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Old 06-05-2016, 07:14 AM   #41
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Again FF nailed it. Trinidad yards have a lot of skill for cheap by reputation. I maintained a steel hull destroyer as part of the deck ape crew in Nam. She may need work but so what? Get her cheap, if you can fix to a high standard cheap then you will hit a home run.
Steel, welding rod, sand and so forth is cheap. You get her for $125-150, spend even another $100 (might be hard to spend that much) you come out WAYYYYY ahead of the game.
With the coatings we have today steel is great.
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Old 06-05-2016, 08:19 AM   #42
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Maybe if someone has experience with steel like you and FF do this would be a great deal.

I have a copy of a survey that was sent to me if anyone wants to see it.
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Old 06-05-2016, 08:23 AM   #43
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Hear is a pic of one of the thru hulls.

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Old 06-05-2016, 08:31 AM   #44
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It's hard to believe that this boat was once someone's pride and joy. It makes me sad to see such a beautiful boat be treated like that.
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Old 06-05-2016, 08:43 AM   #45
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The surveyor noted that some areas of the bilge and stringers were unavailable for inspection due to obstructions from interior buildout.

The inability to inspect and maintain all areas of the interior hull of a steel boat without disassembling the interior seems like a design flaw. Do most steel vessels allow full, easy access to the interior of the hull for maintenance?
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Old 06-05-2016, 09:19 AM   #46
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Every hull material has its potential issues. Then throw in a shoddy build and problems arise.

I remember about fifteen years ago when DD designs started appearing there were many mentions of backyard builds, some pictures even of construction outdoors taking several years. Yes, chickens come home to roost, sometimes perching on a cap rail during the build process.

I have been in several Chinese steel fabricating facilities and factories. If required they employ the best of coatings, techniques and specs for final products. But, and a very big but, QA/QC must be monitored by knowledgeable and buyer loyal experts. Not easy to do or find for a low volume steel boat build.
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Old 06-05-2016, 11:41 AM   #47
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The surveyor noted that some areas of the bilge and stringers were unavailable for inspection due to obstructions from interior buildout.

The inability to inspect and maintain all areas of the interior hull of a steel boat without disassembling the interior seems like a design flaw. Do most steel vessels allow full, easy access to the interior of the hull for maintenance?
Victoria huh.. Fish Port Oconner and Aransas Pass? My old stomping ground. I realize the owner might not go for it but a hole in the hull and a lighted fiber optic probe could answer questions. Easy to close. Not to mention probes around or through the interior buildout. Perhaps you need a surveyor that was an ex DEA Agent. I hear that they find everything and anything everywhere.

Worse case, after proving a hull problem, cut out a plate and fix it. With the survey showing the defects she may go cheap, real cheap. Welding steel is a lot easier than fiberglass work. With the oil patch on its ass I bet there are quite a few tank, boat and garden variety welders laid off right now that would be thankful for some work.
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Old 06-05-2016, 01:53 PM   #48
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At some price this would be a good purchase. If owners and broker are in LALA land, pass it by.
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Old 06-05-2016, 02:46 PM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cardude01 View Post
Attachment 52750

Hear is a pic of one of the thru hulls.

��
This thread and others like it from the past are a little curious and entertaining in a way in that there can be a bias that causes some to look at this boat and blame its condition on its build material. Yet, I suspect, they can look at the condition of the boat in Bligh's avatar and not blame the condition of that boat on its build material. Is the reason for the condition of those two boats not the same reason?

I fully understand and appreciate this as I have the opposite bias......

Florence, Delfin, Klee Wyck, Libra, many others seem to not be adversely affected by their build material which is the same as this boat. I recently returned from one of the boatiest countries I have ever visited where less than 20% of the hundreds of vessels I saw were FRP. Opposite bias as here in a country that is below sea level (perhaps suggesting that boats are an important coping mechanism and need to be durable and reliable).
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Old 06-05-2016, 02:48 PM   #50
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I'm in the final steps of a steel boat purchase. I knew very little at first but I hired the best people in the industry to evaluate and advise. Through 4 days of in-water and out-of-water surveying over a month, I'm able to get a pretty good analysis of the state of the boat. With today's ultrasound audio gauging and infrared imaging, the amount of factual data is incredible.

I think I have a pretty good feel for the initial refit needed and the ongoing maintenance required for taking care of this steel boat. Like everything in boating, there are pluses and minuses to every decision. Steel is just one more decision.
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Old 06-06-2016, 05:43 AM   #51
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"I recently returned from one of the boatiest countries I have ever visited where less than 20% of the hundreds of vessels I saw were FRP. Opposite bias as here in a country that is below sea level (perhaps suggesting that boats are an important coping mechanism and need to be durable and reliable)."

This is because in many countries a license is required to float a boat.

Inspection is done and the price per sq meter to replace a bottom plate is known and not extortion.
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Old 06-06-2016, 07:17 AM   #52
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Two nice big refrigerators on the aft deck… think of all the beer you can store there! I'd like to buy those big stainless cowl vents. Will you take $10 apiece?

Seriously, it reminds me of the 40 year old steel project boat that I bought when I was younger. In mine there was no way to remove the washer from the closet. I don't know how they got it in there. Coincidentally, right underneath that washer was where the hull bottom was almost completely rusted through.

My suggestion would be to offer $70k, max, and be forewarned that no matter how thorough an inspection you have done by all the experts, that once you own it and start really digging in, you will find even more surprises. Have a lot of contingency in your budget.
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Old 06-06-2016, 09:47 AM   #53
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"Have a lot of contingency in your budget."

And remember a motor boat does not have to smooth bottom as a sail boat might.

Take it to a place where you can hire your own welder for a few weeks.

The oil patch is hurting right now with the great (for consumers) oil price , scout a yard there.
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Old 06-06-2016, 05:06 PM   #54
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OMG....you don't need to cut nothing. There are ways to test without destruction. Xray and ultrasound reliable affordable and lots of expertise available.
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Old 06-06-2016, 07:56 PM   #55
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OMG....you don't need to cut nothing. There are ways to test without destruction. Xray and ultrasound reliable affordable and lots of expertise available.
I agree. Lot has changed since 68.
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Old 06-07-2016, 12:26 AM   #56
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If you are going to use ultrasound for hull inspection make certain you have a skilled tech doing the measurements. Its important to be sure you are not looking at any internal plating such as bulkheads etc. which can result in false readings. Also have the tech remove any bottom paint down to bare metal for each spot to be measured. Fuel tanks are another area to watch out for esp. (as previously mentioned) at the lowest point where water collects. Don't be afraid of steel, just be thorough. We have a 68' 1972 vintage, steel Defever so I can speak from a bit of experience with steel boats.
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Old 06-07-2016, 01:13 AM   #57
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Well, I have been following along on this thread and I must say that while I understand many people don't like steel boats, I do. I would much rather cut out a piece of my hull and weld in a new piece that try and cut into a fiberglass hull that has blisters and hope that I cut deep enough and that I get a good enough bond with the old material to restore strength. I don't want to hunt all over the west coast to try and find enough fir in big enough pieces to replank a rotten spot in a hull. I like steel. Simple, straight forward, available in all kinds of sizes almost everywhere. Oh it rusts. Well, not if you do this thing called maintenance.
I have never seen a boat that does not require care.
The boat in this thread looks like it needs work. Either you can pay to have the work done or you can do it yourself. Or you can walk away if the price of the boat plus the work is more than you think you can afford. But every boat--no matter what it is made of will need work. Sooner or later. So maybe you should put what the boat is made from at the bottom of your list and instead look at the things you will live with and work with every day you own the boat. Pick a boat that fulfills your needs. Then look at the condition and how much it will cost to get that boat into the shape you want it in. Then worry about what it is made from.
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Old 06-07-2016, 05:02 AM   #58
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"I would much rather cut out a piece of my hull and weld in a new piece that try and cut into a fiberglass hull that has blisters and hope that I cut deep enough and that I get a good enough bond with the old material to restore strength."

So would everyone else in the world since most blistering is cosmetic not structural.
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Old 06-07-2016, 08:18 PM   #59
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This thread and others like it from the past are a little curious and entertaining in a way in that there can be a bias that causes some to look at this boat and blame its condition on its build material. Yet, I suspect, they can look at the condition of the boat in Bligh's avatar and not blame the condition of that boat on its build material. Is the reason for the condition of those two boats not the same reason?

I fully understand and appreciate this as I have the opposite bias......

Florence, Delfin, Klee Wyck, Libra, many others seem to not be adversely affected by their build material which is the same as this boat. I recently returned from one of the boatiest countries I have ever visited where less than 20% of the hundreds of vessels I saw were FRP. Opposite bias as here in a country that is below sea level (perhaps suggesting that boats are an important coping mechanism and need to be durable and reliable).
When my stabilizers were installed, a stringer had to be cut down a bit to accommodate the overhang of the actuator. The yard didn't paid the bright steel as they should have. It is still bright after 9 years. True, there are a few spots of surface rust but in about 1,000 years that rust will be a problem. My point is that so much depends on design and coatings on a steel boat. I was fortunate in that when I bought Delfin, she was completely empty so I could see the quality of the coatings. I sprayed her with QuietShip to eliminate vibration transmission, then smeared the inside with poly construction adhesive, then applied acoustical cork. For rust to be a problem before the turn of the next century is going to take an awful lot of salt water and I try to keep that out of the boat.

If a steel boat is built by someone wanting to save money, or is of a design where the interior is exposed to salt water, and I couldn't actually see what was going on I would be very nervous. Not because I would be worried about her sinking from rust since a quarter inch of steel will produce about 2 inches of rust before it no longer has any steel left, but because it sounds messy.

I have hit rocks and logs, and if I ever am careless enough to run her up onto a reef I am not really worried too much. I may dent her, but I won't sink her. Each material has its own pluses and minuses, but if done right, steel doesn't have many of them.
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Old 06-07-2016, 08:20 PM   #60
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Attachment 52750

Hear is a pic of one of the thru hulls.

😳
That sure looks like an electrolysis problem. There is no reason for concentrated rust like that without an external dynamic causing it.
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