Really? Ever see a guy out washing and waxing his caterpillar bulldozer right after his beamer?
Seriously...working boats get abused...they couldn't make money if every time they got scratched they stopped fishing and painted...however...there are some beautiful examples of working boats but are hardly totally rust free all year long.
I was a little surprised by the extensive rust.
The conversion of an old fish boat looks simple but will cost more than 2 or 3 ocean ready boats if you have to hire the help for a conversion.
Massive hours with usually very poor results.
I see what you guys are saying. It must be hard for them to keep up with it, especially now in light of the restrictions on catch. Some probably can't even make a living.
The rust looked pretty bad (to me) on some of these boats. But there were others that were in excellent condition. Maybe because those boats were smaller and easier to stay on top of.
In the RN, we painted everything every week (or so it seemed!!)
"Painting every week is way more than I want to do, for sure."
Especially as its 5 to 7 coats of paint in order at the correct dry interval if you wish to have protection.
Shmeering on a top coat is fine for the navy's of the world after every docking , as they get proper painting eventually.
.................. GRP is the answer PERIOD , what boat you chose is up to you but solid GRP is the choice .
I see why everyone says steel can be a headache. __________________
The folks that talk about the steel boat are correct, but haven't given you all the info.
To properly maintain a steel boat the entire interior , wiring , pipes all of it down to the bare hull must be stripped, sandblasted to "water white" and painted 5-7 coats of paint.
In the old days it was every decade , today steel boat lovers claim epoxy solves all the worlds problems and maint is no longer the issue.
In God (and epoxy ) they trust.
In the 60's a strip sand blast and paint (you supply the paint , they barely had the sand) in a Polish yard was about $5000 for a 50 ft motor sailor.
Adjust for inflation , an the fact there no longer a Soviet Slave State and it gets expensive almost anywhere in the world ..
GRP is the answer PERIOD , what boat you chose is up to you but solid GRP is the choice .
Try an online search... I don't know what GRP is? Fiberglass?
We learn and remember more from DIY research than asking someone.but won't that { online search} take the fun of it
Gone ?