[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by TQA

[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.

If safety is such a big concern of yours, why leave the safety of a shore-based life.

[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. }

Doing something stupid, like not examining the beach you're planning on beaching your boat on prior to doing so can cause troubles for anyone. I'd also note that a steel hull run up on to a beach will likely compromise the paint job protecting the steel from corrosion and lead to increased maintenance problems. That isn't necessarily the case with a cold-molded wood or fiberglass boat.

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.

A steel boat would generally also have a deeper draft, making it far more likely to hit objects, like reefs and such. Having an 18"-2' draft means that there are far more waters you can enter safely. This is a huge benefit when it comes to trying to find a hiding place from a tropical storm.