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(no email)
Date: Thu Mar 03 2005 - 15:34:33 EST
Phil wrote:<<I wouldn't rule out steel or
aluminum (or right off the top even ferro-cement) >>>
The above is a very small part of an excellent email with loads of great suggestions - especially the part about buying a boat, almost any boat, to gain hands-on experience - there's no better advice.
About the comment above about ferro-cement - I see them for sale ocassionally and in the past I steered clear of them - but some sound *very* promising. I guess the fact that FC is unconvential most people are leary, me included.
But is my caution appropriate? Is FC, if properly constructed (and I have NO idea what "properly constructed" means) a good alternative to FRP, wood, steel, alum, etc?
What are the pros and cons? And I assume there are more "pros" than low cost?
Sincerely,
Larry T (27 Catalina)
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----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Sherwood
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [world-cruising] Retirement and boat materials
Keep reading a lot. Everything you can get your hands on, about boat
design, rig and sail design, particular models and types of boats,
first-hand accounts, etc., is all grist for the mill. Read Ted Brewer's
stuff. Also, Nigel Calder's book (can't remember the exact title but it's
not the boatowner's electrical and mechanical repair manual) contains a few
good chapters on how to think about and analyze what type of boat might be
good for you.
Also check out Bill Dietrich's web site, for starters. He did a huge amount
of research and summarized a vast amount of information very helpfully:
http://www.geocities.com/bill_dietrich/ChoosingBoatModels.html
You might also find this interesting:
http://www.johnsboatstuff.com/Articles/lowcost.htm
Or this: http://pw2.netcom.com/~jkb/mlcs/mlcs-04.html You can of course
backtrack up those URLs to get to many other pages as well.
Go to boat shows, go aboard boats, talk to people. Walk the docks in
various harbors and marinas and talk to people. Go sailing as much as you
can on as many different boats as you can. Look at boat listings, then go
look at them at the brokerages and pick the brokers' brains. Get familiar
with the various numbers and ratios associated with different designs
(covered on many different web sites and in many books) -- they can be
helpful ways of expressing the different aspects of a design pretty concisely.
One piece of advice I received that proved true was that it would be best
to own a boat -- whatever seems as though it would be good and not terribly
expensive -- and sail/cruise/live aboard for a while _before_ spending tons
of dough on your ultimate (affordable) boat. Your first boat will teach you
very quickly what aspects of hull design, rig, interior configuration,
engine, etc., you really must have, what you don't care about, and what you
absolutely do not want to have.
Another piece of advice is to not overbuy -- that is, don't spend all or
almost all your dough just buying the boat. You'll spend more than you ever
thought you would just getting her ready to go. And you still want to keep
the cruising kitty full ...
All boats are collections of compromises. I wouldn't rule out steel or
aluminum (or right off the top even ferro-cement) until you're aware of
what all the tradeoffs are, what you're willing to undertake, and what
works for you. That goes for all the other aspects of a boat as well (one
head or two? Sloop or ketch or schooner or what? Full keel or fin keel?
Wheel or tiller steering? and on and on).
All just my $.02, of course. HTH,
Phil
s/v Cynosure (Passport 40 #129)
lying Puerto Vallarta
At 12:28 PM 3/3/2005, you wrote:
>I'm beginning to think about retirement since it is
>creeping up on me in about 6 years. I've thought about
>going sailing for the long term after selling out and
>moving from the snow to a warm climate. Real estate
>being what it is, I'm not sure that I will be able to
>afford both a house and a boat as I've read that some
>plan. Since I've lived in a house all my life I
>thought a boat would be agood thing to do.
>
>I've been reading a lot about the various hull and
>deck building materials. I've ruled out wood since I
>don't want to spend all my time maintaining the boat.
>An aluminum hull seems like it might puncture easily
>and then there is the corrosion thing. What happens if
>I drop some piece of metal in the bilge and it
>corrodes the hull? Concrete just doesn't seem like it
>would be a good material at all since it is made with
>water and would need quite a bit of metal inside and
>that might rust away.
>
>A larger (maybe 45 feet) older fiberglass boat might
>be a good boat but I wonder about problems with the
>keel falling off if it is bolted on or if it is
>inside, the effects of rubbing against coral reefs and
>rocks.
>
>Steel would seem to be a good thing although I would
>have to learn to weld to make repairs but how do I
>know when to lmake repairs apart from the fact that
>water might be coming in? When is a steel hull too
>thin? How would I tell if it is too thin if and when I
>see one? I've heard of something called "corten" steel
>that is supposed to be good but know even less about
>that. Is that a good thing?
>
>Obviously I have a lot to learn. Would appreciate some
>pointers as to how the older fiberglass boats and
>steel boats do in warmer waters living on at the dock
>or at anchor, going from continent to continent, and
>what I should look for when I start looking in
>earnest. I've got a few years to plan and this seemed
>like a good place to start getting information. Does
>anyone have any first hand experience or some links
>they could point me to?
>
>
>=====
>Will
>
>
>
>
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