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[By safety I mean: can take a knock] IMHO there is only one material that will cope reliably with an impact at 6 knots and that is steel. I have seen a couple of steel boats that have spent a day pounding on a reef and were still watertight.
[and be beached, without too much worry] ANY boat fit for sea can be beached BUT beach anything other than steel on sand with a pointy rock in it and you are looking at a hole. ** Ask the guy who beached the Prout in Fishguard. }
OK I agree that no one in their right mind would build a smallish cat in steel as it would be too heavy and steel is not low maintenance but when you are reef dodging in Los Roques, hit a submerged object ot 6 knots or have a 40foot whale playing chicken with you; steel is really reassuring.
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