Hull material

[Crunch]

For long term ocean cruising any advantage to a Monel material?

[lbdavis]

You'd have the most expensive hull around. If that's advantageous.

[Crunch]

I already figured that, $20 k in price difference over comparable fiberglass boat.
Any value in having that material in a hull? Strength, corrosion resistance, maintenance over fiberglass?

[johnshasteen]

If you're serious about long-term cruising, you need everything on your boat to relatively common around the world and readily available for replacement or repair in any port you land in. You can DIY or find someone that can repair fiberglas almost anywhere you go, but Monel?????

[sailingdog]

Monel isn't particularly a good material since you'd have to put some sort of anti-fouling on it, and it'd still be subject to corrosion... although less than other materials. If you're really looking for an expensive metal hull, I'd recommend a Copper-Nickel alloy, which has been used for the hull on some larger fishing boats and such...and has the advantage of not requiring any antifouling treatment--ever.

However, if you're cruising long distances...get a hull made of some more common material that will be readily available and reparable in distant ports.

[Gramp34]

Originally Posted by Crunch

I already figured that, $20 k in price difference over comparable fiberglass boat.
Any value in having that material in a hull? Strength, corrosion resistance, maintenance over fiberglass?

That must be a pretty small boat you're considering. Monel is 2/3rds nickel (market price $9.40/lb) and 1/3rd copper (market price $3.85/lb). Monel sheet is such a rare item that it wouldn't surprise me if it's $20/lb or more in mill-run orders.

Using the material list for the steel Dix 43 I just came up with 15,600 lbs of monel (it's similar in strength and stiffness to steel, but about 10% more dense). Maybe $300K in material alone. So $20K won't get you much of a boat.

Fiberglass materials are about $2/lb. For small craft fiberglass has higher strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios than monel, so fewer pounds are needed for a given boat structure of equivalent strength and stiffness. Also, a considerable amount of the original monel sheet is going to end up as scrap once all the curved pieces are cut for a sailboat.

Monel essentially doesn't corrode (neither does fiberglass), but if mild steel frames and stringers are used to save cost, the reinforcing structure of a boat can corrode.

Monel's big benefit is that it doesn't need bottom paint. Here it's a clear winner over fiberglass.

Asperida is a 52 foot monel sailboat built in 1967. At that time its cost was $15,200 more than steel. That's $98,587 difference in today's dollars.

Asperida at 41 years old has outlived lots of steel boats built at the same time, but there are a lot of 41 year old (and older) fiberglass boats still going strong.

There's been a semi-monel (below the waterline, steel above) Mason 36 for sale on eBay for several months. If you're keen on monel, this might be much cheaper than building one.

Good luck,

Tim

[fullkeel7]

Michael Kesten has a web site where he discusses different metals used in boat building. Metal Boats For Blue Water

[MOBKELLS]

I tried to buy that 'Monel' boat advertised on Ebay. The vendors were great until I wanted to send over a (very well-qualified) marine surveyor, at which point all communication ceased. Tread carefully.

[Jacob001]

Originally Posted by MOBKELLS

I tried to buy that 'Monel' boat advertised on Ebay. The vendors were great until I wanted to send over a (very well-qualified) marine surveyor, at which point all communication ceased. Tread carefully.

I was looking at that boat and it does sound interesting. Any other information on the boat/seller you can give?

Thanks in advance
Jacob

[MOBKELLS]

The first marine surveyor I contacted at the time was unable to do the job, but he reckoned he knew the boat. He said it was built at a refinery in Saudi using recovered scrap metal- hence the monel. His opinion was that - even with a crate load of fit-out- it was a USD$20,000 boat at best. I should emphasise that he did not actually get to see the boat, so it is not 100% clear that it was the same boat as he thought ( though there are not too many monel boats about the place)