This got me thinking, obviously not a bank with a warm fuzzy feeling, and why the words "brominated flame retardant" scare me...
Where materials to build boats are concerned I'm of the opinion that pretty much anything works and when you factor in the plus and minuses, glass, wood, composites, steel, aluminum, and ferro-cement all work out about the same.
The question is really more about what sort of maintenance you prefer...
Steel rusts. So, if you have a steel boat it is going to rust and your maintenance program is going to be rust related. If you're not big on the whole dealing with and preventing rust thing steel is just not going to make you a happy camper.
The real advantage of steel is that welding is a pretty easy skill to acquire and steel is cheaper than a lot of other materials so it's a good choice for home builders. Back when we lived in France I'd guess that 60% of the cruising boats being built were steel.
That said, a steel boat is not really any cheaper in the long run as the savings in the hull are mostly negated by the need to insulate the hull and the fit out of most steel boats is akin to building a boat within a boat.
As to the strength issue so often touted as the real advantage of steel... Well, I've seen far too many steel boats on reefs with big holes in them to buy into the whole steel makes you bulletproof club.
Where steel would be awesome is for sharpies... Colvin and Bolger both drew some interesting boats in steel that made sense of the sharpie variety...
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| Phil Bolger's Lion's Paw |
So it goes...
