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From: Bryan Genez (no email)
Date: Mon Aug 16 2004 - 08:18:54 EDT
Len den Besten wrote:
>> 1) GRP makes boats more affordable for many people,
>> not just cruisers.
>
> Agreed. My pespective is the choices people make on
> the second hand market. I've seen too many
> disappointed people after realising they'd bought a
> wet hull. One of 'm is waiting for three years now for
> that hull getting dry. Another is ading a second hull
> on top of the original one by laminating glass at the
> outside.... poor soul...
>
>> The biggest disadvantage to metal hulls is that
>> every boat is essentially a
>> "one-off" and each boat will have its own sailing
>> quirks as a result.
>
> Depends on the yard and their precision off course but
> in general I think what you say is a bit out of
> proportion.
Responding to both your comments above, the great majority of metal boats
I've seen on the brokerage market in this area have been home-built steel.
The variety of hull designs and quality of finish are as wide as you could
imagine. I suspect that the market for new professional-built metal hulls
is almost non-existent here; consequently, there are few such boats that
show up in brokerage.
So, for the buyer who must have an aluminum hull, the choices are:
1. pay to have one built - probably more expensive than a finished
production or semi-custom GRP boat, or
2. travel to where the boats exist - which, of course, increases cost as
well...unless the buyer is ready to begin cruising at the point of sale, or
3. be very, very patient. Sometime within the next 3-5 years, an acceptable
and affordable aluminum boat will appear locally.
For the steel buyer, the choices are greater here, but the quality can be
quite low. Caveat emptor!
The good news is that the demand for metal boats is so low that the resale
prices are very cheap. I saw a nice Aussie-built aluminum boat here a
couple of years ago. About 13-14m LOA. She had been sailed here, so
obviously, she had passagemaking ability. But she stayed on the market for
many months; the last time I looked, her asking price was well under
US$100K.
>
>> The tests showed that the boat could
>> hit an immovable object
>> - such as a ship container - at ten knots and not
>> puncture the hull. That's
>> impressive (at least to me). I've been on a ship
>> that collided with another
>> ship at much slower speeds; both ships had
>> substantial fractures in their
>> steel hulls.
>
> Ever seen a test on a grp boat with the impact
> sideways? Suppose you know up front you're in for a
> collision and you could choose the hull material at
> that moment. Would you still choose GRP?
> I would choose metal. But hey, luckily we all
> differ....
Actually, my choice was based upon price and availability. I certainly
would have considered an aluminum hull, had one been available when I
purchased. I looked at a lot of boats. I have to admit, though, that my
approach toward safety has been to protect myself against situations out of
my control, such as a collision with an unseen object - like a submerged
container. I cannot imagine myself ever being struck by a ship as you
describe, as I would have to be completely disabled in order for that to
happen. I've known two people here whose yachts have been struck by barges;
one sank (total loss) and the other was massively damaged, but repairable.
Both GRP. I cannot imagine the circumstances in which that could happen to
me. I'm not trying to sound arrogant; I just cannot imagine that happening.
> I wish you always a fathom under your keel, Len.
Thanks. But that's far too generous in these parts. Around here, a foot of
clearance is enough! Of course, the penalty for going aground is only
embarrassment, not damage.
-- Best, Bryan Genez (KB3HMZ) "Capella" Valiant 40 #158 Annapolis, MD ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/A1TolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/world-cruising/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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