Why Steel

The marine environment is very hard on boats and their equipment.  And it would seem that all boat-building materials have their advantages and disadvantages.  For custom boats though steel offers some distinct advantages.  The design is now done using very sophisticated computer programs. When complete, cut files are sent to a steel supplier who forms all of the many parts using an underwater plasma cutter.  What shows up at the shipyard is a kit set much like the balsa models that us old guys remember when we were kids. Add the new welding advances and the speed at which the steelwork gets completed has been vastly improved. Possibly the greatest advance has been in the paint systems. The development of epoxy primers and urethane topcoats adds years of maintenance-free life to steel boats. And lastly, steel boats are many times stronger than boats made of other materials.  There are many instances recorded where steel boats have run aground on rocks and backed off with lots of dents but still floating.