GRP or steel

[baz1944]

Hi.
I'm thinking of buying a inland cruising boat to possibly live aboard.
I've been told that GRP boats are hard to keep warm in winter as apposed to steel which are easier. Is this a fact and what are the opinions of other forum users on the GRP/steel option.
Baz.

[andy04]

Hi Baz

I can only speak for myself and GRP and Sue and I have had no problems with keeping our Horizon 35 warm in the winter. We have covers for all windows (excellent), front and rear wells and have an eberspacher warm air heating sytem which is running on diesel with timer and thermastat. Think it is personal choice but you need to get it right. Vee and Nigel have a dutch barge made of steel hopefully they will post a reply to you soon.

[Roy]

Firstly Welcome to the Forum Baz,

We have had Steel and GRP boats and I must say I never noticed any difference.
As long as you have good heating you shouldn't find it a problem.

At the moment we have a GRP boat, we have a solid fuel stove and find it more than adequate,
we keep lovely and warm all winter, burning wood or smokeless coal.

For more on heating CLICK HERE

[baz1944]

Thanks for that. Its put my mind at rest!
I've had conflicting remarks from owners, but none of them liveaboard!
Cheers and thanks for the welcome.
Baz.

[billy]

Oi baz,

Regardless of GRP or steel it's insulation that is the key to keeping warm and the heat input of course. We have lived on GRP and steel and both were warm and toasty in the depths of winter but it all depends on the amount of energy you put into keeping yourself warm. The more insulation the less energy input.

More to the point, how has the steel hull been treated over the years. I would say a lot of steel boats rust from the inside out. GRP boats have the benefit of being maintenance free which ain't entirely true of course.

Un-insulated steel (technically) will wick heat away quicker than un-insulated GRP, just, but you may not notice the difference on a cold and windy day.

I think there are more important issues to consider before making your mind up between the two, it depends on the overall condition of the vessel and the survey results.

billy