GroundSwells

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January 5, 2010

Of all the questions we get from experienced sailors, this one is nearly the most frequent. But it really should be the second question, or third or fourth. The first might be, “why metal?” And this question stems from the most frequent question of all, which is, “What is the best kind of boat for cruising?” O.K. Let’s back up. We assume you are here because you may want to go cruising, which is  messing about in boats far away from home, for a two week vacation or perhaps the rest of your life. In any event, cruising implies living aboard for a while, and exploring under sail, maybe along your own coast or on the other side of your ocean, or even all the way around the world.

So let’s sort this out. There is no “best” boat for cruising. there is only a best boat for you for cruising, and the answer will be evident when you decide where you want to cruise, and for how long, how many will be aboard, the size of your budget, the depth of your commitment and the intensity of your resolve. Commitment and resolve hinge on how long you are willing to persevere toward your goal of going cruising, and how many solid skills you are willing to acquire through study and practice.

Let’s face reality. If you are to voyage far from shore, there are certain facts that must be accepted: You can not rely on anyone but yourself for help. And therefore, you must be completely self sufficient. The final reality is that at times things will go wrong – gear breaks, and the weather is changeable.

Becoming self sufficient means investing in spare parts and tools, learning the skills needed to make all repairs, and having a vessel with the carrying capacity for all this stuff.

So back to the original question: Why Aluminum? We prefer a metal boat for voyaging, because we know that when you follow the path less travelled, charts will be inexact or incomplete, or you simply will not have all the charts. Or you may just make a serious error in judgement. Consequently, you will touch bottom from  time to time, on sand, rock or coral – and perhaps not gently. In Fiji, while exploring we drove Holy Grail onto coral heads twice, once while making 7 knots! In both cases, the result was insignificant – not even a scratch! In the same circumstance, a wooden or fiberglass boat might still be on that reef. The benefit of metal for cruising is quite clear.

If Holy Grail were built of steel instead of aluminum, she would be 12,000 pounds heavier. Our maximum payload of consumables, meaning fuel, water and food, along with tools, spares and personal gear is 10,000 pounds, although we need far less. If you accept that metal is the best material for a cruising boat, then it is clear that aluminum is the better choice due to the vastly better performance over heavier steel construction. There are no other practical metal choices, and there are serious downside factors for both steel and aluminum. More on that next time.

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Aloha!