Narrowboat in stainless steel

[oasis]

Hi Guys,

 

I am seriously thinking of having a sail-a-way built in stainless and I have been reading up on narrow boats in stainless steel to find out which builders do this work. If anyone can let me know then please do so.

 

I used to be an engineer in pulp and paper and basically the whole factory was built out of stainless so I thought I could assist with clearing up a few misconceptions:

1. Types: Austenitic (316 and 304), Duplex (3cr12 or 5cr12 or others - depends which country you're in), Ferritic (we won't go there because I don't know much about them except they're good for table knives).

Out of the 2 families I will definitely go for 316 or 304, probably 316 because .... well.... because. Nothing wrong with Duplex, just that I don't like the weldabilty of it in a flexing hull requirement. Great stuff for corrosion in static environments.

2. Cost: probably horrendous, quite easily adding 50% to the cost of a sail-a-away. So 30K instead of 20K maybe but I have my reasons.

3. Fabrication: we used to design and fabricate precisely as we would were we be using mild steel. Welding we were a bit more stringent with a TIG root run and a manual cap. It welds the same as mild steel actually. Fabricatin is a bit stiffer.

4. Corrosion: Chlorides play a part so sea water and crevice corrosion was a no no (crevice is under say a mollusc growing on the hull) but the level of chlorides is so low in canals compared to sea that this is not an issue. Pitting corrosion is helped with 316 having molybdenum added - 2,5% or mor if I remember. Again I am doubtful if this would be an issue. Galvanic corrosion - when a dissimilar metal is welded to it (say the upper section of a hull in mild steel welded to the lower hull in stainless) would see the mild steel corrode at the join in a few years, or less.

 

Any more queries I will gladly scratch the grey matter and answer these

[Speedwheel]

There is an unpainted stainless steel narrowboat - tug deck I think with a dutch barge style stern. I think the hull is blacked but the cabin is polished steel

 

A boat with beautiful lines to my eye

 

I think its called 'Ferrous' but a quick search on google doesn't turn it up

 

Saw it on the T&M last summer and it was at the Stourbridge Arm rally last October

 

Ferrous belongs to Edwin Fasham. I've know the boat for years but didn't realise it was stainless. Got a nice 3lw in it. I'll ask him a bit more about it next time I see him.

[the barnacle]

I am a stainless steel and plastic fabricator and have been thinking stainless narrow boat - I think you would get away with 6mm for the hull and 3mm sides, so even though more expensive by the ton you would use less, 304 would never corrode - the panels could be laser cut for convenience and its easy and cheaper to weld than mild steel plus alterations are easy. -

 

do they use 10mm plate on the base only for corrosion issues or for the strength if hitting the base?

[RLWP]

And ballasting. Having a heavy baseplate means that you don't need to make as much space under the floor for ballast, so you can get more headroom for a given draught and air draught

 

Richard

[the barnacle]

And ballasting. Having a heavy baseplate means that you don't need to make as much space under the floor for ballast, so you can get more headroom for a given draught and air draught

 

Richard

 

good point - but maybe you could pour concrete the ballast as you would never have to remove it for maintenance.

[John Williamson 1955]

 

good point - but maybe you could pour concrete the ballast as you would never have to remove it for maintenance.

You'd need to allow air circulation under the ballast to permit the oxide skin to be formed and maintained. That's one reason they don't use stainless steel keel bolts and nuts on yachts any more. The keels kept falling off as the bolts and nuts corroded quickly in the anoxic environment.

[Timleech]

You'd need to allow air circulation under the ballast to permit the oxide skin to be formed and maintained. That's one reason they don't use stainless steel keel bolts and nuts on yachts any more. The keels kept falling off as the bolts and nuts corroded quickly in the anoxic environment.

 

..and stainless does corrode when under water, similar effect.

I think 316 is preferred to 304 for underwater use.

 

Tim

[Felshampo]

I have just spent ten minutes reading this thread and am curious......cassette or pump out?

[Guest]

I have just spent ten minutes reading this thread and am curious......cassette or pump out?

What does that have to do with the material a hull is manufactured from?

[John V]

galvanised (hot dip) ateel anyone?

 

old ships lifeboats were made of (very thin 2.5mm?) galv steel and they don't seem to want to die......you keep seeing gently mouldering wrecks all over the place

[Felshampo]

What does that have to do with the material a hull is manufactured from?

[blackrose]

Has anyone actually done this yet? An unpainted stainless boat would look great, but what's the advantage of stainless over aluminium? Stronger and harder I suppose and less susceptible to wear.

[George Kennedy]

Has anyone actually done this yet? An unpainted stainless boat would look great, but what's the advantage of stainless over aluminium? Stronger and harder I suppose and less susceptible to wear.

The benefit of having a stainless steel shell is that by installing a flux capacitor you would be able to travel back to 1955. Getting up to 88 mph might be a problem I suppose.

[Rufford]

Surely brass is the answer? ;-)

[Phil Ambrose]

Surely brass is the answer? ;-)

No because Brass being an alloy of Copper and Zinc you would find after time the Zinc would disappear leaving the copper behind, have you never seen a brass screw after it has been immersed in water or has been in a damp enviroment for a prolonged period? they change to a coppery colour.

Phil

[John V]

Surely brass is the answer? ;-)

 

No because Brass being an alloy of Copper and Zinc you would find after time the Zinc would disappear leaving the copper behind, have you never seen a brass screw after it has been immersed in water or has been in a damp enviroment for a prolonged period? they change to a coppery colour.

Phil

 

No because Brass being an alloy of Copper and Zinc you would find after time the Zinc would disappear leaving the copper behind, have you never seen a brass screw after it has been immersed in water or has been in a damp enviroment for a prolonged period? they change to a coppery colour.

Phil

 

 

No Phil......I think he means Brass in the Yorkshire sense..ie. "plenty of brass" With enough you can buy a new boat every 5 years. That way you don't have to bother about repainting, blacking, corrosion, Insurance surveys etc etc

[Phil Ambrose]

 

 

 

 

No Phil......I think he means Brass in the Yorkshire sense..ie. "plenty of brass" With enough you can buy a new boat every 5 years. That way you don't have to bother about repainting, blacking, corrosion, Insurance surveys etc etc

I wish.

Phil

[mango]

Stainless is a pig to work with when compared with mild steel. It also can corrode underwater. The name Stainless Steel was originally coined as Stain Less Steel, not Never Ever Stain Steel

 

I think someone said on this forum that they knew of a narrowboat having been built in Stainless, though.

 

Tim

Indeed, but perhaps we could learn from the past. Would clinker or carvel construction be best?

[John Williamson 1955]

Indeed, but perhaps we could learn from the past. Would clinker or carvel construction be best?

Double diagonal, surely?

[ppgflyer]

Hot Metal Deposition, metal rod (or metal/ceramic if you want), vaporized by a plasma, propelled at close to super sonic speeds at a target.

Resulting in billions of microscopic molten metal particles being deposited upon a target substrate.

Stainless steel, chromium alloy, aluminum ceramic, etc etc.

 

End result, a very durable, highly corrosion resistant surface treatment. It is even used to repair and build up components such as worn bearing surfaces of rotating shafts back to a serviceable thickness, even sheet metal can be built back up.

Paint it afterwards with your coating of choice for extra protection.

 

Solent Protective Coatings did a complete footbridge so I don't think a narrow boat would pose any particular challenge.

Bead blasted, aluminium thermal metal spray, epoxy sealer, primer and topcoat. The cool thing is that the whole deposition unit is portable.

 

 

Can we say goodbye to over-plating except in the most serious of cases? Quite possibly.

Edited September 7, 2014 by ppgflyer

[Phil Ambrose]

The benefit of having a stainless steel shell is that by installing a flux capacitor you would be able to travel back to 1955. Getting up to 88 mph might be a problem I suppose.

Bet Phylis could manage.

Phil

[StainlessDave]

In 2002 I built a 57ft Narrowboat in 316 stainless steel, there was a small article in Waterways World.

We built it because stainless was at an all time low and the cost was only around £1500 more than mild steel, However by the time we had finished it the price shot back up again.

Being a stainless steel fabricator/welder i don't find working with stainless and harder or easier than with mild steel, and welding it is no problem.

There are some very good products for coating hulls now, and we use 2 pack epoxy resins which had a manufacturers 10 year guarantee.

So with these Epoxy resins, steel hulls can be protected basically for ever. Base plates tend not to corrode at the same rate as sides, and especially the water line where air and water are constantly attacking the steel, and diesel washes off any blacking there is on the water line.

Base plates see very little air or indeed oxygen ;-). My 65ft narrowboat is 21 years old, and on a recent survey the base plate was found to be 9.5m so in the worst places it had lost .5 of a m over 21 years, and the sides the same. But now having 2 packed the hull it will never any get worse than it is now. please see my web site www.slipwayservices.co.uk

[Dinz]

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=56961

[StainlessDave]

Has anyone actually done this yet? An unpainted stainless boat would look great, but what's the advantage of stainless over aluminium? Stronger and harder I suppose and less susceptible to wear.

Yes I did ;-)

[StainlessDave]

Has anyone actually done this yet? An unpainted stainless boat would look great, but what's the advantage of stainless over aluminium? Stronger and harder I suppose and less susceptible to wear.

In 2002 I built a 57ft Narrowboat in 316 stainless steel, there was a small article in Waterways World.

We built it because stainless was at an all time low and the cost was only around £1500 more than mild steel, However by the time we had finished it the price shot back up again.

Being a stainless steel fabricator/welder i don't find working with stainless and harder or easier than with mild steel, and welding it is no problem.

There are some very good products for coating hulls now, and we use 2 pack epoxy resins which had a manufacturers 10 year guarantee.

So with these Epoxy resins, steel hulls can be protected basically for ever. Base plates tend not to corrode at the same rate as sides, and especially the water line where air and water are constantly attacking the steel, and diesel washes off any blacking there is on the water line.

Base plates see very little air or indeed oxygen ;-). My 65ft narrowboat is 21 years old, and on a recent survey the base plate was found to be 9.5m so in the worst places it had lost .5 of a m over 21 years, and the sides the same. But now having 2 packed the hull it will never any get worse than it is now. please see my web site www.slipwayservices.co.uk