# Why buy a steel hulled sailboat?



## ColoGuy (Jan 7, 2010)

Thought fiberglass was the preferred material since the 70's.
With electrolysis and expensive sandblasting prior to painting, I don't get the logic behind the steel hulled sailboat. 
Looking to buy a 40' liveaboard in 2019. Plenty of time to study up and prepare.


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## amwbox (Aug 22, 2015)

The thing is, fiberglass stands up well to criminal levels of neglect, and can be cheaply reconditioned so it can eventually be neglected all over again.

Steel is perfectly fine _*if*_ you are seriously willing to keep up the proper maintenance it requires. Very few are willing to take that on. Which is why most of the steel sailboats you'll see are a mess.

Same with wooden boats. They can be fantastic IF you're willing to see to their proper care and feeding. Almost nobody is...and so they rot away and wind up as firewood in a boatyard stove somewhere.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

I think metal boats make sense when planning to cruise into extreme latitudes (ice bits) and perhaps even in regions like the PNW where there is plenty of floating debris, though most steel boats would be frustrating given our frequent light winds, esp in summer.

Another + for steel, especially, is the fact that welding services and materials are likely available anywhere in the world in the event that you needed serious repairs.

Cheap metal boats are likely not a good call; well designed, well built, well prepped and treated steel boats are rarely in the bargain bin.

When shopping, the huge numbers of fg boats is going to skew the availabliity.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Let it pound on a coral reef for a couple of hours, steel will explain its own worth to you. Oh, wait, you're not in Polynesia...

Let your boat stay in the water in Boston or NY and get caught in a cold winter (in 1776 they walked and ran wagons from Brooklyn to Staten Island, no bridges needed) and steel will justify itself.

Or let some drunk t-bone you in the marina, and steel will explain itself.

Now, on the downside, yes, it does require different maintenance and since every hull is a "one off" it can be more costly, and heavy, until you hit vaguely the 40' OAL point. Steel is more vulnerable to maintenance issues, like poor priming, poor painting, electrolysis, cold sweating if no insulation, rusting if wrong insulation...but then again, steel is also fireproof and doesn't suffer from blistering.

Horses for courses.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

ColoGuy said:


> Thought fiberglass was the preferred material since the 70's.
> With electrolysis and expensive sandblasting prior to painting, I don't get the logic behind the steel hulled sailboat.
> Looking to buy a 40' liveaboard in 2019. Plenty of time to study up and prepare.


Tip of the day .........
Do not ever hire a marine elecrtician who uses the word "electrolysis"

Definition - Electrolysis of water is the decomposition of water (H2O) into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen gas (H2) due to an electric current being passed through the water.


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

I've put some pretty decent miles on about 5 different steel sailboats. All bigger, all in the 70-165 foot range.

Steel does what it does well, very well. It has high abrasion resistance which makes it very good in ice. Nothing else comes even close in performance in ice in my opinion.

It also stands up well to impacts due to its ductility. Which makes it good for commercial use. You can smoke it off concrete piers, you can run it up on rocks.

The downsides I have observed ar, it needs a near professional level of maintenance.  My experience is limited to 5 sailboats, but I have found each and every one of them to be very slow, when compared to even a much smaller fibreglass or wood yachts.


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## ColoGuy (Jan 7, 2010)

Think I'd rather sail in the Caribbean than the arctic regions. Hopefully won't be hitting ice flows.

Thanks for all the great tips. The slowness would turn many away.


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