there are plenty out there that will do the job fine (there's one called Suihaili for starters, although I don't think she's for sale).

If you're worried about hitting submerged objects at sea, then rather than worry about what to build the hull from, why not just get a boat that you like and is generally suitable, and install a forward-looking sonar? The last time I looked £1,500 would buy a top of the line (at least for civilian use) one, and they are available a fair bit cheaper than that.

[mitiempo]

There are many factors not mentioned by the original poster that have a bearing on material - size, budget, purchase used or build new, and whether a custom one off or a production boat.

There is nothing that will beat an aluminum or steel boat if you hit something. Properly insulated a metal boat is the warmest in a cold climate, coolest in a hot climate, and the quietest of any material. Steel has a weight penalty in smaller boats and aluminum doesn't.

One item that nobody has mentioned is leaks from fittings attached to the hull and particularly the deck. On a metal boat there is no reason for anything to ne through bolted. It is eather welded or attached using blind tapped doublers. Both steel and aluminum are the driest below if properly done - the bilge should be dusty. Aluminum doesn't need paint above the waterline and this can offset the higher material cost compared to steel. Properly wired and with machinery installed correctly there should not be any corrosion problems with either from electrolysis.

You discount wood. Traditional wood I would pass on as well, but modern cold molded construction using epoxy will give you a hull that is as strong or stronger than fiberglass with no threat of blisters and as low maintenance as fiberglass as well. It is also lighter than conventional fiberglass although exotic materials can produce lighter fiberglass boats.